My first attempt at vol-au-vent and it’s definitely not the last time I’m making it. Normally, in France, they make large ones and typically use them for a lunch with a stew of either asparagus, mushrooms, or fish balls.
Recipe for vol-au-vent
My first attempt at vol-au-vent, and it certainly won’t be the last time I make it.
I planned to serve them with chicken and asparagus, so I aimed for a mini version, making them somewhat similar to tartlets. However, they turned out a bit smaller than I had anticipated.
In France, they are typically made large and used for a lunch consisting of a stew with either asparagus, mushrooms, or fish balls.
They can easily be made with store-bought puff pastry, but since I had the time to make the puff pastry from scratch, that’s exactly what I did.
Servings: people
Vol-au-vent
My first attempt at vol-au-vent and it’s definitely not the last time I’m making it. Normally, in France, they make large ones and typically use them for a lunch with a stew of either asparagus, mushrooms, or fish balls.
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Rolling Pin
- Brush
- Baking Tray
- Baking Paper
- Oven
Ingredients
- 212 gram Wheat Flour
- 150 gram Water cold
- 1.5 gram Salt
- 30 gram Vinegar
- 50 gram Butter room temperature/soft
- 200 gram Butter cold - for rolling
- 1 pcs. Egg for brushing
Instructions
- Add water, salt, vinegar, flour, and the soft butter into a mixing bowl and mix it with a dough hook until it is combined and smooth.
- Place it in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
- Sprinkle flour on the kitchen counter and roll out the dough into a rectangle about one cm thick. The rectangle should be elongated.
- Cut thin slices of the cold butter and distribute them on 2/3 of the dough.
- Now fold the dough into three layers.
- Place it in the fridge for 15 minutes. The butter must not become too warm.
- Roll out the dough again to about one cm thick and repeat the process of folding it three times.
- Place it in the fridge again for 15 minutes.
- Repeat, roll out the dough, and fold three times.
- Place it in the fridge again for 15 minutes.
- Repeat, roll out the dough, and fold three times.
- Place the dough in the fridge for about an hour. Again, the idea is to make the dough cold so the butter does not melt out.
- Roll out the dough to a half cm thickness, and it’s a good idea to do this with half of the dough first.
- Use cutters, they can be anything from a cup/glass to similar items, to get round vol-au-vents.
- Cut out approximately 8-9 cm round pieces.
- Find a smaller cutter of about 6-7 cm to press lightly down into the above pieces - just so you come 1/3-1/2 way down. Be careful not to press all the way through.
- Brush the surfaces of your vol-au-vents (not the edges).
- Place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper (or dusted with flour) and bake them in a conventional oven for about 19-21 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit) regular oven.
- Remove them from the oven and place them on a rack.
- When they have cooled down a bit, use a spoon to scrape out the "insides"/middle, so you get a "bowl" for the filling.
- I served my vol-au-vents with these chicken in asparagus.
- They can be frozen and you can easily make your vol-au-vents well in advance and then just warm them up right before serving, just like you know from tartlets.
Notes
Mine didn't rise as much as I thought. Next time, I will place one more layer on top.
Editorial: See our recipe with tartlets with chicken and crispy skin here.
Editorial: See our recipe with tartlets with chicken and crispy skin here.