Homemade puff pastry is something completely different from the ready-made ones from the refrigerated section. Moreover, it's quite nice to be able to make your own homemade puff pastry when the craving for, for example, freshly baked croissants strikes on a Sunday morning.
Author: Anette Søstrøm Asmussen
Course: Baking
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Bake, Baking, Dessert, Dinner, France, Puff Pastry
The bag of flour is first placed in the freezer, preferably overnight. The flour needs to be cold.
The yeast is dissolved in water and milk in a mixing bowl. One egg is placed in the mixing bowl. Also, add salt, sugar, and the cold flour.
Let it all mix together well. You can do this by hand, but as it takes a few minutes, I prefer to use the mixer.
The dough is then poured onto the table and kneaded for a moment until it is formed into a round ball.
The dough is then placed in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
A piece of baking paper is placed on the table and the cold butter is placed on it.
Another piece of baking paper is placed on top of the butter.
The butter is now rolled/beaten out to a square approximately 15 x 15 centimeters with a rolling pin. If the butter becomes too soft during this process, place it back in the refrigerator to make it cold again.
The puff pastry is rolled out to a square approximately 25 x 25 centimeters on a floured surface. Use plenty of flour from now on so that the puff pastry does not stick to the table. Place the butter in the center of the dough.
All sides of the dough are folded over the butter and the corners meet in the middle of the butter. Ensure that the butter is not visible but completely covered. Finish by giving the whole thing a light press with your fingers.
The dough is placed in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. The puff pastry is then rolled out to a thickness of one centimeter and in the shape you find appropriate. However, be careful not to press too hard with the rolling pin. And remember not to skimp on the flour when dusting the table between each "rolling out."
The ends of the puff pastry are folded in and meet in the middle, after which the dough is folded once more in the middle in the same direction. You should now have a total of four layers. The puff pastry is placed in the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes.
The puff pastry is rolled out again on a floured surface in the exact same way as before, so you end up with four clear layers.
Return the dough to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough one last time, again to a thickness of one centimeter.
Now your puff pastry is ready to use.
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Notes
This recipe yields enough puff pastry to make approximately 20 small croissants, for example.