Recipes
CS's Puff Pastry (It's easier than you might think!)
By: CS Priddy
I have avoided making puff pastry because I read and heard horror stories about how demanding and difficult it is. However, I want to teach my kids to make some baked items that you just have to use Puff Pastry, so I decided to bite the bullet and give it a whirl. I chose a Saturday when nothing else was going on. You do need 8 hours to do it right... but only like 10 minutes in each of those hours. The results are AMAZING! And you have control over he quality of ingredients.
Details
Servings: 16 servings
Ingredients
This is a double batch - if you are going to spend this much time on something, it better be a double batch! :}- 3 cups of GF flour (I use a blend that we make up that is 1 c tapioca flour, 1/2 potato starch, 1/2 c corn starch, 1/2 c rice flour, 1/2 c quinoa. But you could use like Bob's Red Mill or something.)
- 2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups water
- 3 sticks of butter + 2 TBS of gf flour
Directions
- Use your hand to bring flour and 1 1/2 c water together to form the dough. I had to add maybe a 1/2 c of water to get it to the right, pliable consistency. You want it to resemble pie crust dough.
- After you get this mixed up, form into a rectangle about 2 inches high, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 1 hour.
- While the dough is in the fridge, take out 3 sticks of butter and set it on the counter. you want it to come to a temp of 50 -55 degrees. No warmer, no cooler. It needs to be squishable, but not melty. (Technical terms!)
- Put the butter in a zip lock bag with 2 TBSP of flour, and squish this into the butter. When it is totally incorporated, form it into a inch thick square, and put it in the fridge. Take it out about 10 min before your hour is up on the dough, as it needs to be 50 - 55 degrees to work with the dough on the next step.
- When the first hour is up, take the dough out, dust a pillow case with some corn starch, and roll the dough out to 1 inch thickness.
- Now this next part sounds kinda tricky, but just do it, and you will see how i works. Leave the middle 4x4 inch section of the dough 1 inch thick, but roll out the north, south, east and west sides to 1/4 in thick. now place the butter in the centeron the 1 in thick part, and fold the flaps in over the butter. So now there is an inch of dough, the butter, and an inch of dough. now wrap it in plastic wrap and put it back in the fridge. Wait an hour.
- Get your pillow case back out and dust with corn starch. roll out your dough to a triangle about 1/2 inch thick. if a part break off, just squish it back on. This really isn't rocket science.
- Now fold your dough like a letter, into thirds, folds first one side and then the other toward the middle. Wrap in plastic wrap and return to fridge for another hour. Keep doing this roll, fold, wrap, refrigerate thing for 6 times.
- After that, divide the dough into two parts. You have, after all, made a double batch. You can roll each to 1/2 inch thickness, fold like a letter and store in your freezer until ready to use, or refrigerate for an hour and go ahead and use it.
- I used my first batch to make chicken pot pie. FABuLOuS!!!
Cups and saucers and teaspoons I dig but how much is a STICK of butter (margarine may do for milkallergics ?)
I'll sub oil for butter to make it dairy free. Thanks for the recipe. Might try it. Also, are you related to Priddy's who were stationed at RAF Bentwaters, UK in 1980's? If so, please get in touch with me. Thanks!
I do not know how margarine would work. I am just a momma who cooks, and not a professional. :} The butter is used to build layers, so it needs to stay separate from the dough.
Carla, my husbands family came from Priddy, Wales, UK. But that was a century ago. There is a music festival there each year, which we would love to attend, but haven't made it yet. Interesting that you asked. We would love to meet others with the same heritage.
Carla, sorry but oil won't work. I use oil in most things, but for this, the idea is to keep the butter or margarine cool enough that it doesn't sog into the dough like oil or melted butter.
I know there is dairy free margarine though, I have made good dairy-egg-wheat free bread, enjoyed and grabbed by even those not on diets.
Arne- a stick of butter or margarine is 1/2 cup