Puff Pastry

This is a good example for a visualization of the process:

Ingredients:

  • 250g plain flour
  • 5g salt
  • 135ml cold water + squeeze a bit of lemon
  • 200g cold butter

Process:

  • Mix flour and salt in a bowl
  • Gradually add water, mixing with one hand. Mix all together.
  • Put the dough in a work surface. And knead (bull method) with both hands, until smooth. Aprox 10-15 minutes depending on conditions.
  • Put the dough back in the bowl, cover and leave it rest.
  • We are going to make a parcel with the butter. Take a baking sheet paper and fold it in 3 parts horizontally, then do the same thing vertically. Once you unfold the paper, you will have 9 “squares”. Put the butter in the middle square, and fold again the paper until you have a parcel. With a rolling pin, flatten the butter until forms an uniform square thanks to the baking paper.
  • Take your dough, with a rolling pin and using the butter parcel as a reference, spread the though to make a rectangle 1cm wider in each side compared with the butter and in double in length (plus 1cm extra on top and bottom). The goal is to enclose the butter with the dough.
  • Once you have your dough spread out, put the butter (be sure is cold), in the top part, use the bottom part to cover the dough. Be sure the butter is covered by the four sides.
  • With a bit of flour in your rolling pin, start to press down the pastry to squash the butter gently.
  • Roll the pastry into rectangle lenthways.
  • Folding process. Take the top 1/3 of the dough and fold it down the center. Now take the remaining bottom half and fold it up. Turn the pastry 90 grades like you have a book (the seam on the left). Repeat the process, spread lengthways and fold as book. This is a double fold.
  • Rest 30 minutes in the fridge (wrap in cling film) (important the butter is firm and never melts!) and do another double fold.
  • Again 30 minutes rest and another double fold.

Now the dough is ready for action. You can keep in the fridge for at least one week before you use it. Always keep it wrapped properly in cling film.