Homemade Puff Pastry

Puff Pastry

One of my dream agenda for a long time was to make puff pastry sheet at home from basic ingredients. Though ready made puff pastry sheets are available at many places, I am yet to come across them in Chennai shop shelves. Hence I thought of making at home. I got the basic idea from Thangam Philip’s Modern cookery Part - 2 cookery book which is a prescribed book for hotel management students. Later refined the idea by browsing through various cookery sites, recipe books, you tube videos .... . Before actually making the pastry sheet, I mentally practiced the steps and then followed each and every steps as listed. Thank God, I could succeeded in my first attempt itself. The Main precaution in this procedure is that the butter should not come out from the pastry layers during the initial stage ( the bakeries in India use Vanaspati or hydrogenated vegetable oil - which is much damaging to body than butter) . Hence the first stage is very important.

Making pastry sheet at home is a very laborious and time consuming process. It needs more than 2 hours for the whole procedure and each step is important. I’m recommending OTG for baking. Procedure requires lots of patience, energy and time.

This makes the basic pastry sheet. With this sheet, we can make various pastries with different size and shapes ( square, triangular circular etc) , with fillings of all kinds one can imagine - sweet, spicy hot - veg and non veg. This recipe is tried and tested. You may also attempt to make at home.

Makes: 10 puffs (10 - 12 depends upon the size)

You will need

Refined flour (all purpose flour / maida) - 225 g

Lemon juice or vinegar - 1 teaspoon

Cold water - 110 ml ( normally 50 % of the flour )

Butter - 125 g (100 + 25 g )

Extra 2 teaspoon flour ( to mix with butter )

Extra 1/2 cup flour ( to sprinkle )

Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Filling - as desired

Beaten egg for outer coating – 1 (beat 1 egg with1 teaspoon milk and make a smooth solution)

Method

Sieve flour with salt. Add cold water, 25 g butter and lemon juice / vinegar to flour and knead to a smooth and soft dough.

Keep the dough covered under a wet cloth for at least 30 - 35 minutes.

Cream butter with about 2 teaspoon of flour and make into s square block. Wrap in greaseproof paper and cool in refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Roll the dough into a square and place the block of butter in the centre.

Fold all the four corners overlapping each other. Turn upside down.

Roll this flour packet into a rectangular shape and fold into three, being careful not to let butter escape.

Rest the pastry in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Repeat the same process for ( take out from refrigerator, do not disturb the folds, sprinkle little flour, roll again into rectangular shape and fold into three ) 5 times more, resting it for 15 minutes after each rolling.

Let it rest for one hour after final rolling.

Preheat oven ( OTG ) at 220 * C or 425 * F.

Roll again into rectangular, cut into desired shape and place filling according to your choice and seal the edges with little water.

Brush with beaten egg ( light coating of beaten egg ) and arrange on a greased baking tray and bake at 220* C or 425* F for 20 - 22 minutes or until golden color.