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Dough: Quickest Puff Pastry

Source of Recipe

Nick Malgieri


List of Ingredients

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
20 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice (4 tablespoons kept separate)
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold tap water, plus a tablespoon more, if necessary




Recipe

1. Place flour in workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade; add the 4 tablespoons butter; pulse until butter is absorbed, about 10 to 12 pulses of 1 second each.

2. Add remaining butter; pulse once or twice to distribute. Dissolve salt in water and add to flour mixture; pulse 3 or 4 times, until dough just starts to form a rough ball — do not overprocess. If mixture remains very dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time and pulse again.

3. Turn dough onto floured work surface and shape into rough rectangle, then place on top of sheet of well-floured plastic wrap measuring at least 12-by-18 inches. Lightly flour top of dough and cover with another sheet of wrap. Press dough with rolling pin to flatten, then roll back and forth several times with rolling pin to make 12-by-18-inch rectangle of dough.

4. Peel away plastic wrap and invert dough onto floured work surface, long side facing you. Peel away second piece of wrap. Fold top third of dough down and bottom third up, to make 4-by-18-inch rectangle, then roll up dough from one end. Press dough into square, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 1 hour, or until firm.Use the following seasonings to create the puff pastry straws and palmiers.

Parmesan-Paprika Seasoning

Mix together 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 2 teaspoons paprika (Hungarian, if possible).

Cinnamon-Nut Seasoning

Mix together 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup ground almonds (or other nut), and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

YIELD: 1 1/2 pounds of dough

NOTE: You can freeze a portion of the dough for later use. To do so, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and then seal in a zipper-lock bag. The dough will keep in the freezer for at least three months. To thaw, simply place in the refrigerator overnight.

NOTE: To make sure that your dough comes out correctly, there are certain rules that you should follow. Before using the dough, always make sure that you chill it until it is firm. This will usually take about an hour in the refrigerator. Also, if the dough softens and becomes sticky while you are working with it, slide it onto a cookie sheet, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it until it firms up (about an hour).

While working with the dough, flour the work surfaces and the dough often to prevent sticking, but be sure to use only a light dusting of flour each time. If possible, chill the dough for an hour or two after forming it into pastry shapes, but before baking.

Make sure that puff pastry is baked all the way through before you remove it from the oven. It should be a deep golden brown on the outside, and the inside of the dough should be white, rather than grey. To check the interior, simply use the tip of a paring knife to poke a small hole to peek inside when you think the pastry is done.