Full Puff Pastry
Cooking Skills: Pastry 2
Chapter 4 · Full Puff Pastry
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The basics
Full puff (also called classic or French puff) is the pastry from which ready-made puff is made. A plain dough, the détrempe (day-trom-pay), is rolled out and a flat block of butter is wrapped inside, like a parcel. Each time you roll it out and fold it, you multiply the layers: after six simple turns there are about 700 sheets of butter, thinner than paper, between 700 sheets of dough. In the oven the butter's water turns to steam and the layers puff up to several times their height.
It is not hard, but it is slow and fussy, and temperature is everything. The butter must be cold but flexible, about as stiff as the dough. If it is too cold it shatters; too warm and it smears into the dough. Plan three to four hours, much of it chilling, and do it on a cool day. Rough puff in chapter 3 is the quicker version; for hand pies and quick puff recipes see Cooking Skills: Pastry 1, chapters 6 and 7.
The method
- Make the dough and chill it for 30 minutes; pat the butter into a flat square and chill it too, so both are the same stiffness.
- Wrap the butter inside the dough like an envelope and seal the edges so none escapes.
- Roll into a long rectangle, fold in three, turn a quarter turn and chill for 30 minutes; this is two turns.
- Repeat until you have done six turns, always chilling in between.
- Rest for 30 minutes before cutting, cut with a very sharp knife and bake hot at 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7).
| Pastry | Layers | Time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rough puff | About 100 | 1 hour | Pies, Eccles cakes, sausage rolls |
| Full puff | About 700 | 3 to 4 hours | Mille-feuille, cream horns, vol-au-vents |
| Ready-made puff | Hundreds | None | Everyday quick bakes |
| Shortcrust | None | 30 minutes | Tarts and pies |
Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.
Hot syrup and sugar: syrup and jam fillings become hotter than boiling water and stick to skin. Let a tart cool for 15 minutes before cutting, and take care with hot jam when eating tarts straight from the tin.
Try it
Full puff pastry dough
Take it slowly and use a ruler for the dimensions. Pat the butter into a square with a rolling pin between two sheets of parchment so it is the same thickness all over. Don't be tempted to skip the chilling.
Ingredients (1 batch)
- 250 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for rolling
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 25 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 125 ml ice-cold water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 200 g cold unsalted butter, in one block
- Rub the 25 g butter into the flour and salt, add the water and lemon juice, and knead briefly to a smooth dough. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Beat the 200 g butter between parchment into a 15 cm square and chill.
- Roll the dough into a 25 cm square, put the butter block on it like a diamond, fold the corners in to meet in the middle, and pinch the seams shut. Roll to 40 x 15 cm and fold in three (turn 1), turn, roll and fold (turn 2). Chill for 30 minutes.
- Do 4 more turns in 2 sessions of 2, chilling for 30 minutes after each pair. Wrap and chill for 1 hour before using. Keep 2 days in the fridge, or freeze.
Cold and warm kitchens: pastry hates heat. If the kitchen is hot, chill the bowl, the flour and the butter, work quickly, and put the dough back in the fridge whenever it turns soft and sticky.
Allergens: pastry contains gluten (flour) and milk (butter); egg washes contain egg. Use a plant block fat for a dairy-free version, and note that gluten-free flour needs a different method.
Mille-feuille
Mille-feuille means a thousand leaves. Bake thin puff pastry pressed flat under a tray, so it stays crisp and even, then layer with cream and jam. Slice with a serrated knife using a sawing motion, not pressing down.
Ingredients (6 portions)
- ½ batch of full puff dough (above)
- 300 ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp icing sugar, plus 100 g for icing
- 4 tbsp raspberry jam
- 2 tbsp water
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7). Roll the dough to 3 mm, cut into 3 rectangles of about 10 x 25 cm, prick with a fork, and place on a lined tray. Cover with parchment and another tray to keep them flat and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the top tray and parchment, dust with icing sugar and bake for 5 minutes until caramelised; cool completely. Whip the cream with the 2 tbsp icing sugar and vanilla.
- Layer: pastry, jam, cream, pastry, jam, cream, pastry. Mix the 100 g icing sugar with the water, spread over the top, and chill for 30 minutes before slicing.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk and cream.
Cream horns
Strips of puff pastry wound round cone moulds, baked and filled with jam and cream. You can make moulds from card shaped into cones and covered in foil. Overlap the strips by a third, and keep the end tucked underneath.
Ingredients (8 horns)
- ½ batch of full puff dough (above)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 4 tbsp raspberry jam
- 200 ml double cream, whipped
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7). Roll the dough to 3 mm and cut into 8 strips of 2 cm wide and 40 cm long.
- Wind each strip around a greased cone mould from the tip upward, overlapping by a third, with the end tucked underneath. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake on a lined tray for 15 to 18 minutes until deep golden. Slip off the moulds when cool and fill with jam and whipped cream.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk and egg.
A tart with a puff rim
A flat puff base with a raised rim made by an upper frame: the rim puffs up and holds the filling. Cut the frame with a sharp knife, brush the top of it only, and don't let egg drip down the sides.
Ingredients (6 portions)
- ½ batch of full puff dough (above)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 tbsp apricot jam
- 400 g ripe plums or berries, sliced
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7). Roll the dough 3 mm thick into a 20 x 30 cm rectangle on parchment. Cut a 2 cm strip from each edge and glue it back on top of the edges with a little water to make a frame; prick the middle.
- Brush only the top of the frame with egg. Spread the jam in the middle, arrange the fruit and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake on a hot tray for 25 to 30 minutes until the rim is tall and golden. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
Hot syrup and sugar: syrup and jam fillings become hotter than boiling water and stick to skin. Let a tart cool for 15 minutes before cutting, and take care with hot jam when eating tarts straight from the tin.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk and egg.
Experiments
Butter temperature
Cold but flexible.
- Make a small batch with butter chilled until hard and another with butter left out for 10 minutes, and roll both.
Look for: The hard butter shatters into chips; the soft butter smears into the dough. Butter should bend without cracking.
Number of turns
Layers.
- Bake pastry rolled after 4 turns and after 6.
Look for: Six turns gives a taller, more even rise. Four is good enough for tarts; more than six starts to merge.
Rested or not
Shrinkage.
- Cut and bake pastry straight after the last turn and after a 30-minute rest.
Look for: The rested pastry shrinks less; the unrested one springs back and curls.
Bake high or low
Rise.
- Bake two pastry squares at 180°C and 220°C.
Look for: At 220°C the pastry puffs high and dries quickly; at 180°C it bakes pale and denser.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full puff dough | ||||
| Mille-feuille | ||||
| Cream horns | ||||
| Puff rim tart | ||||
| Butter temperature | ||||
| Number of turns | ||||
| Rested or not | ||||
| Bake high or low |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Butter leaks out | Oven too cool, dough warm, or seam open | Chill before baking; bake at 220°C; seal the seam |
| Pastry doesn't rise | Butter melted into dough or edges sealed | Chill more; cut cleanly and press straight down |
| Dough tears when rolling | Butter too cold or dough too dry | Let it stand for 10 minutes |
| Uneven layers | Butter block uneven | Beat the butter to an even thickness |
| Soggy mille-feuille | Assembled too early | Fill within an hour of serving |
| Shrinks in the oven | Not rested | Rest for 30 minutes before cutting |
Raw dough and raw flour: raw flour and raw egg can carry germs, so don't taste raw pastry or filling that contains raw egg or raw meat. Wash hands, bowls and the worktop afterwards, and keep tasting for the cooked result.
Keeping and freezing: raw pastry keeps in the fridge for about 2 days wrapped tightly, and freezes for about 3 months (general guidance). Cooked pies and tarts keep for about 2 days chilled; reheat pies until steaming hot all the way through, and freeze cooked pies for no more than about 2 to 3 months.
- I can lock a butter block in dough.
- I can roll and fold six turns, chilling between.
- I know how cold the butter should be.
- I can bake flat puff for layered pastries.
- I can build a mille-feuille.