Notes from my Kitchen 5 - Puff Pastry
Puff pastry in simple to make. The most important thing is to use cold butter and cold water. The better the quality of your butter, the better the quality of your pastry.
My recipe uses equal amounts of butter and flour, then you add water to combine it. Some recipes use a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, I don't find this necessary but you can try it.
This quantity makes enough pastry to line and cover a 22cm pie dish.
250g flour
250g cold butter, cut into pieces
4-5T ice cold water
Place the butter and flour in a food processor. Process the mixture until it just starts to come together and resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water 1T at a time and pulse after each addition. Too much water will make the pastry too wet and difficult to roll.
Take the pastry out of the processor and place it on cling wrap. Using the cling wrap press the pastry together - do not squash it. Allow to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
After an hour, roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface - I use a silicon pastry mat. Work quickly as you want the pastry to stay cold. Then fold the pastry in towards the centre from one side, folding the second piece over the entire piece of pastry. Then roll out again and repeat. Place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C
Roll out the pastry and fold again as above. Then cut into 2 pieces and roll out. Line the base of a greased pie dish, leaving some pastry hanging over the side. Place you filling inside. Cover with the remaining piece of pastry. I tend to leave the top piece a little bit thicker as you want it to rise up. Fold over the pastry from the base to seal the pie. Make a diagonal slit in the middle of the top piece of pastry to allow the steam to escape while cooking. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the pastry is golden and firm.
I used leftover beef stew to fill my pie. Leftover chicken mixed with white sauce (see my blog for an easy recipe) and sauteed mushrooms and/or leeks is also delicious.
You can brush the top with a beaten egg to give a deep golden colour.
You can use this recipe to make jam turnovers or custard slices. Bake the pastry for 30 minutes when making smaller pies.
My recipe uses equal amounts of butter and flour, then you add water to combine it. Some recipes use a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, I don't find this necessary but you can try it.
This quantity makes enough pastry to line and cover a 22cm pie dish.
250g flour
250g cold butter, cut into pieces
4-5T ice cold water
Place the butter and flour in a food processor. Process the mixture until it just starts to come together and resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water 1T at a time and pulse after each addition. Too much water will make the pastry too wet and difficult to roll.
Take the pastry out of the processor and place it on cling wrap. Using the cling wrap press the pastry together - do not squash it. Allow to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
After an hour, roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface - I use a silicon pastry mat. Work quickly as you want the pastry to stay cold. Then fold the pastry in towards the centre from one side, folding the second piece over the entire piece of pastry. Then roll out again and repeat. Place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C
Roll out the pastry and fold again as above. Then cut into 2 pieces and roll out. Line the base of a greased pie dish, leaving some pastry hanging over the side. Place you filling inside. Cover with the remaining piece of pastry. I tend to leave the top piece a little bit thicker as you want it to rise up. Fold over the pastry from the base to seal the pie. Make a diagonal slit in the middle of the top piece of pastry to allow the steam to escape while cooking. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the pastry is golden and firm.
I used leftover beef stew to fill my pie. Leftover chicken mixed with white sauce (see my blog for an easy recipe) and sauteed mushrooms and/or leeks is also delicious.
You can brush the top with a beaten egg to give a deep golden colour.
You can use this recipe to make jam turnovers or custard slices. Bake the pastry for 30 minutes when making smaller pies.
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