Puff Pastry

When I lived in Spain, I loved to eat palmeras (=palmiers) at the end of a long night (palmeras salvajes!). That pastries could be bought there at any time of day or night was one, of many, truly amazing things about that country.

This weekend, inspired by Libby's comment last week, I set out to make puff pastry, and palmiers, from scratch. It took a long time, but was not hard. And the result was terrific. So much richer and more flavorful than frozen puff pastry.

1/4 pound butter
1/4 pound all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 - 2 1/2 ounces ice water, plus more to knead butter

In a wide bowl of ice water, knead the butter until you form it into a flattened, 4x6 inch rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill.

In a mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the flour and salt. Pour in the ice water and continue mixing until a thick dough begins to form. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for a few minutes, then form the dough into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for several hours (or overnight).

Flour your pin, board, and the dough.

Roll out the dough into a deconstructed envelope (as shown in the video yesterday). Place the pad of butter in the middle, then wrap the dough around it. Pat down the dough, then roll it out into a large rectangle.

Fold the dough in thirds. Then roll it out into a large rectangle. Fold the dough in thirds again, turn 90 degrees and roll again. Fold in thirds, turn, roll. After the third time, refrigerate the packet for at least half an hour. This will help keep the butter from warming too much.

Repeat a total of six to eight times. By then, you should have layers of dough sandwiching layers of butter. These layers will build flakiness in the final product, as the butter heats in the oven and puffs up the dough around it.

Refrigerate the dough again before baking. You want everything to be cold when it enters the hot oven.

You can use this pastry for hundreds of things. But to make the palmiers shown above, roll the dough out into a long rectangle, then fold the long sides into the middle. Then fold the fold sides into the middle. Horizontally cut small pieces and shape them quickly into hearts. (The Joy of Cooking has a great diagram for this). Place them cut side up on a baking sheet, brush with cream or egg wash, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.