Light, golden, and irresistibly flaky puff pastry created from carefully folded layers of butter and dough, ideal for tarts, turnovers, and elegant desserts.
Recipe Information
Total Time:
Yield:
2 pounds of pastry (enough for two 12-inch square tarts)
Ingredients
Dough
3¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons salt
1¼ cups cold water
Butter
¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups unsalted butter (1 pound)
Egg Wash
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon milk or half-and-half
Directions
Dough
Combine ingredients with electric mixer (paddle attachment, if you have one). Mix only until ingredients form a ball and pull away from sides of bowl. (Do not overwork dough or the finished crust will be tough and chewy.) Wrap dough in plastic, forming a ball; chill.
Butter
Combine flour and butter with electric mixer (paddle attachment, if you have one). Wrap mixture in plastic wrap or waxed paper, forming mixture into a 4-inch square; chill for 2 hours.
Process
Remove dough from refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, rolling from center of dough to outer edges, roll dough to a 12x6-inch rectangle, keeping center of dough about 1 inch thick and outer edges about ¼ inch thick. Place the chilled 4-inch butter square on the center of the left side of dough rectangle. Fold dough over the butter, neatly aligning the edges; press edges together to encase butter, forming a dough block. Wrap dough block in plastic wrap; chill for 2 hours.
Remove dough block from refrigerator; place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough to a 24x12-inch rectangle. Fold rectangle in thirds (as in folding a business letter), neatly aligning edges. Turn dough one-quarter turn. Roll out to a 24x12-inch rectangle again, and repeat folding in thirds. Wrap pastry dough in plastic; chill for 2 hours. (Note: At this point, the dough can be refrigerated in plastic up to 24 hours).
Repeat rolling out and folding in thirds two more times; wrap and chill 2 hours.
Finally, repeat rolling out and folding in thirds two more times (for a total of 6 folds). Make dough into tart shells or wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 days or freeze up to 2 months.
Tart Shells
Divide dough in half. For each tart, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to slightly larger than a 12¾-inch square; trim and reserve ¾ inch from each side.
Place pastry square on an ungreased baking sheet. Frame the square with the trimmed ¾-inch strips. Brush top surface only with egg yolk mixed with milk or half-and-half. (Note: Do not brush pastry sides. Doing so will prevent pastry from puffing.) With a fork, prick pastry center several times. Bake in a preheated 350°F for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
