Cheats Puff Pastry Recipe from The Great British Baking Show (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to baking puff pastry? ›

Always preheat your oven for a minimum of 15-20 minutes before baking, because Puff Pastry depends on even heat to rise and puff. Place pastries 1 inch apart. If you want a flaky thin and crispy pastry that's not very puffy, prick the unbaked Puff Pastry all over with a fork, which lets steam escape while baking.

For the rough puff pastry, mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Rub in the chilled butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add enough water to form a dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a rectangle measuring 30cm x 12cm.

Pastry being soggy in the middle is a result of the pastry being undercooked. Don't place the pastry on too high a shelf in the oven. One way to prevent soggy bottom pastry is to blind bake the pastry – This means partially or completely bake the pastry before adding the filling. Also, avoid over-filling your pastry.

Pastry should be at room temperature for rolling (to make it more pliable), but chilled before baking (so the buttery layers remain separate). A hot oven allows the layers to rise, but needs to be monitored to prevent burning. When handling, a floured worktop is essential, as is a sharp knife for cutting to shape.

Vinegar is occasionally incorporated into puff pastry dough to hinder gluten development, leading to a more delicate and flaky pastry. It also helps regulate the dough's pH, impacting its texture and rise. Typically, only a small quantity of vinegar is required in the dough recipe.

You can brush an egg-wash glaze (1 egg plus 1 tsp. water) over the Puff Pastry to create a rich, golden sheen when baked. Use an egg wash to help seal filled pastries and connect Puff Pastry pieces: mix 1 egg plus 1 tsp. water, brush between layers, then pinch or press together.

Rough puff pastry is prepared by incorporating butter or fat in the form of golf-ball size chunks into the dough, instead of the entire slabs used in classic puff pastry. This is followed by sheeting and folding with minimum or no resting time between successive folds.

Puff pastry does need some gluten development but, because of the amount of rolling out that will happen during lamination, it is very easy to overwork a dough which makes it incredibly hard to use and can cause a lot of shrinkage.

In the oven, the water in the layers of dough (and some water in the butter) turns into steam. This steam has just enough force to puff up each thin sheet of dough before evaporating into the oven. What's left behind is a delicate shell of airy pastry. Yum.

About halfway through baking, peek into the oven to see how the pastry is baking. Always bake Puff Pastry Shells in a preheated 425° F oven. Bake Puff Pastry Cups in a preheated 400° F oven for 20 minutes. Do not bake either Shells or Cups in a microwave or toaster oven.

Why do you poke holes in puff pastry? ›

These holes help steam escape. and interrupt the formation of large bubbles. for a pastry that is still flaky.

Once forced apart, the fat in the butter or lard cooks each layer of pastry giving the flake. If you open the oven during this process, the puff will deflate and flatten again, so don't open the oven at all during the first 75% of the bake, and then stick to the recommended cooking time.

The trick is to work large pieces of cold butter into dry ingredients and hydrate it all with ice cold water (as if you were making pie crust). Sometimes bakers grate butter into the mix or use a food processor. There's lots of ways to make rough puff pastry.

Heat is the enemy of Puff Pastry—it handles best when cold. So avoid working with it on hot, humid days, in a stifling hot kitchen or next to your oven.

Water, however, is absorbed much less easily into flour proteins when the temperature is colder. That's why purists recommend cold ingredients, cold equipment and marble boards. Keeping the butter cold also helps when making short crust pastry because it doesn't melt into the flour when you are working it in.

For a flatter pastry without much puff—like a Napoleon—prick the dough all over with a fork, place parchment paper on top, then place 1-2 cookie sheets on top of that to weigh it down. If you're making a tart or filled Puff Pastry, place it on the baking sheet before adding toppings or fillings.

Handling the dough too much.

Yes, the pastry usually needs to be rolled out, cut, and shaped, but when handled too much, the cooked pastry can turn out tough instead of light and crisp.