Pie and Pastry Bible (117 page)

8

THE BUTTER SQUARE

Place the remaining 3 tablespoons (1 ounce) [6 tablespoons/2 ounces] of flour on a sheet of plastic wrap and place the reserved butter on top. Sprinkle a little of the flour on top of the butter and cover with the plastic wrap. Pound the butter lightly with a rolling pin to flatten and soften it, then knead the butter and flour together, using the plastic wrap and your knuckles to avoid touching the butter directly. Work quickly and, as soon as the flour is incorporated, shape it into a 4- to 4½-inch [6-inch] square, no thicker than ¾ inch. At this point, the butter should be cool but workable, 60°F. Use it at once, or keep it cool. The butter must not be colder than 60°F. when rolled into the pastry, or it will break through the dough and not be evenly distributed.

THE DOUGH PACKAGE

Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to a 6-inch [8-inch] square. (Figure 1) Place the butter square diagonally in the center of the dough square and, with the dull side of a knife, lightly mark the dough along the edges of the butter. (Figure 2) Remove the butter and roll each marked corner of the dough into a thin flap. (Figure 3) The dough will be slightly elastic. Moisten these flaps lightly with water, replace the butter on the dough, and wrap it securely, stretching the flaps slightly to reach across the dough package. (Figures 4 and 5) On a well-floured
surface, keeping the dough seam side up and lightly floured, gently roll the dough package into a 6- by 12-inch [7- by 15-inch] rectangle. (Figure 6) Brush off all the flour from the surface of the dough and fold it into thirds as you would fold a business letter. (Figure 7) This is the first “turn.” Before each subsequent turn, position the dough so that the closed side is facing to your left.

Clean the work surface, reflour it, and press down on the edges of the dough with the rolling pin to help keep them straight. (The upper part tends to lengthen faster than the bottom.) As you roll, turn the dough over occasionally to keep the seams and edges even. Be sure to roll into all four corners of the dough and use a pastry scraper to even the edges. Mark the dough with two fingertips (or knuckles if you have long nails) to indicate that two turns have been completed. (Figure 8) Wrap it with plastic wrap and then foil and refrigerate for 30 to 40 minutes.
The dough must not chill for longer than 40 minutes or the butter will never be evenly distributed.

Continue to roll and turn the dough, marking the turns with fingertips and resting the dough for 30 minutes between turns, for a total of 7 turns. It is best to do only one turn at a time now as the dough will become elastic and best results are obtained when the dough is not forced and the layers not pressed together.

STORE

Refrigerated, up to 2 days; frozen, up to 1 year.

QUICK PUFF PASTRY

T
his speedy way to make puff pastry is not a copout; in fact, it is sometimes preferable to classic puff pastry because though slightly less flaky, it also distorts less and is more tender. The secret to success is that not only is it quick to make, but you have to work quickly to keep the butter from softening. Don’t let it throw you that the dough is messy until it goes through several “turns.” We have Julia Child to thank for presenting this clever technique.

Cut the butter into ½-inch cubes. Refrigerate the butter for at least 30 minutes or freeze it for 10 minutes.

In a large mixer bowl, place both flours and the salt and mix on low speed to blend them well. Add the cold butter and mix only until the butter forms lumps about the size of lima beans. (If mixing by hand, rub the butter and flour between your fingers until large flakes, about 1 inch in size, form.) Add the water, beating on low speed only until the dough roughly masses together; the butter pieces should remain about the same size. (If the dough does not come together, add more ice water by the teaspoon.)

MAKES: 1¼ POUNDS/567 GRAMS
INGREDIENTS	MEASURE	WEIGHT
VOLUME	OUNCES	GRAMS
unsalted butter, ideally Plugrá or French butter	18 tablespoons (2 sticks 4+ 2 tablespoons)	9 ounces	255 grams
unbleached all-purpose flour	1¼ cups (dip and sweep method)	6.5 ounces	185 grams
cake flour (not self-rising)	¼ cup (dip and sweep method)	1.25 ounces	35 grams
salt	¾ teaspoon (1 teaspoon for savory)	•	•
ice water	liquid cup	2.75 ounces	79 grams

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and, with your hands, quickly push and pat it into a rectangle about 10 inches by 8 inches. Lightly flour the surface of the dough. Using a flat cookie sheet or dough scraper to flip over the dough, fold it into thirds as you would fold a business letter. Clean the work surface, flour it lightly, and position the dough so that the closed side is toward your left. Lightly flour the surface of the dough and, with a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle about the same size as before. Fold the dough into thirds as before, clean and reflour the work surface, and place the dough so that once again the top flap is to your right. Repeat these steps two more times and mark the 4 turns (folds) by lightly pressing your fingertips (or knuckles if you have long nails) into the smooth surface of the dough to create 4 shallow indentations. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a minimum of 40 minutes and a maximum of 1 day before completing the last 2 turns, for a total of 6 turns.

STORE

Refrigerated, up to 2 days; frozen, up to 1 year.

POINTERS FOR SUCCESS

If at any point the dough starts to soften and stick, slip it onto a cookie sheet, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it until firm (but no longer than 30 minutes, to keep the butter from getting too hard, as it will not soften evenly at room temperature until at least 4 turns have been accomplished).

Baking the pastry directly on a moistened baking sheet helps the dough adhere to the sheet, keeping it from sliding and distorting during baking. Using parchment or a nonstick sheet usually results in some distortion. Do not use a black baking sheet, as it would overbrown the bottom crust.

UNDERSTANDING

Plugrá butter or French butters have less water than other butters, so they stay pliant even when cold.

The combination of unbleached flour and cake flour results in just the right amount of protein to support the layers without making the dough too elastic to roll.

Compared to classic puff pastry, which uses equal weights of butter and flour, quick puff pastry starts off using 9 ounces of butter to 7.75 ounces of flour, but since the butter is not contained within a dough package, more flour gets worked in during the rolling and turning.

STRAWBERRY STRIP

A
fresh strawberry tart made with puff pastry and pastry cream is a true French classic and a perfection of flavors and textures.

This tart should be put together no more than two to three hours in advance. Too much time in the refrigerator will toughen the pastry.

OVEN TEMPERATURE: 425°F. • BAKING TIME: 20 MINUTES SERVES: 8
INGREDIENTS	MEASURE	WEIGHT
VOLUME	OUNCES	GRAMS
puff pastry (page 417 or 420) (see Note, page 424)	12 ounces	340 grams
Egg Glaze 1 large egg yolk	approx. 1 tablespoon	0.6 ounce	18 grams
heavy cream	1 teaspoon	•	•
Pastry Cream, preferably whipped cream variation (page 560)	1 cup	•	•
strawberries, preferably small and nicely shaped, rinsed, hulled, and dried	6 cups	24 ounces	680 grams
Berry Glaze currant jelly, raspberry jelly, or half of each	cup	3.7 ounces	106 grams

EQUIPMENT

A cookie sheet at least 16 inches long or inverted half-size sheet

Make the dough (page 417 or 420).

On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 9- by 16-inch rectangle, 1/16 to
inch thick. Brush off the excess flour.

Spray the cookie sheet with water and invert the dough onto it. Brush off the excess flour and, with a sharp knife, trim the edges of the dough to form an even rectangle. (Make clean cuts so as not to compress the layers of the dough.) Brush about a 1-inch border along each long edge with water and fold the edges over to form a 1¼-inch-wide rim. Trim a very narrow slice from the two rolled edges so that the edges of the pastry are open and will be able to rise. Using the back of the knife, press slanted vertical notches about ½ inch apart into each long side. Prick the center section of the dough all over with a fork.