Patisserie - Part I

Puff Pastry. Who doesn't love it? Flaky, buttery goodness all on its own, yet it can be paired with sweet or savory and taste like bliss either way. Can you tell I have a love affair with puff pastry? Well, obviously I do and I'm not afraid to admit it. In the past, I had always acquired my puff pastry the only way I knew how -- by going to the grocery and buying it thanks to Pillsbury. Well, as of Monday, I can now make it all by myself without the help of the little Doughboy. This could be dangerous to my waistline!



If you are at all interested in how to make Puff Pastry (Pate Feuillete), I have a detailed description below with photos. Pretty cool. By the time you "turn" the pastry 5-6 times, there are close to 1500 layers of butter and dough. Watch out Doughboy, I'm on your tail...




Starting Ingredients: Sifted Flour and Cold Marble.




Make a "well" with the flour and add the salt.




Add water into "well" and dissolve salt by hand.




Incorporate flour into salted water.

Mix into a loose ball.

Cut into pieces so as to not handle the dough too much.

And roll into final ball, slice an X into top to allow it to rise.

Take a ridiculous amount of butter.

Pound with a rolling pin to make more supple.

Butter will look like this and then fold in two.

Take out the dough that was resting in fridge and poke a hole in it. If the hole stays, it is ready.

Roll out four "tongues."

Fold the "tongues" over the butter.

To make a little packet of butter surrounded by dough.

Then roll it out.

Fold into thirds.

Roll out again.

Fold into thirds again and mark that you have done this two times in the dough with your fingers. Put in fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll out again.

Fold into fourths this time around.

Roll out again and then fold into fourths one more time as shown above. Put into fridge to rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the Rum Pastry Cream:

Simmer milk/cream and sugar.

Mix eggs, flan powder and sugar.

Add to milk/cream.

Stir vigorously so as to not burn it or make scrambled eggs.

It thickens to become this deliciousness.

Now add butter!!

And it becomes even more delicious!

To quickly cool it down, wrap in plastic and put in blast freezer.

The dough is ready to be finished now. Cut in two, making one half bigger. Use the bigger half and reserve the other for what you will see in Patisserie Part II.

The dough has to be rolled out to fit onto this baking sheet perfectly.

Once you have prayed for a miracle and rolled out the dough, then you must punish it with this medieval looking torture device so that air can permeate the dough while baking.

Brush baking sheet with water.

Place the "tortured" dough on it.

Bake in the oven.

And return to the Rum Pastry Cream.

Remove from freezer and add rum.

Melt even more butter and add to the rum and cold cream.

Whip in a mixer for 10 minutes.

And voila!

Time to take out the baked dough.

Golden, Delicious Puff Pastry.

Cut puff pastry into thirds lengthwise, pipe pastry cream and layer.

Cut final product into a somewhat edible size (this one is more suitable for Hagrid from Harry Potter or anyone else of a giant size, but hey while in France might as well live large!). Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with berries.