Pastry
Puff pastry
Also called puff, rough puff
Laminated dough of butter and flour that rises into shatter — the lid of a vanilla slice. You usually buy it. Rough puff is a home shortcut, still puff, less even. This is not phyllo (stacked leaves) and not shortcrust.
Origin
European laminated pastry. The frozen block is what a home vanilla slice actually stands on. Butter pastry tastes of dairy; margarine pastry tastes of the fryer.
Flavour
Buttery when the fat is butter; otherwise greasy. Underbaked puff tastes of raw flour and oil.
How it is made
A lean dough is wrapped around butter and folded so thin sheets of fat steam apart in a hot oven. Keep it cold or the butter melts in and you get a cracker.
How to use it
Thaw in the fridge. Bake from cold on a hot tray so the butter explodes into steam. For a vanilla slice lid, weigh the sheet with a second tray if you want it flat enough to ice. Egg-wash the top, not the cut edges. Wet fillings go on baked shells. Do not reroll scraps into a fine lid — they go tough; use them for palmiers.
Storage
Freezer, then fridge to thaw still wrapped. Refreeze only if it stayed cold. Trim dried edges.
Recipes using it
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