Puff pastry is another one of my staple bakeshop doughs. It is a dough that is sure to impress for all occasions. Although, the process takes some time, it is not difficult. It also can be made and frozen ahead of any event or kitchen project which makes it handy. I had my foray into puff pastry via Michael James’ cookbook, The Tivoli Road Baker. He might be one of my favorite bakers as his methods are in depth, thorough, always delicious, and maintain a classic characteristic that I find ideal in baking. He is Australian residing in Melbourne. His puff pastry is used for a variety of hand pies in his book and I fell in love.

Puff Pastry is a nice stepping stone to croissant work as the lamination process is the same but the dough is not leavened. This makes working with puff not as time sensitive and easier to work. The dough itself is similar to pie dough. Working with flour, water, salt, butter and in this case white vinegar. It is important to keep the dough chilled so temperature is important and must be considered.

In this tutorial we will be using our puff for a French holiday galette, the Galette des Rois. This is a simple pastry made for the Three Kings Holiday on January 6th. I would suggest making the dough the day before and shaping and baking the tart the second day. Although this is specific to the 6th, the galette is often made throughout the month of January and serves delicious with coffee in the morning. The Galette des Rois is made with two things, puff pastry and frangipane. Frangipane is an almond cream made from sugar, butter, almonds, pastry cream and a dash of brandy. Frangipane is also the main component in the Almond Croissant. So, as I like to promote here in the Sac(k), all of theses recipes can be used and reused in many variations. Often I will use similar elements in baking to produce a variety of products. As we continue to grow here, everything will start to connect and play off each other in your kitchen. This is when creativity begins to flourish.

INGREDIENTS:

680 GRAMS FLOUR, 300 GRAMS COLD WATER, 20 GRAMS WHITE VINEGAR, 20 GRAMS SALT, 1/4 POUND BUTTER

PLUS 1 POUND BUTTER TO LAMINATE INTO DOUGH

PROCESS

I really suggest watching the tutorial for this process. It is a bit lengthy but complete. It will guide you through the process of making the dough, making the butter block, and laminating in the butter layers. You will want a rolling pin, a scale, a bench knife/dough scraper and parchment paper. I will give a brief run down of the process below but for a more accurate understanding, the video is helpful.

THE DOUGH:

Scale out the ingredients. Combine the water, salt and vinegar together in a measuring cup. Pour out the flour onto a clean surface. Lay the sliced butter pieces of 1/4 pound of butter onto the flour and dust butter with flour. Roll the butter into the dough to create shards. Scrape back into a pile. Roll a second time, scrape and roll a third time. Once you have brought the shaggy flour into a pile make a well in the center. Pour the water, salt and vinegar into the well a bit at a time. Chop the water into the flour and butter. Once all of the water is in the dough scrunch the dough together with your hands. Do this gently and without too much work. We do not want to over work the dough. Bring the dough together in a ball. Wrap in parchment paper and plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for a few hours.

THE BUTTER BLOCK:

Take two pieces of parchment, roughly 12x16 inches. Lay on top of eachother and fold in all four sides to make a rectangular mold for your butter. On a floured table break your pound of butter up and sprinkle with flour. Knead and mold your butter into a ball. You do not want your butter too warm or too cold. Just right is what we’re aiming for! Separate the parchment paper. Dust one with flour and place the butter onto the paper. Press down and cover with the other piece of parchment. Fold edges and flip upside down. With rolling pin, roll the butter out to the edges and corners of the parchment mold. Chill butter block in fridge until ready to laminate. Pull block and let warm slightly before rolling into the dough. If it is too warm it will run and blend into the dough, if it is too cold it will crack.

LAMINATING PUFF PASTRY:

Roll out your dough into a rectangle long and wide enough to hold the butter block and encase it with the edges of the dough. Peel off the top layer of parchment from the butter and flip the butter into the middle of the dough. Peel off the other layer of parchment carefully so as not to tear or crack the butter. Fold the edges of dough over the butter to cover. Seam the dough shut. Roll the dough into a rectangle again. Tri fold the dough onto itself like folding a letter. This is actually called a letter fold. Wrap in parchment and chill for 30-45 minutes.

Take the dough out of the fridge and repeat the rolling and folding process. Trim the edges if they look shaggy or rough before you fold the dough. Chill again. And repeat process one more time. You will have done three folds when all is said and done. Wrap in parchment and place in the fridge overnight or until you are ready to use. Congratulations! You have made Puff Pastry!

The Galette des Rois, is also called King’s Cake. It has roots in Ancient Rome where the Romans would celebrate the return of longer days with sweets during the roman holiday Saturnalia. They would put a bean inside the cake to represent prosperity and fertility. During the Middle Ages the Benedictine monks in France would celebrate the Three Kings visit to Christ on Epiphany. This is celebrated on January 6th. The cake was made with puff pastry and almond frangipane. Today, the cake is eaten throughout January to celebrate the New Year. Tradition states that a small figurine is hidden in the cake and whoever gets the slice with the fe’ve gets to be king or queen for the day.

This tradition of bread for Three Kings day runs through many cultures. Last year I spent time watching and learning from Chris Herrera on the Avenue. He makes Rosca de Reyes breads this time every year and calls it Rosca Day. (click here for a look into Rosca Day at Panaderia Herrera)

GALETTE DES ROIS VIDEO TUTORIAL:

TO MAKE THE FRANGIPANE:

1 CUP CONFECTIONER SUGAR, 1/2 CUP BUTTER AT ROOM TEMP, 1 CUP SLICED ALMONDS CHOPPED, 1 EGG, 1 EGG YOLK, 4 TEASPOONS CORNSTARCH, 1 CUP PASTRY CREAM, A PINCH OF SALT AND A DASH OF BRANDY

In a mixer, mix the butter, and powdered sugar. Add in the almonds. Add the egg and egg yolk, the cornstarch, the salt. Add in the pastry cream and then finally a dash of the brandy. Place in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

You can easily double this recipe if you need more frangipane.

You can find access to the pastry cream recipe and tutorial here on the Profiterole recipe page.

WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL ABOVE FOR MORE IN DEPTH INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR GALETTE.

But below is a rough breakdown.

Roll out your dough to maybe an 1/8 inch thick. You will have enough dough to make two mid sized galettes. You may get as creative as you want with size and shape though, so don’t let what I say deter you from more artistic ideas. Make or find a template to trace and cut out your shapes. You will need a top and bottom for both galettes, four round pieces. Chill back dough for a few minutes before filling. Place your bottoms on a sheet tray and spread a few spoonfuls of frangipane over the dough, leaving roughly 1/2 inch edge. Make an egg wash of 2 egg yolks and 4 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover the edges with egg wash. This will help seal the top puff pastry piece to the bottom piece. Once sealed together crimp the edges for a decorative look. Egg wash the top and score lightly with a knife. Chill back for 5-10 minutes before baking off in a 400 degree F oven. Bake until puffy and golden.