light rough puff pastry
I know what you’re thinking. Me, too. I made some, um, let’s not call them resolutions—suggestions, yes, that sounds better. I made some suggestions to myself to let go of the decadence December brought to my eating habits. I also decided I needed to get much better about being physically active. I never had to think about that when I lived in a city. Ever since leaving Brooklyn two years ago, physical activity beyond the steps taken from apartment door to car door, is something I have to plan. But see, that’s where this recipe for Light Rough Puff Pastry comes in. Life is supposed to be lived in moderation, right?
I began tinkering around with rough puff pastry and making galette des rois last January. By time my testing was done, the train had left the station on the Epiphany, so I’ve been saving these two recipes for you AN ENTIRE YEAR. Do you know how much patience that took people? Well, a lot, in case you needed me to clarify. During those trials last year, I found that I actually preferred this lighter version, using half the butter than normal (puff pastry is generally a 1:1 ratio of butter to flour). I know, I was surprised, too. Sometimes more isn’t better, at least not when the pastry is being used to envelope a sweet, creamy almond filling, as is the case with making a Galette Des Rois.
Admittedly, I was nervous about trying my hand at puff pastry. That might seem surprising for a somewhat experienced baker like myself, but butter is expensive. And French butter—well, that’s veering into second mortgage territory.
Surprisingly, making your own is incredibly easy (no, really). Especially when you go with this Light Rough Puff Pastry recipe (ready to use in only 1 hour!). It’s not overly fussy, and a lot less expensive than procuring a good quality brand of store-bought puff pastry (good-quality being the key word for me). So, there you have it. Do with this recipe as you may. As for me, I’ve got one or two more Galette Des Rois to make!
This recipe is now part of my new site, Simmering. It can be found by searching the archives here.
Caroyln
I’m super excited about this recipe. I have seen a lot of quick puff pastry recipes before, but never been inspired to try them until now – especially with the savings in butter and time! Just curious, is there a scientific reason about rolling the dough in only one direction? Is it what you’d recommend for all laminated dough or just this quick recipe? I’ve made laminated dough the traditional way a number of times, and often the first fold is a book fold (not a letter fold). Would there be harm in doing that as the first fold for this recipe? It creates another set of layers right off the bat. Many thanks!
Jennifer Perillo
Hi Carolyn,
I don’t see any reason you can’t do a bookfold. I want to make this recipe very user-friendly and unfussy, which is why I went with the letter fold. Let us know if you give it a try?
As for rolling in one direction only, it’s to help avoid any shrinkage in the dough once it’s baked (same reason why you should only roll in one direction for piecrusts).
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Jennie