PUFF PASTRY: Let's Discover How It's Made

Preparing puff pastry is harder to describe than to actually do, although honestly, there might be a bit of hesitation at first.

To make puff pastry, two doughs need to be prepared:

  1. A dough based on flour (“pastello”).
  2. A dough rich in butter, or another fat like vegetable margarine, with little flour (“panetto”).

Then comes the actual process. Let's see it with the typical 1:1 ratio, using 1 kg of flour and 1 kg of butter.

PASTELLO (DOUGH):

Take 700g of flour and knead it with salt and enough water to form a smooth, soft, but dry dough.

PANETTO (BUTTER DOUGH):

Take 300g of flour and knead it with 1 kg of butter until it forms a homogeneous and moderately firm dough. It is very important that the butter has the right consistency, meaning it should not be too hard (simply remove it from the fridge in time).

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 INITIAL PREPARATION:

First, roll out the pastello to a thickness of about 1-2 cm. Then roll out the panetto (which will be thicker) and place it in the center of the pastello, leaving some of the dough exposed on all sides. The edges of the pastello will be used to fold over the panetto, closing it completely. Seal it well with the edges of the pastello.

FIRST FOLDING:

Flour the surface and begin rolling out the dough to a thickness of about 2 cm. Always roll the dough from the same side, both stretching and flattening it. Once it reaches a thickness of about 1.5-2 cm, take one short side and fold it over itself by a third of the dough’s length. Then take the other short side and fold it over the entire dough. This is called a simple fold or a “three-fold.”


SECOND FOLDING:

Rotate the dough 90 degrees and continue rolling it out in the same direction. Once it reaches a thickness of about 2 cm, take both short sides and fold them toward the center, then fold again like a book, creating four layers. This is called a double fold or a “four-fold.”


THIRD AND FOURTH FOLDING:

Repeat the previous steps (another “three-fold” and then a “four-fold”). Remember to rotate the dough 90 degrees after each fold.

SHAPING:

After the last fold, roll the dough out to the desired thickness (2-4 mm) and then cut or use it depending on the shape of the pastry you wish to create.

WARNINGS:

The purpose of this explanation is to illustrate the steps for shaping puff pastry. No specific recipes are given, as the recipe itself is simple, although there are many different versions.

We would like to provide some typical cautions when working with this traditional recipe:

  • The flour used must be suitable for puff pastry, with a high "W" value (i.e., it must be very rich in gluten). It’s difficult to find this flour in regular shops and supermarkets.
  • When preparing the panetto, it is very important, as mentioned earlier, that the butter has the right consistency, so it should be taken out of the fridge some time before use (but should not be too soft).
  • Between each fold, the dough should be wrapped in parchment paper or a clean plastic cloth and placed in the fridge to "rest" for at least an hour.
  • After the last fold, before shaping and rolling out to the desired thickness, refrigerate it again. All these refrigeration steps are necessary to achieve a uniform and regular puff pastry after baking!
  • Instead of butter, there are specific plastic margarine sheets for puff pastry (see "product sheet"): this is the best and most practical choice for making a well-layered, flaky, and light product. If using this type of margarine, you no longer prepare the “panetto,” but instead use the margarine as is (so the flour used for the panetto will be added to the flour for the pastello).
  • Lastly, it should be noted that not everyone follows the folding system mentioned here, which is the most common. Some people prefer to do 3 four-folds or 3 three-folds.