These pastry making guides compliment our recipes section.
Puff Pastry Vol-au-Vents
Puff pastry is similar to flaky pastry but has more layers and it’s very rich – but light at the same time.
Puff pastry is ideal for vol-au-vent cases and sweet or savoury pie crusts.
Whilst puff pastry isn’t very difficult to make it is time consuming and it does require some patience! As it’s time consuming, it’s advisable to make in a large batch in one go and freeze the excess for another day. Double wrap in cling film prior to freezing.
Because of the time it takes to make puff pastry, many people prefer to buy it ready made, often frozen. But if you take the time to make it yourself you control the quality of the ingredients.
Puff Pastry Ingredients:
- 8 oz (225 g) plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoonful lemon juice
- Water
- 8 oz (225 g) butter
Method for Making Puff Pastry:
- Sieve the flour and salt together in a bowl and mix to a firm paste with the lemon juice and water.
- Turn on to a lightly floured board and knead well until the paste is smooth.
- Roll out into an oblong.
- Lay the butter on one half of the dough. Fold the other half of dough over the butter and seal the edges with the rolling pin.
- Roll out to a strip and fold the pastry in three, sealing the edges firmly. Leave covered for 10 minutes.
- Roll and fold the pastry seven times in all, leaving it covered in the fridge for 10 minutes between every other rolling.
- The pastry is improved if left covered for several hours or overnight in the fridge before using.
Tip: It’s easy to lose track of how many times you’ve rolled and folded. Using a knife, mark what number you’re at on the pastry as you go. Roman numerals are easier to mark than our normal numbers.
Pastry Making Guides
- Pastry Making – Basic Guide & Tips to How to Make Pastry
- How to Make Filo (Phyllo) Pastry
- How to Make Cheese Pastry
- How to Make Choux Pastry
- How to Make Flaky Pastry
- How to Make Fleur Pastry
- How to Make Hot Water Pastry
- How to Make Puff Pastry
- How to Make Rough Puff Pastry
- How to Make Shortcrust Pastry
- How to Make Suet Pastry
- How to Make Potato Pastry
