Puff the Magic Pastry

In the land of Honalee, Puff Pastry may be very well magical since it raises to great volume and even expansion without the help of yeast. However in reality, to my much dismay, it is simply achieved by the folding and rolling techniques and bake over high heat to create a light, crisp surface and  flaky internal structure. A very simple dough to begin with (of flour, butter and cold water), puff pastry is however not as easy as it sounds.

There are 3 types of puff pastry:

• Full puff - 100% fat of the flour weight
• 3/4 puff - 75% fat of the flour weight
• 1/2 puff - 50% fat of the flour weight

Pastry margarine is incorporated into the rested dough via 2 methods: English & French. Pastry margarine is perfect since it has higher melting point so in room temperature, it is still in block form and easy to mold. Meanwhile, to create the puff pastry, set the oven temperature between 200-220 degrees C.

Cake flour/bread flour.............................................500g
Butter........................................................................50g
Salt............................................................................3g (not necessary if salted butter is used)
Cold water................................................................250g

Enclosing:
Pastry Margarine.....................................................375g

1. Mix the flour and salt in a mixing bowl evenly using a hook.
2. Add cold water and butter (take control over the water). Once a smooth dough is form, gather it into a smooth ball.
3. Wrap in plastic and rest for 30mins
4. There are 2 methods of enclosure (English & French). English method is as follows:
• roll our the dough into a large rectangle.
• wrap the 375g margarine in cling film. 
• soften, flatten and form the pastry margarine into an even square block (2cm thick) covers the bottom 2/3 the size of the dough rectangle.
• fold down the top so it covers half the margarine.
• fold the bottom third over the centre and now the butter is now enclosed.
• using a rolling pin, beat the dough lightly so margarine inside is evenly distributed and roll into a rectangle.
• before folding, dust off excess flour.
• fold down the top part to the centre and bottom part to the centre (sides meeting).
• now it looks like an opened book. Fold in the centre as if closing a book. 
• rest the dough for 30mins before doing another similar fold.

I shall post some step by step diagrams and pictures soon...