Melanie Dupuis - Patisserie: Master The Art of French Pastry

Shortcrust pastry doesnt contain whole eggs, but the kneading coats the our grainsin fat; this means they dont stick together, which prevents the pastry having auniform hard layer after baking. During cooking, the starch grains in the our swellwhile the butter melts and joins all the grains together. The butter, therefore,serves as a sort of glue, and its this binding that creates the crumbly texture.

MAKES 1 24 CM ROUND BASE OR 8 8 CM ROUND BASES

200 g plain flour

100 g cold butter, cut into small cubes

50 g water

1 g salt

25 g caster sugar

15 g egg yolk

Make a mound of the flour with a well in the middle and place the butter in thewell.

Rub the butter into the flour using your fingers () until the mixture resemblesbreadcrumbs.

Add the water, salt, sugar and egg yolk. Mix into a dough using your fingers.

by flattening the dough twice using the heel of your hand.Check the smoothness and knead again if necessary; there must be no visible butterremaining.

Press flat, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, ideallyovernight.

Rubbing in the butter stops too many linkages forming between the ingredients. Withthis technique, no network of gluten forms and the pastry doesnt become too elastic.In addition, the sugar doesnt dissolve in the fat, which means a certain quantityof sugar remains as crystals. This adds to the sandy texture of the pastry.

MAKES 1 24 CM ROUND BASE OR 8 8 CM ROUND BASES

200 g plain flour

1 g salt

70 g cold butter, cut into small cubes

70 g icing sugar

50 g egg (1 egg)

Mix the flour and salt, then add the butter. until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, rubbing the whole mixture between yourhands without crushing it.

Add the icing sugar and the egg. Mix using a spatula until the dough has a uniformconsistency.

Press flat, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, ideallyovernight.

If the pastry isnt smooth enough, dont hesitate to knead it for a few more turns.Any remaining visible pieces of butter will melt during baking and leave holes inthe pastry.

Make the pastry 124 hours ahead.

MAKES 1 24 CM ROUND BASE OR 8 8 CM ROUND BASES

140 g butter,

100 g icing sugar

50 g egg (1 egg)

1 g fine salt

250 g plain flour

25 g almond meal

Cream the using a spatula.

Mix in the egg and the salt.

Add the flour and almond meal. Mix using the spatula.

by flattening the dough once or twice using the heel ofyour hand. Press flat, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour,ideally overnight.

HOW DOES THE FLAKINESS HAPPEN?

The principle of puff pastry is to enclose the butter in the layers of pastry, sothat during baking the water that evaporates from the pastry is trapped by the layerof butter and the steam makes the pastry puff up.

WHY DOES THE DTREMPE NEED TO BE RESTED?

When the water is mixed with the our, the starch grains swell up. The added butterinterposes itself between the swollen starch grains, and the wheat proteins forma network of gluten. During the resting period, the gluten network, greatly stretchedfrom working the pastry, shrinks back and gives the pastry a less rm texture.

WHY DO WE ADD WHITE VINEGAR?

White vinegar is an antioxidant that stops the pastry going grey.

CLASSIC USES

Tart base, turnover, Epiphany cake, mille-feuilles (vanilla slice), pithiviers. Itcan be lled or cooked plain in slabs (mille-feuilles).

OTHER USE

Palmiers

TIPS

Be careful not to overwork the pastry. Stop as soon as the mixture is smooth, becausetoo much elasticity means the pastry will shrink too much when it is stretched. Alwayscut the pastry neatly; dont roll it into a ball. Make no more than six turns. Beyondthat, the layers of pastry and butter will start to mix. When that happens, youllbe closer to shortcrust pastry than puff pastry. To remember how many turns youvemade, mark the pastry with your fingertips.

DERIVATIONS

Inverse puff pastry: in controlled conditions (18C), you can make inverse puff pastryby reversing the layers, i.e. by surrounding the dtrempe in the butter. You endup with more layers of butter than pastry, and the result is even crispier. Croissantdough: a yeast pastry where the butter is incorporated in the same way as for puffpastry.

ORGANISATION & STORAGE

Dtrempe incorporating butter + two turns two turns two turns Separate intoportions, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.

MAKES 1 KG PASTRY

DTREMPE

500 g plain flour