[gbhunter]

I made a puff pastry earlier today and it was the right height, but when you went to cut it it was raw dough on the inside? I tried ccoking it longer but it only burnt the outside and inside was still raw dough. Am I doing something wrong? Can anybody help me with this problem?

[larcito]

I know it sounds obvious but try dropping your temperature slightly. If that fails, mix your fat with a little flour (about 10%) and if you are putting sugar in your mix, cut that out to prevent overcaramelisation and consequent burning.

Hope this helps!

[Pete]

Is your puff pastry homemade or is it store bought? At what temperature did you bake it at?

[gbhunter]

Its home made and I tried it at 400F

[momoreg]

Try rolling it thinner, and if possible, put a sheet of parchment and a sheetpan over it for the first half of baking, then remove the pan. This will also help it rise more evenly.

[Suzanne]

I'd love to keep this thread here, but it really belongs on the Pastry board. (Thanks, momoreg, for coming over and helping out! )

[gbhunter]

I bought a store made puff pastry and they both came out the same.. But it seems my pastry is a little more greasy. Too much butter perhaps? Too much butter in the dough maybe? Butter has too high fat content? I used that Plurga european butter. Also it seems that mine required a little more heat to puff up to the same height. the dough inside is not raw its just looks like dough that has been dunked in oil.

[cape chef]

Start at 425 F, after you get rise, bring it down to 350 F, this will cook out the raw dough.

[panini]

Cape Chef is right on. Puff really needs a kick to start. I wouldn't hesitate to go 450 conventional. You need to get the butter to fry those layers. And yes, drop it down.
pan

[cape chef]

Originally Posted by panini

Cape Chef is right on. Puff really needs a kick to start. I wouldn't hesitate to go 450 conventional. You need to get the butter to fry those layers. And yes, drop it down.
pan

Panini,

Just for clarifications purposes. the butter doesn't fry, it releases steam that acts as the leaven.Right ?

[Jock]

Originally Posted by cape chef

Panini,

Just for clarifications purposes. the butter doesn't fry, it releases steam that acts as the leaven.Right ?

That's right. Also, while you are rolling the dough if it gets too warm the butter can "leak" out between the layers of flour. That's why your product ends up swimming in fat.

I have heard that Plugra and other European style butters are much richer and have a lower water content than American butters and you need to cut down on the amount called for. I've only used it a few time for croisants (sp?) and I found that reducing it by 25% worked best.

Jock

[castironchef]

Also, invest in a quality oven thermometer.

[panini]

CC,
Right, I ment, you just need to get the butter moving. If you don't get that internal heat soon enough, the butter in the middle will seep and get soggy. That's just from what I know and probably not fact.

[cape chef]

Temp is very important.

Your detrempe and butter need to be at the same temp when you do your first in-closure.When I teach this to my students I use buttered toast as an example.If your butter is to cold it will tear the toast, if to warm it will smear and leak through the toast (the way I like toast )so everything must be at the correct temp.Also, you must remember to retard your fuilliette at least 20/30 minutes between turns.

[Jock]

I don't mean to contradict you Cape Chef but I always thought the butter and detrempe should be the same firmness, not necessarily the same temperature. I mean, if they are both say, 50 degrees the butter will be quite firm but the detrempe will be fairly soft. To have them both the same firmness the detrempe should be colder than the butter, say 45 degrees to the butter's 60 degrees. What do you think?

Jock