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Puff Pastry

post #1 of 15
1/8/11 at 11:42pm
Thread Starter 

Hi! This is my 1st time making puff pastry alone. We made one but it was years ago, i just wanna ask if I got the right amount of puff. I'm asking because:

 

1. I used margarine ins place of butter or shortening.

2. I kinda had some butter sticking to my work area as I was rolling the dough, but not that much.

3. I got the feeling that I applied too much pressing while rolling it.

4. I only rested it for 5-6 hours.

5. I did more than 4-6 turns. This is what I fear the most since most sites suggests only 4-6 and I feel by doing more layers, they will merge because of too much stress.

 

Here's the picture.

P1090020.JPG

 

Thank you so much :D

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post #2 of 15
1/9/11 at 5:02am

Hi ya,

It's tough making puff with marg. One of the problems is that when you rest the dough

between folds, the marg usually does not harden to the same consistancy as the dough.

Which really is the key to puff.

Weather using single or book folds, and extra fold should not cripple the dough.

good luck

panini

Never! Live To Work!:::::::Work To Live!::Life Is To Short!!
Paninicakes.com

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post #3 of 15
1/9/11 at 6:25am
Thread Starter 

'So basically you're saying that I did something 'not' good? o.o

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post #4 of 15
1/9/11 at 7:25am

He is saying do not use margarine.

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post #5 of 15
1/9/11 at 8:01am
Thread Starter 

Yeah so basically, if I use butter, the result will be FAR better than this or will it still be unnoticable to the untrained eye and palette? I'm asking this because there is a scarcity in good quality butter here.

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post #6 of 15
1/9/11 at 10:57am

It really is all about butter in a good puff pastry.  So much of the puff pastry that is sold in stores is not all-butter and to me it tastes inferior to an all-butter puff pastry.  So I guess the bottom line is - are you satisfied with the taste of puff pastry made with margarine?

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post #7 of 15
1/9/11 at 12:24pm
Thread Starter 

Good question. I actually hate the smell of margarine.... With that said, i'll try to find the best butter available here and give it a shot :)

 

What about baking puff pastry with shortening? 

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post #8 of 15
1/9/11 at 12:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by reyesryanmjaube View Post

Good question. I actually hate the smell of margarine.... With that said, i'll try to find the best butter available here and give it a shot :)

 

What about baking puff pastry with shortening? 

I don't believe you will be successful, the moisture in the butter, 15-20%, creates the steam necessary for the "puff", at least that is what I've been told.
 

Chef,
Specialties: MasterCook/RecipeFox; Culinary logistics; Personal Chef; Small restaurant owner; Caterer
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post #9 of 15
1/9/11 at 9:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteMcCracken View Post



Quote:
Originally Posted by reyesryanmjaube View Post

Good question. I actually hate the smell of margarine.... With that said, i'll try to find the best butter available here and give it a shot :)

 

What about baking puff pastry with shortening? 

I don't believe you will be successful, the moisture in the butter, 15-20%, creates the steam necessary for the "puff", at least that is what I've been told.
 


Huh? I was told that margarine has more water content than butter. And yeah, a quick google search proved this.

 

"The Food and Drug Administration says that before a product can call itself a "margarine," it has to be at least 80 percent fat by weight. Most of the other 20 percent is water."

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0813/is_n9_v17/ai_9139888/

 

 

"Fine butter and salted butter (salt content approx. 2 %) may have a water content of 14 % to 18 

% at the most after delivery by the butter worker.  The quality criteria stipulate that only butter 
with a max. water content of 16% may be sold.  If the moisture content is too low, on the other 
hand, the butter specific characteristics may be adversely affected. "
 
 
And believe it or not, I also relied in that theory so I was not hesitant to use margarine. Here's my post in another forum.
 
"You'll be surprised, I only used the cheapest margarine I can find. Dari Creme. In theory, the fat separates the layers of the dough and the steam 'puffs' it up. I've learned that most bakers or pastry chefs tend to lean away from any type of margarine because of its distinct artificial flavor (can't do anything about that) and high water content. That made me think. If my layer separators (butter) have more water in it and water turns to steam when baked, the greater it will rise. So I tried it and as you can see, I got decent results. (I applied the pate a choux theory... in a way)"
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post #10 of 15
1/9/11 at 9:18pm

If I'm not mistaken, your question was about shortening, not margarine.

 

Unless I am badly misinformed, shortening has NO water, and you are correct, margarine does contain water.

 

My apologies if I was unclear.

Chef,
Specialties: MasterCook/RecipeFox; Culinary logistics; Personal Chef; Small restaurant owner; Caterer
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post #11 of 15
1/9/11 at 10:43pm
Thread Starter 

Oh I'm sorry too. I just woke up when I typed that lol.

 

You're right, I believe that shortening does not contain water. But I know some that insists that they use shortening for it gives the best texture and butter gives the best flavor. I don't really know. I havent seen a 'shortening puffed' puff pastry. I might give it a try though.

 

 

Any thoughts on this?

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post #12 of 15
1/10/11 at 7:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by reyesryanmjaube View Post

Oh I'm sorry too. I just woke up when I typed that lol.

 

You're right, I believe that shortening does not contain water. But I know some that insists that they use shortening for it gives the best texture and butter gives the best flavor. I don't really know. I havent seen a 'shortening puffed' puff pastry. I might give it a try though.

 

 

Any thoughts on this?

I think those comments may be directed primarily at pie doughs, off the top of my head I cannot recall which is which, but one leads to flakyness and the other to tenderness. Butter, obviously, contributes more taste. I use a mixture of 50-50 or 60-40 butter-lard (when I can get it, otherwise shortening)
 

Chef,
Specialties: MasterCook/RecipeFox; Culinary logistics; Personal Chef; Small restaurant owner; Caterer
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post #13 of 15
1/11/11 at 5:02am

The least expensive all butter puff is at Trader Joe's.   Dufour is wonderful but the only place I can buy it where I live is at Whole Foods and it is $10 a sheet.

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post #14 of 15
1/11/11 at 5:35am

The finished product doesn't look right, it seems so wet or oily for lack of a better  term, sort of like it's not fully cooked.. also there is no discernible colour.  Deviating from the suggested methods may result in an inferior product, but not one that is or should be vastly different from the ideal.

 

A little butter sticking to the board, too many folds (unless you did it fifty times), or pressing it too much (it needs to be rolled out so you have to apply a decent amount of elbow grease) are not problems that should destroy your puff.

"If it's chicken, chicken a la king. If it's fish, fish a la king. If it's turkey, fish a la king." -Bender
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post #15 of 15
1/11/11 at 10:43pm
Thread Starter 

Are you talking about the center being wet? if so, that's the filling. Here's an enhanced photo for you to see.

 

edit.jpg

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