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Help caramelizing puff pastry

post #1 of 12
4/23/11 at 9:14pm
Thread Starter 

I've been making mille feuille and trying to caramelize my puff pastry. The method I use is to sprinkle superfine under my puff pastry sheet, bake for 8 minutes at 190 celsius. Then take the pastry out flatten it with a cookie sheet and return for another 8 minutes and finally flip the pastry and coat the bottom with more superfine and bake another 8 min. The product I end up with is a puff pastry that's coated with crunchy caramel on both sides, brown on the edges and just cooked in the center. My question is how can I get a product that actually looks like a proper caramelized puff pastry ( a golden brown colour throughout).

 

Much thanks in advance :)

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post #2 of 12
4/23/11 at 11:21pm

you have to laminate the dough with sugar. I.e. sprinkle with confectioners sugar, fold it and roll it back out into its original size and repeat. "Arlette pastry" is the technical term. What is this for? -You may be able to get away with one of my "cheats" Line up some sheets of phyllo dough brush with clarified butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Repeat several times until you have 1/4 in thickness. Place something flat and heavy on top like a sheet pan and bake until golden. Cut into desired sizes with a serrated knife, because its very delicate stuff!

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post #3 of 12
4/25/11 at 5:24am

Simbebe,

 

what do you want in the end? 1/4"-1/2" something light? Dobzre is spot on with arlettes.

Easier to know what you are making it for.

I would kick the temp to 200-205c

 

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post #4 of 12
4/25/11 at 8:20pm
Thread Starter 

I'm trying to make mille feuille and I'm aiming for 1/4" thickness. I think an arlette is exactly what I was thinking of. I guess my next question asides from getting proper caramelization is how to achieve a uniform colour. Should I be weighing the pastry down with a cookie sheet the entire time its baking or just flatten it the way I've mentioned in my first post? Another question that I just thought of; I made 3 lbs of puff pastry and I rolled it out before freezing it, how can I incorporate the confectioners into the dough? Would it be enough just to lightly roll it out a bit with confectioners before using it?

 

I'll definitely try 200-205c, I noticed that I didn't quite get the brown caramel colour I was looking for, more like a brown yellow right now.

Thanks for all the tips so far :)

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post #5 of 12
4/26/11 at 1:25pm

incorporate it in during the folding process. Seal your butter in and roll it out, sprinkle the surface generously with sugar, fold over roll out and repeat however many times you usually do. Weigh it down the entire time, the heat transfer from the metal sheet, will caramelize the sugar better.

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post #6 of 12
4/26/11 at 6:33pm
Thread Starter 

Won't the caramelization during baking prevent separating of the layers by steam?

 

And is there anyway of achieving the same effect as an arlette with the finished puff pastry dough that has already been rolled out?

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post #7 of 12
6/8/12 at 4:28pm

hi

i hope you understand a little bit of french...

Pate feuilletיe inversיe

La pגte feuilletיe inversיe prיsente divers avantages : elle est א la fois plus

croustillante et plus fondante, elle se rיtracte moins א la cuisson, et elle se

conserve mieux crue, congelיe.

Pour 2,3 kg

- 750 g de beurre sec (14 % d'humiditי) .

- 300 g de farine de gruau type 55

DֹTREMPE ET TOURAGE

-

700 g de farine type 45

30 g de fleur de sel

225 g de beurre sec (14 % humiditי)

300 g d'eau

5 g de vinaigre d'alcool blanc

 

Travaillez le beurre et la farine de faחon א les mיlanger intimement. Faחonnez

le mיlange en une boule aplatie, enveloppez de film יtirable et rיservez 1

heure au rיfrigיrateur.

Prיparez la dיtrempe en mיlangeant tous les ingrיdients, faחonnez- la en

carrי. Enveloppez-la de film יtirable et laissez-la reposer 1 heure au frais.

Enchגssez la dיtrempe dans le mיlange beurre-farine ; les deux prיparations

doivent avoir une texture identique. Donnez 2 tours doubles א 2 heures

d'intervalle en gardant la pגte au rיfrigיrateur entre chaque tour. Donnez

enfin 1 tour simple avant de dיtailler.

Vous pouvez stocker cette pגte feuilletיe au frais pendant plusieurs jours

au stade de 2 tours doubles.

 

 

this is exactly what you are looking for!!!

if you have ever had deux mille feuille in pierre herme in paris

thats the recipe for the dough.

amazing!!!

 

good luck

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post #8 of 12
6/10/12 at 5:20pm

So Ron have you done this before?

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post #9 of 12
6/11/12 at 7:41am

The recipe seems a tad different to what I've seen, maybe my french is "vieil et rouillé". What is fleur de sel / flower of salt?  

 

Dobzer is correct, it's the way I do it and it never fails. 

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post #10 of 12
6/11/12 at 8:01am

Your not Old and Rusty !

 

The poster used google translate and even that failed.

 

You can use just regular salt. Dobzre is spot on with her advice and technique .

 

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post #11 of 12
6/11/12 at 8:03am

'Fleur de sel' is a brand name of French sea salt.

In this case any sea salt would do.

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Only the smart ones are doing it while they are still alive.

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post #12 of 12
8/13/12 at 9:45pm

For mille feuille we actually don't start out by coating the puff dough at all.  We dock the sheet well, put it between 2 very flat pans and bake 20-25 minutes until it is evenly golden all the way though.  THEN we sprinkle the hot dough with superfine sugar and return it to the hot oven just until the sugar caramelizes 2 - 3 minutes.  The end result has a caramel glaze and is crisp and flaky all the way through.

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