25ml white wine vinegar (this helps prevent the formulation of gluten)
750g unsalted butter, cut into large pieces
Method
First make the dough, place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and rub the butter in using your fingertips until it’s incorporated and invisible. You can also do this step using the paddle attachment in a stand mixer if preferred.
Mix together the water and white wine vinegar in a separate bowl, then pour into the bowl and mix until a dough forms. Do not overmix.
Wrap the dough in Clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Prepare the butter by pounding it into the size of roughly, an A5 sheet of paper, between two large sheets of baking paper with a rolling pin. Wrap the butter sheet in Clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or until it’s the same temperature as the chilled dough).
Now you need to laminate the butter into the dough. Dust the work surface lightly with flour. With a short side nearest to you, gently roll pout the dough vertically until it’s only slightly longer than an A4 sheet of paper. Place the butter on the bottom two-thirds of the dough.
Fold the top third of the dough down over half of the butter and then fold the bottom third (with the rest of the butter on it) up over the first fold.
Turn the dough 90 degrees to the right. This is called a single turn.
Roll the dough (with the butter in it) vertically again to the same size as before and about 1cm thick. (Try to roll in one direction only to prevent widening your strip of dough- you only want to elongate it. Flour the rolling pin and work surface and turn the dough over from time to time if needed, to prevent it from sticking).
Then fold the top third down and the bottom third up and over the first third once again.
Turn by 90 degrees, and repeat again.
Cover and rest in the fridge for 2 hours.
Take the pastry out of the fridge roughly 15 minutes before you plan to work with it again. Rotate the puff pastry a quarter clockwise after resting and before rolling out again. It should look like a book that you can open out before you begin rolling. Repeat the same process as before to make two more single turns (letter folds), and then wrap and rest in the fridge again for another 2 hours.
Make two final single turns, then wrap and rest again for a minimum of 2 hours before using. You should have made sic single turns (letter folds) in total.
Your chilled puff pastry is now ready to use. Puff pastry will keep (wrapped) for up to 3 days in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer.
As it is quite time consuming, I find it best to make a large block, then cut it down to smaller pieces and store in the freezer so I always have some ready to go.
Defrost the pastry in the fridge before baking.
PALMIERS
Ingredients
1 quantity of puff pastry recipe
Plain flour, for dusting
80g caster sugar
Method
Line a flat baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
Once you have your puff pastry all made and chilled as per the recipe it is ready to use for Palmiers.
Take your block of puff pastry and cut it in half, then roll out each portion of pastry on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle about 5mm. it should measure approx. 38 x40cm.
Sprinkle the sheets of pastry evenly all over with 40g of the caster sugar.
Working with one sheet at a time, starting from one of the long edges, roll each sheet of pastry up tightly to the centre, then repeat from the other side so that the two rolls meet in the middle to make a palm leaf or butterfly shape.
Transfer both scrolls to the lined baking tray and chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C and line tow rimmed baking trays with baking paper.
Place two small pieces of baking paper on the workbench to help roll the Palmiers, and put the remaining 40g caster sugar in a small bowl which you can use to dip each Palmier in before rolling.
Working with one ‘scroll’ at a time, cut each chilled pastry roll across into 2.5-3cm slices.
Take each slice, one at a time, and dip into the sugar on both of the flat (cut) sides, then place each one onto one piece of baking paper, place the other piece of baking paper on top and use a rolling pin to roll it out, lengthways, to approx. 2mm thickness.
Transfer each Palmier to the lined baking trays, leaving space between each one.
Repeat for each palmier to make approx. 20 in total.
Bake for 18 minutes before flipping over and returning to the oven for a further 4 minutes, or until deep golden, caramelised & flaky.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the trays before serving.
These are best enjoyed on the day they are baked, even while still slightly warm, with a cuppa!
Leftover will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Make sure you separate them with baking paper to stop them sticking together.
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