Recipe from Henry Hawkins courtesy of Bakels
What can go wrong and how to prevent it. You discover that your puff pastry, once baked, is not the quality you expected. What has happened? Can you identify the cause of the problem?
I know that we bakers have been making pastry for many years and that there are many high quality pastry products out there in the market. But after fielding many questions about pastry recently I feel that the following might help some members.
Just a few ingredients are usually needed to make pastry. The basic formula is in Recipe One below. By adding different ingredients you can change the flavour profile or texture or even the final bake colour, as in Recipe Two.
What follows here is some information on the functions of the basic ingredients. Flour
As in most bakery products, flour in pastry provides structure. The protein in the flour forms the gluten. There are specific flours in for pastry production. A flour with a protein content of about 10% is preferred.
Many bakers use the same high quality flour for pastry that is used for breads, which has about 13% protein. This can be OK but caution should be taken when mixing the dough
Factors of flour to take into consideration:
- Over-mixing of dough will lead to excessive gluten development which leads in turn to greater toughness in the baked pastry and possibly excessive shrinkage during baking.
- Higher protein flours can also cause toughness and shrinkage. Consider a slight increase in fat content should this happen.
Water
Water contributes to the toughness and strength of the crust due to the small amount of gluten development that takes place when mixing it into the dough. Varying water amounts will also affect dough consistency.
Water also helps to dissolve and disperse minor ingredients in the dough. (Salt is not dissolved in the water before mixing).
Water amounts used will vary due to the quality and ability of the flour to absorb it. On average, 20–30% (based on flour) water is used.
Factors to be considered:
- Water temperature is critical to pastry. 16°C average is recommended. Chilled or ice water might be needed in summer. Some bakers keep the flour in the fridge to help keep dough temperature down.
- The quality of the flour will make water amounts variable due to its ability to absorb water.
- Too much water will make pastry tough.
Fat
Fat plays a critical part in pastry and serves many functions.
Foremost, fat contributes to the tenderness of the product and the laminations between the fat and the dough provide flakiness.
Depending on the fat used, it could also contribute to the flavour.
The fat can also reduce the amount of moisture that migrates from the product, so improving keeping qualities.
The amount of fat used in pastry varies from 20% up to 100% (based on flour) with an average of 50–60% used. Naturally a higher fat percentage will make handling and sheeting of the dough more difficult.
Fat should be kept at optimum temperature so that it remains pliable, as temperature will affect when lamination takes place. The fat’s melting point is also important; too low and it will result in excessive sinking of the fat into the flour which leads to poor flake.
Too high a melting point may lead to a waxy texture. A top performing fat should have a melting point of between 47˚C and 52˚C.
Factors to consider:
- The condition of the fat is important. Don’t put it in the fridge as it will fragment, producing tiny hard lumps commonly called nibbing.
- Soft fats will lead to poor lamination, dramatically reducing flake and lamination.
- Care should be taken not to destroy the lamination when sheeting out dough.
Other Ingredients
Salt is added to serve as flavour for pastry. Colours can be added to provide crust colour. Mould inhibitors at very low rates can be used (0.1-0.3%) to prevent growth if the dough is stored in a refrigerator for a time. Laminating
Once the dough has been mixed and the fat has been incorporated by means of one of the three methods, Scotch, English or French, it should be rested for 30 minutes to several hours. This enables the gluten structure to relax and also enables the fat to firm.
When laminating it is suggested that you rest dough in the fridge between turns so that the dough relaxes and to keep the fat firm at all times.
Care should always be used when sheeting dough not to pin down too fast. This will destroy layers and stretch the dough.
Factors to consider:
- Careless sheeting will lead to excessive shrinkage or poor lamination which in turn will mean poor flake in the pastry.
- No resting will lead to excessive shrinkage during baking.
- Excessive dusting flour will lead to poor lamination.
Recipe 1
Group 1
Cold water - 500 grams
Egg - 250 grams
Salt - 10 grams
Milk powder - 40 grams
Sugar - 80 grams
Morah cake margarine - 50 grams
Flour - 1.3 Kg
Group 2
Morah Pastry Nuggets - 1.1 Kg
Method
Combine all group one and mix until clear, do not overmix.
Add group two using the English method.
Give this pastry three half-turns, resting between turns.
Recipe 2
Flour - 4 Kg
Salt - 50 grams
Besca Pastry Gems - 2.4 Kg
Cold water - 2.2 Kg
Method
Using the all-in method. Dissolve salt in water.
Place water, flour, then pastry gems in bowl.
Mix until clear, do not over mix.
Besca gems nuggets should still be clearly visible in the dough.
Allow dough to recover.
Give three book turns with a rest of at least 30 minutes in between turns.
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