The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts

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5 SESSION

Session 5

PÂTE FEUILLETÉE: AN OVERVIEW OF PUFF PASTRY

Pâte Feuilletée: An Overview of Puff Pastry

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Theory Puff pastry, rich, light, and delicious, is the base for a wide variety of sweet and savory dishes in the classic French culinary repertoire. Having a nice, even rise, it is used for pies, tarts, allumettes (puff pastry strips), and vols-au-vent (puff pastry shells), as well as many other dishes. It has an elegant and refined image that, for generations, has been surrounded with mystique. Throughout its history, puff pastry has been known as time-consuming to prepare, complicated to master, and, with its luxurious use of butter, expensive to make. Although it is true that it is time-consuming and somewhat expensive, given the proper attention, puff pastry—contrary to its reputation—is not particularly difficult to make.

Literally translated, the French term pâte feuilletée or feuilletage means “leaved dough” and refers to its thin layers. The term itself goes back to fifteenth-century France, where pastry cooks and guildsmen prepared rolled and folded pastries from a layered dough made with butter. This early dough was probably quite primitive compared to the light, flaky pastry of today; however, through evolution, it has come down to us as flaky pastries, such as marzipan turnovers, and the butter-based pastries croissants and brioches that are so popular in contemporary pastry kitchens. The first recorded recipe for pâte feuilletée appeared in a book called Pâtissier françois in 1654. A recipe for mille-feuilles (“a thousand leaves,” referring to the dough’s many layers) first appeared in 1651 in a tome entitled Le cuisinier français; it is the pastry we Americans know as a Napoleon (see page 00).

Pastry guilds, established in the Middle Ages, were abolished by decree in 1776. However, late-eighteenth-century and early-nineteenth-century pastry chefs, including the renowned Antonin Carême, who is credited with the invention of vols-au-vent and croquembouches, would continue to refine and perfect pâte feuilletée. During this period, puff pastry was taken to new heights with elaborate and fanciful creations, many of them the delicate pastries of the classic French repertoire.

According to the culinarian’s bible, Larousse Gastronomique, puff pastry was known and made as far back as ancient Greece and Rome, where it began as a phyllo-like layered pastry made with oil. A mention of puff pastry is found in a fourteenth-century charter drawn up by the Bishop of Amiens. However, it seems that its techniques were perfected by two seventeenth-century cooks, a chef named Feuillet, who served as pastry cook to an aristocratic family, and the renowned French landscape painter Claude Lorrain, who also happened to have served a pastry apprenticeship in his youth. Some historians credit Feuillet as the inventor, some credit Lorrain, but whoever it was, by the eighteenth-century pâte feuilletée was firmly entrenched in the French pastry kitchen.

Several specialized terms are associated with the making of puff pastry. The process begins with a simple dough composed of flour, salt, water, and melted butter called a détrempe and a block of butter called a

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3 SESSION

Demonstration Tarte Bourdaloue (Pear and Almond Tart Bourdaloue Style) Makes one 9-inch tart Estimated time to complete: 90 minutes Equipment

TA R T E S : A N O V E R V I E W O F B A S I C F R E N C H TA R T D O U G H S

Ingredients Flour for dusting 1 recipe Pâte Brisée (see page 00) 3 firm ripe pears, peeled 2 liters (2 1/4 quarts) dry white wine 3 vanilla beans, split in half lengthwise Juice of 5 lemons 1 kilogram (2 1/4 pounds) sugar 250 grams (8 3/4 ounces) Crème d’Amandes (see page 00) 50 grams (1 3/4 ounces) slivered raw almonds For the nappage 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) apricot jam

Prepare your mise en place.

Lightly flour a clean, flat work surface. Place the dough in the center of the floured surface and, using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 28-centimeter (11-inch) circle about 3 millimeters (1/8 inch) thick.

Using a pastry brush, lightly brush off excess flour.

Lift the dough gently, fold it in half over the rolling pin, and slip it, still folded, into the tart pan. Unfold the circle to cover the bottom of the pan and remove the rolling pin.

Slowly turning the pan, gently push the dough into

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Rolling pin Pastry brush One 9-inch tart pan Large shallow pot Paring knife Slotted spoon Plate Docker or kitchen fork Standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment Rubber spatula Pastry bag fitted with large, plain tip Offset spatula Chef’s knife Melon baller Cutting board Wire rack Small saucepan Small bowl Small fine-mesh sieve the bottom and against the edges using quick, light pressing movements, taking care not to pull or stretch the dough and making certain there are no holes. Do not trim off the excess dough, as it should chill so it does not shrink when baked. Transfer the pan to the refrigerator and allow the dough to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the pears.

Combine the wine with an equal amount of water in a large, shallow pot. Using a small, sharp knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla beans into the wine. Add the scraped beans along with the lemon juice and

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6 SESSION

Demonstration Crème Pâtissière (Pastry Cream) Makes about .5 liter (2 cups) Estimated time to complete: 30 minutes

CRÉMES ET FLANS: AN OVERVIEW OF CREAMS AND CUSTARDS

Ingredients 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature 1 large whole egg 50 grams (1 3/4 ounces) pastry cream powder (see page 00) 128 grams (4 1/2 ounces) sugar 473 milliliters milk (2 cups) whole milk 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise Unsalted butter for coating surface, optional Prepare your mise en place.

Combine the egg yolks, whole egg, and pastry cream powder with half of the sugar in a mixing bowl, whisking until the mixture is well blended and lightly colored.

Place the milk in a russe. Using a small sharp knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk.

Add the bean, along with the remaining sugar, and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat.

Whisking constantly, pour about one third of the hot milk into the egg mixture to temper it. Whisk the tempered mixture into the hot milk in the russe.

Place the mixture over high heat and, whisking constantly, return it to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly with a whisk and taking care to scrape the bottom and lower inner edges of the pan for 2 minutes, or until thick and smooth.

Remove the cream from the heat and pour it into a large shallow pan, spreading it out with a spatula to

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Equipment Mixing bowl Whisk Russe Small sharp knife Large shallow pan Spatula Plastic film

SIDEBAR

Crème Pâtissière can be made in many different flavors. The flavorings—such as 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) melted bittersweet chocolate or nut paste. or 30 milliliters (1 ounce) liqueur, or 10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) of any pure extract—are added just before the cream is fully cooked.

hasten cooling. Remove and discard the vanilla bean.

Cover the surface of the pastry cream with a piece of plastic film placed directly over the top. Alternatively, brush the surface with melted, unsalted butter to prevent the formation of skin (tamponner). Set aside to cool, then refrigerate until ready to use.

NOTES

Do not let the eggs stand after adding the sugar, as the sugar will dehydrate the egg yolk, reducing its ability to incorporate into the mix. This is referred to as “burning” the eggs.

Once milk and eggs are combined and placed over heat they will burn easily; therefore, it is essential that the mixture be stirred constantly.

Boiling the cream activates the starch as a thickener and eliminates any raw starch taste.

Once cooked and cooled, pastry cream can be held in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

The cream should be smooth, without lumps, dried skin, or “burnt” eggs.

The cooked cream should have no raw starchy taste.

When cooked, the pastry cream should be firm, but it should soften when whisked.

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