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Suet Pastry
Ruff puff pastry
Croissants
Melting Method Cakes
Makes: 700g
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ruff puff is a cheat’s version of puff pastry, which is actually really easy to make. Keeping the butter in clumps and using the folding and rolling technique is what makes the layers of pastry puff up. It won’t rise on a mega scale like puff pastry can, but you will certainly get layers and a good 1cm rise! It’s a spot more hassle to make than regular shortcrust pastry but the results you get are well worth it and your friends won’t believe you made your own puff pastry. Cook with it in the same way you normally would with shop–bought puff pastry.
250g plain flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
250g unsalted butter, at room temperature but not soft, cut into 1cm cubes
150ml ice cold water
Step 1
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and add the salt. Add the butter to the bowl and rub in, but only a little. You should see clumps of butter.
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Step 2
Make a well in the bowl and pour in about two–thirds of the ice cold water, mixing until you have a firm rough dough, adding extra water if needed. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.
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Step 3
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, knead gently and form into a smooth rectangle. Roll the dough in one direction only until it is 3 times its original width – about 20 x 50cm.
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Step 4
Keep the edges straight and even. The butter clumps will now look like streaks within the rolled out dough.
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Step 5 Fold the top third down to the centre, Step 6 then the bottom third up and over that. Step 7 Give the dough a quarter turn (to the left or right) and Step 8 roll out again to three times the length. Fold as before, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 20 minutes.
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Your ruff puff pastry is now ready to use.
- Pastry needs a cool environment. You need your kitchen, surfaces, utensils and hands to all be cool. It is a good idea to put your mixing bowl or food processor bowl and blade in the fridge for an hour before starting.
- Making pastry is a science so make sure you measure everything accurately.
- Don’t overmix the pastry as this will result in tough chewy pastry. You just need to combine it all together.
- Let your pastry rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before rolling it out, and then let it rest again before baking it. When you rest it before baking it is best if it gets really firm as this prevents the pastry from shrinking too much.
- Always have the oven preheated before baking otherwise the pastry won’t seal and become crisp as the butter will melt before it has cooked and make the pastry greasy. Plus you risk loosing your ‘puff’.
Credits: Ian O’Leary – Food Photography | Gemma Reynolds – Portrait Shots Of Gizzi