Welcome back! Today is Round Two of the Gluten-Free Flour Blend Test: The Pastry Challenge. Day One? Better Batter Gluten-Free Flour in my go-to recipe for Traditional Puff Pastry. Are … more
Welcome back! Today is Round Two of the Gluten-Free Flour Blend Test: The Pastry Challenge. Day One? Better Batter Gluten-Free Flour in my go-to recipe for Traditional Puff Pastry.
Are you new around here? {By the way, you look fabulous today.} The test comprises Four All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blends (Better Batter, Cup4Cup, Jules & Tom Sawyer) in each of four recipe categories (cake, pastry, bread, cookies). Scoring in 10 different categories, all described on the main page of the test. May the best flour win!
You might not be surprised to learn that I have used Better Batter flour to make puff pastry many times. So I pretty much knew what to expect. And it went off just as it always has.
The end result is super flaky. The crust basically shatters when you bite into it. Just what you want in puff pastry. Nothing missing here.
But … the dough is not quite as smooth as it is when using traditional, gluten-containing flour. It just … isn’t. See, that doesn’t surprise me, since all-purpose flour should be good for all purposes, but not great for every purpose. That holds true whether it’s gluten-free or gluten-y.
See how the dough (pictured here under the butter packet) isn’t perfectly smooth?
The more you roll it, the more it smooths out. But the edges are still a bit jagged. It still works, though. If Better Batter had more starch, it wouldn’t be good for as many purposes, but it would be better and smoother in puff pastry.
The enclosed butter packet, ready for its first roll.
No longer a packet, it’s been rolled into a long rectangle about 1/2 inch thick, and it’s ready for its first turn. To learn more about the turns, see my Cornmeal Biscuits post and my Yeasted Puff Pastry recipe made into custard-filled pastries.
And if you plan to make your own gluten-free puff pastry (which, sadly, is really the only way you’re going to get your hands on gluten-free puff pastry, unless you live within shouting distance of my house), be sure to read through all of the directions in the recipe below before beginning.
With each “turn,” it helps to make indentations in the dough with your knuckle that correspond to the number of turns you have completed. This was taken after the fourth turn.
There really is no end to the ways you can use puff pastry. Sweet or savory, it’s always a winner.
Roll it a bit more than 1/8 inch thick, and use it to make cheese straws or to top a Chicken Pot Pie (page 158 in my cookbook). Slice into 2 inch x 4 inch rectangles, pierce with a fork to “dock” the pastry, bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown (about 12 minutes), and layer with berries and cream.
Here’s how Better Batter did:
Pastry Challenge
|
Better Batter
|
| Cost | 93¢/cup |
| Cup for cup replacement claim | 10 |
| Cup for cup replacement result | 8.5 |
| Ease of use | 8.5 |
| Raw texture | 8.5 |
| Cooked texture | 9.5 |
| Finished appearance | 10 |
| Finished taste | 10 |
| Mouth feel | 10 |
| Smell | 10 |
And here’s the printable recipe:
- FOR THE DOUGH
- 2 cups (280g) all-purpose gluten-free flour (here I used Better Batter), plus more for dusting
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, kept cold
- ⅓ to ½ cup cold water, iced (ice doesn’t count in volume measurement)
- FOR THE BUTTER PACKET
- 4 tablespoons (35g) all-purpose gluten-free flour (here I used Better Batter)
- 16 tablespoons (224g) cold unsalted butter
- In a large bowl, place the 2 cups flour and salt, and whisk to combine well. Chop the 4 tablespoons cold butter into large chunks, and place them into the bowl of dry ingredients. Gently stir the butter in the flour, to cover the chunks of butter with flour. With well-floured hands, press each chunk of butter flat between your thumb and forefinger.
- Create a well in the dry ingredients, and add ⅓ cup of ice water to the center. With a nonreactive spoon, stir the mixture to combine. Add more ice water by the tablespoon until the dough stays together when pressed. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, cover and press together into a ball. Place in the refrigerator to chill until firm, about 1 hour.
- While the dough is chilling, make the butter packet. Dust a sheet of unbleached parchment paper with 2 tablespoons of flour. Place the two sticks of butter, side by side and touching one another, in the center of the flour. Sprinkle the butter with the remaining 2 tablespoons flour. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper, and pound the butter with the rolling pin to begin to flatten it and to press the two sticks of butter together. Remove the top sheet of parchment, fold the butter in half, and cover once more. Pound again until flat, and repeat the process until you have a butter packet that is about 5 inches square. Place the butter packet in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes, or until beginning to firm a bit.
- Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator, and place it on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle with more flour, and cover with another sheet of parchment. Press and roll the dough until it is about a 9 inch round. Remove the top sheet of parchment, and place the chilled butter packet in the center of the round of dough. Lightly score the perimeter of the butter packet, and set just the butter packet aside. Dust the top of the dough once more with flour, and roll out the dough from the 4 scoring marks and out, away from the center of the dough, to create 4 flaps. Dust with more flour as necessary to prevent the rolling pin from sticking to the dough.
- Place the butter packet back in the center of the dough, and fold the 4 flaps onto the butter like you would the bottom of a cardboard box. Press the dough around the butter packet to seal it in.
- Replace the top parchment paper, and press and roll the dough away from you into a long rectangle that is about ½ inch thick. Starting at a short side, fold the rectangle into thirds as you would a business letter (see photo). Turn the dough so an open end of the dough is facing you, and roll it, covered in parchment and dusted again with flour, into another long rectangle, the same size and shape. Fold in the same manner, once again, starting at a short side and folding into thirds. You have just completed the first “turn.” With a floured knuckle, make one single impression on the dough, to represent the completion of one turn.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until firm, about 30 minutes (or the freezer for 10 or 15 if you’re in a rush rush rush).
- Once the dough is firm, remove it from the refrigerator, flour the outside and place between two sheets of parchment paper. Once again, with an open end of the folded dough facing you, roll away from you and into a long rectangle about ½ inch thick. Fold once more, and mark the dough twice with your knuckle, to represent two completed turns.
- Refrigerate until firm, and repeat the process of rolling, folding, marking and chilling for a total of 5 turns (6 if you’re really diligent).
- Store folded in thirds and wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
Love,
Me
Pingback: Cup4Cup Gluten-free Puff Pastry — Gluten-Free on a Shoestring
Pingback: Jules Gluten-Free Puff Pastry — Gluten-Free on a Shoestring