Recipe: Blitz Puff Pastry

the appetizer:

Hors d'Oeuvre at Home by The Culinary Institute of America can help novice chefs cook like professionals with recipes like Blitz Puff Pastry, Cheese Sticks (Paillettes), Palmiers with Prosciutto, Crab Cakes with Creole Honey-Mustard Sauce, and Lamb Brochettes with Mint Pesto.

Folding Blitz Puff Pastry creates layers within
the dough that trap moisture and add volume
to the finished baked product.

Blitz Puff Pastry

Makes about 75 paillettes or small containers or bases (about 2 lb 8 oz)

Making puff pastry is a difficult and time consuming undertaking. This "Blitz" recipe allows even the busiest of cooks to make this delicious pastry fresh. Use it for making Cheese Sticks (Paillettes) and small containers or bases to hold any filling or topping of your choice.

2 cups bread flour
2 cups pastry flour
2 cups (4 sticks) cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tsp salt
1 cup ice water

1. Sift the flours into a bowl or onto a table surface. Drop in the cubes of butter and coat with flour. Make a well in the flour mixture.

2. Dissolve the salt in the water and pour into the well.

3. Combine all ingredients to form a loose, shaggy mass.

4. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle. With the rectangle arranged horizontally on the work surface, fold both the right and left sides into the center, so they meet like an open book and create a neat seam. Fold up the sides as if closing a book. Turn the pastry so the "spine" side is to the left.

5. Roll out the dough to a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle and repeat Step 4 two or three times, allowing the dough to rest 30 minutes in between each fold. Roll out the dough again before use as recipe directs.

STORAGE: Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

NOTE: More folds will yield finer and more even layers with less height. Fewer folds yield a lighter product, with irregular layers and more height.