Make Your Own Puff Pastry

For our February 2016 Test Kitchen, with Mardi Gras falling on February 9, it seemed silly not to do king cake, the indulgence on everyone's agenda this month. I opted for the traditional French king cake, galette des rois, but when I saw the recipe called for sheets of puff pastry, I knew that's where the real fun hid.

I got in some practice laminating dough for last month's similar pastry challenge. The individual steps and turns are time consuming. Roll out the dough, fold it, wait an hour. But there was sunshine in the window, streaming down toward my smooth, elastic dough, and I had nowhere else I particularly wanted to be.

Once the pastry was crimped over the almond cream and dusted with sugar, I gave it over to the oven. The minutes passed and my many layers fanned out, a gilded accordion, until the airy, flaked dessert was mine to reclaim and rejoice over. Eventually, I even ate it!

Yield: 2 + 3/4 lbs. puff pastry

Ingredients

• 4 sticks butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 lb. flour (plus more for rolling out dough)
• 1 + 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp. salt

Method

1. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add 1/2 cup flour to the butter and mix until fully combined. Scrape the butter mixture out of the bowl and into a 5x5 square. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap, misted with baking spray, and wrap up the butter. Chill for 30 minutes.
2. Combine remaining 1/2 cup flour with salt in a large bowl. Add heavy cream and stir until a dough forms. Roll the dough out into a 7 in. x 12 in. rectangle. Cover in plastic and chill for thirty minutes.
3. Remove dough and butter from the refrigerator. Lay the dough out lengthwise and place the butter on the bottom half. Fold the top corners of dough down to meet the bottom edges, then crimp to seal the butter inside tightly. Cover in plastic and chill for another 30 minutes.
4. On a floured surface, roll out dough into a 9 in. x 20 in. rectangle, taking care to only roll in one direction and keep the edges square with a pastry scraper. Starting again with the bottom (9 in.) side of the rectangle, fold into thirds this time, like a letter. Turn the dough to where the open flap is facing the right. Use your rolling pin to pound out the dough evenly, then repeat the process of rolling out the dough, folding it, and then turning it to the right. Wrap in plastic and chill for one hour.
5. Repeat the rolling/folding/turning/repeating/chilling process two more times, for a total of six turns.
6. Chill for at least two hours before using. Dough can be frozen until needed and thawed overnight in fridge or at room temperature.