There still is time to get your Mother’s Day breakfast in order. If you’re a little more daring, this is a delicious pastry that is sure to impress mom’s palette. Real puff pastry has several hundred layers of butter and dough. This pastry won’t puff like that, but is easier to make at home. Because the dough requires refrigeration, it is better to make it a day ahead of time. (This recipe is posted in stages. Come back later for the almond filling and putting it all together.)
You will need:
1 1/4 cups cake flour
3 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cups cold butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1 1/4 cups cold water
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Directions:
In a large bowl, stir together the cake flour, bread flour, salt and white sugar. Stir in the chunks of butter so that each one is completely coated in flour. Combine the cold water and lemon juice; stir into the bowl while lightly tossing the ingredients to moisten them evenly. Gather the dough into a ball.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Keep the edges as square as possible. The dough will look terribly lumpy, but don’t worry, it will shape up. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Place the dough on the floured work surface and turn at a 90 degree angle from the last time you rolled it out. Roll again into a rectangle again and fold into thirds. If the dough is still cold and manageable, rotate and roll again, then fold into thirds, or refrigerate and continue in 30 minutes. Finish by rolling the dough out to the size of a baking sheet. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet and wrap in plastic. refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. (Note: The more you continue the process, the puffier your dough will be. Also, the dough can rest overnight.)
To use, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into shapes with a sharp knife.
Make sure to come back for the almond filling and finishing directions.
Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.
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