Puff Pastry

The texture of puff pastry comes from the way its essential ingredients—flour, butter, water, and salt—are combined. You begin by making two separate components. The first, the dough package, or détrempe in French, is mostly flour with just a bit of butter worked in (a combination of all-purpose and cake flour results in just enough protein to support the dough as it puffs). The second, the butter package, or bourrage (“filling”), is mostly butter, with a little flour worked in. The two packages are combined by repeatedly rolling and folding the dough, creating a total of 1,458 distinct layers. In the heat of the oven, the steam that is produced by the butter in the dough creates pockets of air and expands the many layers. Tarts made with a puff pastry base are among the simplest to assemble. The following recipe makes enough pastry for four large tarts (freeze unused pastry up to 3 months).