Puff pastry

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Name Variations

 * puff paste
 * pâte feuilletée
 * pate feuilletee
 * feuilletage
 * mille feuilles

About Puff pastry
Wikipedia Article About Puff pastry on Wikipedia

In baking, a puff pastry (pâte feuilletée) is a light, flaky pastry made from dough of the same name. The dough, which is also called puff paste, contains several layers of butter. Croissants are formed from puff pastry. Puff pastry shells used to be filled with crabmeat salad or chicken à la king at ladies' luncheons. An American fashion in the late 1970s was to bake a wedge of Brie in puff pastry and serve warm. Choux pastry, used to make cream puffs is different, using eggs. Bourekas is also made out of puff pastry, filled with various ingredients.

The French call this rich, delicate, multi-layered pastry pâte feuilletée. It's made by placing pats of chilled fat (usually butter) between layers of pastry dough, then rolling it out, folding it in thirds and letting it rest. This process, which is repeated 6 to 8 times, produces a pastry comprising hundreds of layers of dough and butter. When baked, the moisture in the butter creates steam, causing the dough to puff and separate into hundreds of flaky layers. Puff pastry is used to make a variety of crisp creations including croissants, Napoleons, Palmiers and Allumettes. It's also used as a wrapping for various foods such as meats, cheese and fruit.