Frozen Puff Pastry

[zilla369]

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!

Okay, i know frozen puff pastry is a "convenience" product, so it should technically make your life easier. Previously, i've used it for a lot of things, and it's great for wellingtons and pinwheels and little purses filled with this or that. But until today, i've never tried to bake it flat.

I found a recipe online for Caramel Mousse Napoleans that sounded like just the ticket for my viennese pastries-for-a-Schubert-recital gig tomorrow. (And yes, i know, i know, i know the rule - never make anything you've never made before for guests or clients without a trial run. But i've never been able to abide by that rule. Guess i'm just a rebel with fantastically good luck )

Anyway... the recipe said to roll out and cut the pastry shingles, then dock with a fork and brush on melted butter, sprinkle with sugar, and bake to golden brown. First go-round i did a pan full that i docked with a toothpick. Those blew up like lovely, golden-brown balloons. Cute, but no good for napoleon layers. Second pan i docked with a fork as directed - these blew up lumpishly and unevenly, flat in some spots and swollen in others. Then i went upstairs to the restaurant kitchen and borrowed their meat tenderizer, which has something like drywall finish nails spaced about 1/2 inch apart - turned out about like the fork method, all uneven surfaces. Finally i settled for another try with the fork, but this time, i forked those suckers until they looked like they'd been assaulted with bird shot; not a square micrometer without a tine-hole in it. This took about a frickin' year.

I reluctantly accepted the results from the last method. They came out fairly even, but still hardly what i would call flat. I actually clocked out during the whole debacle, because i felt it was unfair to my employer to spend three hours of overtime experimenting with something i sold a client without having tested it first.

The napoleans looked fairly even when i put them in the fridge, due to the mighty evening power of the mousse (i used the flattest candidates for the tops), but i know when i cut them tomorrow, the effect will be at least partially spoiled by the curves in the layers. Did you click on that link above for the picture? Methinks that's cardboard rather than puff pastry (except the top layer - that one looks like all of mine.)

HOW the hell do you get them to bake flat? I briefly considered putting a weight on them, but was afraid that would destroy their flaky properties. Any advice would be appreciated.

Crying into my bourbon and coke,

Marsha

[culinary bear]

If I want a shingle to get to 1/4" high, for example, this is what I do :

1) butter-and-flour the baking sheet

2) apply docked shingles

3) butter and flour the underside of an identical sheet

4) place 1/4" spacers at the four corners of the sheet with the shingles on it

5) place upper sheet on top of spacers

6) bake as normal, giving an extra few minutes baking time to compensate for the insulating qualities of the top sheet.

I'm sure there are other methods, but this one is fairly uncomplicated and works well for me - this way it rises to your pre-set limit and bakes completely flat.

Edited January 8, 2005 by culinary bear (log)

[zilla369]

That sounds absolutely brilliant, CB. And so....fucking....simple.

Sobbing into my second bourbon and coke,

Marsha

P.S.: by the way, THANK YOU!

Next time. Next time.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is a perfect example of why eGullet rocks.

[culinary bear]

That sounds absolutely brilliant, CB.  And so....fucking....simple.

Sobbing into my second bourbon and coke,

Marsha

P.S.:  by the way, THANK YOU! 

Next time.  Next time.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is a perfect example of why eGullet rocks.

←

hee hee... glad to help.

[chezcherie]

i have a lightweight cooling rack that just fits on a sheetpan. i place that on top of the puff, and it doesn't even need to be sprayed or buttered. it sometimes leaves a slight "grid" impression on the puff, but that either looks cool or is masked with powdered sugar or cocoa.

yes, egullet rocks.

[chefpeon]

I've baked off zillions of puff pastry sheets for Napoleons, and this is what works for me.

Use a flat sheet pan (or the flattest one you can find!), line it with parchment, and place your

puff sheets on it. Dock them with a fork or a docker.

Place a second sheet of parchment on top of the puff sheets, then lay another (flat) sheet pan

on top. The weight of the sheet pan is just enough to keep the puff even and under control.

After about 20 minutes of baking, remove the top sheet pan and parchment, and let the puff

brown, and voila! You're done.

PS. Invest in a pastry docking tool. They are great for docking stuff quickly, and serve as a

great back massager, provided you have a co-worker who is trustworthy enough to use it on

you. Stressed out over those Napoleons? Out comes the docking tool! Ahhhhhhh!

[zilla369]

Thanks for the responses, people. In the end, my wavy shingles ended up okay, but next time i'll use your methods from upthread to make them flatter.

Pics were taken, so as soon as i get them in my email, i'll post them.

Annie - would it matter that these were basted with melted butter and sugar, as far as placing the parchment and pan directly on top?

Really, in my inherited kitchen, there are these round metal discs in a drawer that i've always wondered the function of (the discs that is, not the drawer.) Maybe those are pan spacers? Lord knows they left everything else in there.

Since i majored in straight culinary and not pastry specifically, there's a bunch of smallwares in my kitchen that i can't fully identify. Maybe i should start a thread with pictures and we can play "ID that pastry tool", heh.

[chezcherie]

Maybe i should start a thread with pictures and we can play "ID that pastry tool", heh.

←

that would be fun! i wanna play....

[chefpeon]

Annie - would it matter that these were basted with melted butter and sugar, as far as placing the parchment and pan directly on top?

Nope, it doesn't matter....or perhaps you would just want to do the "basting" after you remove the parchment and top pan.....that kinda makes more sense.........

I wanna ID the pastry tool too!

[chiantiglace]

Use a flat sheet pan (or the flattest one you can find!), line it with parchment, and place your

puff sheets on it. Dock them with a fork or a docker.

Place a second sheet of parchment on top of the puff sheets, then lay another (flat) sheet pan

on top. The weight of the sheet pan is just enough to keep the puff even and under control.

After about 20 minutes of baking, remove the top sheet pan and parchment, and let the puff

brown, and voila! You're done.

this is exactly what i've always done, and probably most people, i'd definately practice this method if i were you, its not hard and the will come out perfect. and don't worry if they are a little darker than normal puff pastry treats.

[foodie52]

I followed the link and read the reviews of the dish: nobody complained about the puff pastry! I'm wondering what their final products actually looked like!!!

[Wendy DeBord]

I go one step less and I don't dock my weighted pp sheets. No need to if your weighing it down. But I do add another step, I almost always spray or brush on hot corn syrup 3/4's of the way through my total bake. It caramelizes on my pp looking good and extending it's time frame.

[JanMcBaker]

Since i majored in straight culinary and not pastry specifically, there's a bunch of smallwares in my kitchen that i can't fully identify.  Maybe i should start a thread with pictures and we can play "ID that pastry tool", heh.

←

Oohh, can I play too? Sounds like fun!

[zilla369]

Picture of the finished product in this thread.

I wasn't too unhappy with the result, but i'm definitely gonna do the pan-sandwich-with-spacers method next time. Thanks again for your help, people.

[ruthcooks]

Back in the days I made my own puff pastry, I think the flat Napoleons were baked with another cookie sheet on top.

Oops! Superflous answer--did not read rest of thread. This new "system" for reading threads is freaking me out.

Edited January 16, 2005 by ruthcooks (log)