Homemade Puff Pastry

You can save a lot of money by making your own puff pastry. Store bought puff pastry is pretty expensive, especially if one is buying a lot. Many people do not even know that one can actually make puff pastry and save a lot of money. This recipe uses hardly any ingredients. This pastry actually puffs up when baked.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups flour, plus extra for dusting
• a little less than 1/2 tsp. salt
• 5 Tbsp. (or 1/3 cup) margarine or butter
• 6 Tbsp. margarine or butter

Directions:

Rinse hands in cold water and dry them. Prepare a cup of ice water. In a bowl, mix flour and salt. Spoon the 5 Tbsp. of butter or margarine into the flour mixture and blend with fingers (not warm hands) until the mixture is uniformly coarse. Continue to toss, as you add 3 Tbsp. of ice water (more if needed).

Press the dough into a ball and chill. Divide the 6 Tbsp. of margarine or butter into thirds. Roll out the chilled dough into a rectangle roughly 5 by 15 and 1/8 inch thick. Trim 1/2 inch off a short side to use for patching any punctures that might occur in the dough (the pastry won't be puffy if hot air escapes.)

Take a third of the margarine of butter in your fingers, knead it a bit to soften, and pinch off small pieces. Cover the rectangle of dough with these dots, except around the edges. Fold the short ends of the dough toward the center, overlapping them like a business letter. Press gently and fold pastry in half the other way.

If the pastry has broken anywhere, patch it with the reserved dough by wetting the surfaces to be joined. Roll out the rectangle again, and repeat the buttering and folding process. Chill dough again before repeating the process a third and last time. Your pastry is now ready to use!

By Esther from Baltimore