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It is important to use the correct ingredients and the right pastry making techniques to make a good puff pastry. The main ingredients are flour, water, salt, dough fat and fat.
It is best to use a pastry flour because it is has no bran (which will cause the product to have dark specks) and a high protein content (a minimum of 10%). Some protein becomes gluten when wet and this makes the paste elastic and strong and capable of forming layers when cooked.
‘Dough fat’ is a small amount of fat that is rubbed into the flour during mixing, to ‘shorten’ the dough so it becomes more tender. Cool water must be used to prevent the fat from becoming oily. The water must also taste good, i.e. be free of any unusual flavours, so it does not taint the pastry. Salt is added to strengthen the gluten and improve the flavour.
Fat is the second most important ingredient when making a good pastry. Butter is tastiest, but there are some excellent pastry margarines specially produced for making pastry products. There are even better butter/margarine combinations available for use. Fat must be kept cool so that it does not become soft and oily and mix into the dough. Other ingredients are sometimes added to give the pastry a distinctive look and taste. Eggs improve the colour of the pastry, and a little raising agent such as baking powder strengthens the gluten and increases the height of the pastry.
When making puff pastry it is important to rest the pastry. During resting, gluten relaxes and become elastic again, making rolling easier and preventing the pastry from shrinking and becoming misshapen during baking. Correct rolling is essential. The edges of the pastry must be straight and the corners square. The terms full, three-quarter and half are used when describing the amount of fat in the pastry. Full has equal weight of fat and flour, three-quarter has three-quarters of the weight of fat to flour, and half has half the weight of fat to flour. More fat makes the pastry softer to eat but reduces its height.