Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Puff Paste
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Wash butter well.
Take out one tablespoon, put the rest in refrigerator.
Sift salt with flour, put in tablespoon butter.
With the tips of fingers mix into stiff dough with ice water.
Knead until smooth.
Laminate
Roll out into oblong pieces.
Put the rest of butter in the center, fold sides and ends over the butter.
Let stand ten minutes.
Roll again with light quick strokes.
Fold the ends to center and then fold again.
Turn and roll as before, always letting it stand between rolling.
Shape and bake
After rolling several times, cut into shape, chill, and bake in hot oven.
This can be cut in rounds one-fourth inch thick, put two rounds together, cut out center of top with smaller cutter.
Use this for top after the cases are filled with creamed meats or vegetables.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the dough and layers together.
- Butter
- Forms separate layers that puff into flakes when heated, giving the pastry its lift.
- Ice water
- Keeps the dough cold and moistens the flour so it binds without melting the butter.
The step that matters
Keeping the butter cold while rolling. If the butter softens and melts into the dough, the layers merge and the pastry will not puff into flakes. Letting the dough rest between rolls keeps the butter firm.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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