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
Make the dough
Sift one pound of flour into a mixing bowl.
Pour one cup of ice water gradually into the flour, stirring constantly with a spoon.
Turn the dough out onto a pastry board and beat or knead until it blisters and is elastic enough to stretch without tearing.
Set the dough aside on ice.
Laminate the dough
Wash one pound of butter, squeeze out the salt and water, and lay it on a plate on ice.
Roll the dough into a nearly square shape.
Place the butter in the center of the dough.
Fold one side of the dough over the butter, then fold the other side over. Flatten slightly with a rolling pin.
Fold the ends of the dough over until they meet.
Turn the dough over and roll twice. Fold again and place the dough on ice.
Let the dough rest for twenty minutes.
Repeat steps 11-13 twice more, allowing the pastry to rest twenty minutes each time.
Press lightly with a rolling pin.
Bake and use
Cut off portions needed for pies or patties, ensuring the dough is not overworked.
Use trimmings for cheese straws by cutting and sprinkling with grated Parmesan cheese and a dash of cayenne pepper, or bake in crescents for garnish.
For baking, rinse pans with cold water and brush the pastry with beaten egg.
Make the pastry in a cool room.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Chili | 1 tsp (2.7g) | 8 |
| Cayenne | 1 tsp (1.8g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| 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 + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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
- Forms the gluten structure that gives the dough its elasticity and layers.
- Butter
- Stays in solid layers within the dough, creating steam pockets that lift the pastry as it bakes.
- Ice water
- Hydrates the flour and keeps the dough cold so the butter does not melt into it.
The step that matters
Keep the butter and dough cold between folds. If the butter softens and blends into the dough, it cannot form separate layers, so the pastry will not rise flaky. Chilling between folds keeps the butter solid until the oven.
“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.
More puff pastry recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.