Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Quick Puff Paste
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Work lard into flour, first using knife then tips of fingers.
Moisten to a dough with cold water.
Pat the dough.
Roll out the dough the same as Puff Paste.
Laminate
Dot the paste with small pieces of butter, using one-third the quantity.
Dredge the dough with flour.
Fold from ends toward centre.
Double, making four layers.
Pat the dough.
Roll out the dough.
Repeat until butter is used.
Bake and serve
Roll, shape, chill, and bake in a hot oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Lard | 1 tbsp (12.8g) | 115 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| 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.
-
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Bread + flourtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,383 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Bread flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the dough its structure and holds the layers.
- Lard
- Works into the flour to shorten the dough, tenderising it and keeping layers separate.
- Butter
- Forms distinct fat layers between dough sheets that create flakiness as it bakes.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the flour to form the dough while keeping the fat firm.
The step that matters
Repeat until butter is used. Each fold and roll must keep the butter cold and in distinct sheets; if the butter softens and smears into the dough, the layers merge and the pastry loses its flakiness.
“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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