Why it works: Butter and flour 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 ↓
Rieh Puff Paste
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
Weigh equal amounts of butter and fine flour.
Mix a little butter with the flour and add just enough water to form a stiff paste.
Laminate
Roll out the paste and spread slices of butter over it.
Fold in the ends and roll it thin.
Repeat this process twice, handling the dough as little as possible.
Bake
Bake in a quick oven at 400°F (200°C).
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.
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.
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Butter
- Forms separate layers that create flakiness as the pastry bakes and the butter releases steam.
- Fine flour
- Provides the structure that holds the thin layers of dough together.
- Water
- Binds the flour and butter into a stiff paste that can be rolled out.
The step that matters
Handling the dough as little as possible during folding. Overworking the dough warms the butter and develops gluten, which can melt the butter into the dough and reduce the distinct layers that make puff pastry rise.
“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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