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 ↓
Puff Pastry
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the butter
Wash the butter in cold water with ice if possible.
Flour a clean cloth and press the butter into a square slab about ½ inch thick.
Chill the butter until needed.
Make the dough
Sift the flour and salt onto a pastry board, make a well in the center, and add the lemon juice and a little water.
Mix to form a dough, adding more water gradually until smooth and pliable.
Laminate and bake
Roll the dough into a strip longer than the butter and about 1 inch wider.
Place the butter on the dough, fold it over in thirds, and press the edges together.
Roll out into a long strip, fold in thirds again, and turn the folded edge to the left.
Press the edges together thoroughly and repeat this process for a total of seven rolls and folds.
Chill the pastry for at least 15 minutes between rolls.
After the final roll, roll to the desired thickness and it's ready to use.
Bake in a very hot 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).
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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Lemon + flourtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,404 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 the separate layers that puff into flakes as steam is released during baking.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the dough layers together through rolling and folding.
- Lemon juice
- Adds a small amount of acidity that helps tenderise the dough's gluten.
The step that matters
Keeping the butter cold between rolls. If the butter softens and mixes into the dough, the layers merge and the pastry will not puff. Chilling between rolls keeps the butter in distinct sheets.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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