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 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.
Make the dough
Rub the butter into the flour using your hands.
Mix in the spring water and knead well.
Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Laminate the dough
Roll the dough out thin.
Add ¾ pound of butter in small pieces on the surface.
Dredge lightly with flour.
Fold the dough, roll it thin, and roll it away from you three times.
Chill the dough for 1 hour in a cool place.
Shape and bake
Shape into tarts or puffs without additional rolling.
Bake in a preheated 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 the layers of fat that separate the dough and create flakiness as it bakes.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the dough layers together.
- Spring water
- Hydrates the flour so gluten forms and the dough can be kneaded and rolled.
The step that matters
Folding and rolling the butter layers. The butter must stay cold and in distinct layers. If it softens and blends into the dough, the pastry loses its flaky rise in 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.
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