Puff Pastry Dough

We are told that puff pastry dough is a handy thing to make and keep in the freezer for those occasions on which one might like a fresh croissant or some such. As New Yorkers with a diminutive freezer and a plethora of excellent bakeries nearby, we only bother to whip it up for immediate use.

We like the recipe for "Food Processor Puff Pastry'" found in the latest edition of The Joy of Cooking because it is quicker and easier than traditional methods. To make 2.75 lbs, enough to wrap even the biggest of Beefs Wellington, you'll need 3 and 1/3 c flour, 1.25 tsp salt, 4 sticks plus 1 tb of cold unsalted butter, 1 lemon, and 1 egg. You'll also need about 4 hours, though nearly all of that time is just for the dough to rest.

First, open up your food processor and pulse 2 and 1/3 c flour with the salt. Add 5 tb of butter, cut into cubes, and pulse again until the mixture looks crumb-like.

Combine 0.5 c of ice water, 2 tb lemon juice, and 1 egg yolk.

Add the mixture to the food processor and pulse until you see dough forming.

If you can scrape the dough up into a cohesive ball, it's ready to go.

Form it into a square, cover in cling wrap, and put it in the fridge for 1 hour.

Cut the remaining 3.5 sticks of butter into 0.5 inch thick slices and freeze them for 2 minutes.

Put 1 c flour in the food processor and pulse with the semi-frozen butter slices.

When the mixture is just crumb-like -- well before it gets doughy -- wrap it up and put it into the fridge.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the pastry dough into a rectangle about 8 by 13 inches, the short side facing you.

Take the butter-flour mix from the fridge, unwrap it, and place it on the upper half of the pastry dough.

Fold the dough over to cover, and press the three open edges shut.

Turn the dough so that the folded edge is on the left and a sealed edge is on the right.

Roll the dough into a rectangle about 17 by 8 inches, the short side facing you. Fold it the bottom edge up, using a metal dough scraper if you have one.

Fold the top edge down. Now you have made the first "turn." Traditionally, pastry dough takes six turns but this recipe only calls for four.

Rotate the dough again so that the folded edge is on the left and the open edge is on the right and roll out again into a 17 by 8 inch rectangle.

This time fold the top and bottom in so that they meet in the middle of the dough, then fold the dough in half again so that there are four layers of dough.

Flip the dough over, mark with 2 lines to indicate you've done 2 turns, then wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

With the folded edge on the left and the open edge on the right, roll out the dough into a 17 by 8 inch rectangle again. Repeat the double fold as before and mark the dough with 3 lines before placing it back in the fridge for 45 minutes.

Repeat the roll and double fold once more and mark the dough with 4 lines before placing it back in the fridge for at least 1 hour before use.

We're now ready for the Liver Paté . . .