A historical pastry from The White House cook book; a comprehensive cyclopedia of information for the home .. (1913). This frees the butter from the salt and butter-milk and lightens it, so that the pastry is more delicate.
Preserved exactly as written in the original source
Wash the hands with soap and water and dip them first in very hot and then in cold water
Rinse a large bowl or pan with boiling water and then with cold
Half fill it with cold water
Wash the butter in this, working it with the hands until it is light and waxy
Shape the butter into two thin cakes and put in a pan of ice-water to harden
Mix the salt and sugar with the flour
Modern guidance to help you succeed with this vintage recipe
Washing the butter removes excess salt and buttermilk, creating a purer fat that produces more delicate, flaky layers. The ice-cold water keeps the butter solid and distinct from the flour; when baked, these butter pieces melt and create steam pockets that separate the dough into hundreds of crisp, flaky layers. Chilling the butter into thin cakes makes it easier to incorporate evenly throughout the dough while maintaining the crucial temperature differential.
Once the butter is prepared and shaped into cakes, it can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. The flour mixture can be combined and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several weeks.
Completed puff pastry dough (after all turns are complete) can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the refrigerator before rolling and using. Baked puff pastry is best eaten the day it's made but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days and recrisped in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes.
AI-generated tips from Chef Cecil's culinary database
Once the butter is prepared and shaped into cakes, it can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. The flour mixture can be combined and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several weeks.
Completed puff pastry dough (after all turns are complete) can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the refrigerator before rolling and using. Baked puff pastry is best eaten the day it's made but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days and recrisped in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes.
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