Turn into a Meals Processing Professional
1. Within the work bowl of a meals processor, place flour and salt; pulse till mixed. Add butter, and pulse till combination is crumbly and butter is pea-size, 12 to fifteen pulses. What does it imply to be “pea-size”? Search for the most important bits of butter—these needs to be near the dimensions of a typical pea. The remainder of the butter-flour combination will seem mealy, like coarse-ground cornmeal or grated Parmesan cheese. Be vigilant, as you’ll be able to over course of the combination and start to cream it if you’re not watching. As soon as the combination is overprocessed, you gained’t be capable to get these splendid lumps of butter again. It’s the chunks of butter that finally create the flaky, buttery crust everyone knows and love.
2. In a small bowl, mix ½ cup (120 grams) chilly water and vinegar. With processor working, add vinegar combination to flour combination in a gradual, regular stream simply till dough comes collectively.
3. Combination will look crumbly, but it surely ought to stick collectively when squeezed between your fingers. This crumbly dough might seem a bit messy, however this hydration stage is good to restrict gluten formation. Flour, relying on the way it was processed and the place it’s saved, will soak up liquids at completely different charges. We management the hydration issue by including the vinegar combination simply till the dough begins to drag away from the edges of the meals processor bowl. As soon as this occurs, you’ll be able to discard any further liquid that you simply didn’t use—you gained’t want it.
4. Prove dough. Divide in half, and form every half right into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. Dough could also be refrigerated for as much as 3 days or frozen for as much as 2 months. Over time, dough can develop a slight grey tinge because of oxidation. The addition of vinegar within the dough helps to gradual this course of, maintaining your dough nearer to its unique colour throughout storage.
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
After we discuss protein in flour, the dialog usually results in gluten, however via a magnified lens, there are literally two proteins that add to the story. In brief, these are known as glutenin and gliadin. As these two proteins encounter liquid, they bond collectively, forming the protein complicated that offers stretch to dough and creates flaky pastries. This complicated is known as gluten. Now, the extra dough is dealt with, the stronger the gluten community turns into, and molecules align to create elasticity. With bread, working the dough extensively develops this gluten community, which captures gases, creates rise, and lends the ethereal crumb and plain chewy texture. For pastry, nonetheless, we’d like simply sufficient gluten to carry the fragile pastry collectively, however not a lot that we get a chewy, robust dough. Thus, selecting flour with an intermediate protein content material and limiting how a lot the dough is labored is one easy methodology that results in tender, flaky pastries.
