Puff Pastry

[sherrardk]

Sorry for being so dim, but I have some puff pastry questions if anyone could answer them for me. I have some shop bought puff pastry that I am going to use on a pie tomorrow (the dish will be a large rectangle shape - just in case that's important). A) How thick do I roll the pastry out, B) do I have to brush it will milk or anything, C) do I need to make any little cuts in the top of it to let the steam out, D) what temperature (and for how longish) do I need to cook it if all the stuff in the pie is already cooked and, finally, E) if there is any pastry left over, is there any sweet thing I can make from it (with the addition of basic store cupboard ingredients)? Thank you (ps - it's is now starting to feel like a bit of a crap plan)

[woofgang]

If your pie ingredients are cooked then cheat. Cut out posh shapes from the pastry and bake them on a flat baking sheet then put a spoonful of hot filling on each plate and top with a hot pastry shape. the baking temp should be on the packet and the rolling thickness. You can brush with milk but if you do be careful that the pastry doesn't burn on top, myself I wouldn't
With the leftovers, don't scrunch together and roll again, just bake some fancy shapes allow them to cool then split and fill with Jam and cream and drizzle a little icing over the top.

[humbersloop]

sherr

woof is so right, do it that way. Saves all the agonising and it looks really good

[sherrardk]

I had considered cheating but I don't know how much everyone is going to eat and I tend to give them all the bare minimum I want them to eat with some spare for those who want extra (they tend to eat slightly more if the food is placed on the table than if it is served up).

[EcclesCake]

Roll the pastry to the thickness of a pound coin.
Egg wash is better but a bit wasteful, milk will be fine
Do cut a whole in the top to let steam out.
180C for 40 mins should do it.

With the left overs you could cut rectangles of pastry and bake them for 20-25 mins until golden. When cool sandwich together with jam and if you have any whipped cream, dust with icing sugar and serve.

BTW, you should bunch up left over puff and re roll like you would with short crust. It is best to stack up and then roll out again if necessary.

[EcclesCake]

^^^ You should NOT bunch up and re roll puff.

The reason is that puff pastry is all about layers and squeezing it into a ball the layers get lost and affect the rise.

[sherrardk]

Cheers Eccles, I like tea on the table at 5.15 so (in my mind) timings are crucial (they had better bloody enjoy it!).

[EcclesCake]

Is the meat filling going to be hot or cold when you assemble the pie?

You shouldn't really put pastry on a hot filling as the butter melts before the pastry has had time to set.

Sorry if I've just made your plan a teency bit crapper ;-)

[woofgang]

In that case sherrard, deffo ration the pastry as that's the unhealthy bit. Have seconds of the veg and pie filling only.

[woofgang]

Eccles comment is why cheating makes it easier and more likely to succeed.

[sherrardk]

I will cook all the bits, let it cool down and then put the pastry on (will fill up my day a bit more). I couldn't tell you the last time they had pastry so it won't harm them if they have more than they should (they might really enjoy it and that's the point). They've been having more new stuff lately and they all seem to be enjoying it (got loads of time on my hands now they are all at school - it's just thinking of stuff that they will all eat).

[DaisyNonna]

Cool filling
Roll out pastry 2-3mm.
Brush with egg and milk,or milk if eggs in short supply
Few cuts to let steam out
Shove in the oven
Cook. Probably Gas mark 6 (see packet)
Any left over pastry could be rolled out, filled with cooked apple, to make pasty shapes, egged and sprinkled with sugar.
Enjoy!

[atalanta]

Buy a pie-raiser. Conical item made of pottery, usually, which sits in the middle of the dish of filling. When you have placed the pastry over the whole thing, make a hole in the centre to match the hole in the top of the pie raiser. This will be enough for any steam to escape, and it will stop the underneath of the pastry from touching the filling and going soggy.
Any leftovers can be carefully layered flat on top of each other and re-rolled. This retains many of the "flakes" of flaky pastry.

[woofgang]

how did it go sherrard?

[sherrardk]

Hi woofgang, went down a treat. The filling wasn't as thick as I had hoped because I hadn't factored in that the juice from the sweet corn and chicken would thin the sauce (but you learn something new every day).