Puff Pastry
This recipe has become stock standard in my recipe arsenal and I seriously can no longer buy commercial puff pastry (unless it is Empire Pastry, but that is another story!) I have tweaked the original by adding vodka in place of water. Adding vodka to pastry dough instead of water is a clever trick for achieving extra flakiness. Unlike water, vodka doesn't promote gluten formation, the protein network that can make dough tough if overworked. This is because gluten requires water to develop, and vodka is only 60% water, with the remaining 40% being alcohol. The alcohol evaporates more quickly during baking, leaving behind a tender, flaky texture without contributing to toughness. This makes the dough easier to handle and roll out, as it stays pliable without becoming overly elastic. The result is a pastry with a crisp, delicate structure that melts in your mouth—perfect for pies, tarts, and other delicate baked goods.
By the way...if you find that it is not coming together into a proper sheet of pastry, you need to persist, because it will surprise you how wonderful it is.
Now go and use it in something wonderful!
Mushroom Kale Pie with Spelt Puff Pastry
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Need
- 180 Grams unsalted butter BUY
- 90 Grams ice cubes
- 200 Grams bakers or strong flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon pink salt flakes BUY
- 2 Tablespoons vodka
Do
- 1
Cut butter into pieces, place on a saucer and freeze for at least 30 minutes.
- 2
Place butter, ice cubes, bakers flour and salt into the Thermomix bowl. Chop 7 sec/speed 7.
- 3
Mix 5 sec/Reverse/speed 5.
- 4
Knead 3 min/dough setting/Internal while adding the vodka through the hole in the lid.
- 5
Remove from bowl. Push together into a tight rectangle. Wrap in Silpat mat or parchment paper and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before proceeding.
- 6
Preheat oven to 200°C.
- 7
Roll dough into a large rectangle then fold over in thirds to make and envelope shape. Turn so the folded edge is towards you and repeat. Do this until you have a flexible sheet of pastry. If the pastry gets to soft while you are working with it, return it to the fridge for a few minutes before continuing. Roll into a sheet about 1cm thick.
- 8
Use as directed in recipes of choice. Brush with egg wash, milk or diluted cream before baking.
Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of eight, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.
Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once!
