(Experiment 152) Puff pastry dough

You need 

• 320g all-purpose flour
• 177g cold water
• 7g fine sea salt
• 227g unsalted cold butter chopped in cube

Instructions

1. Combine the flour and the salt then add the water in and combine using your hands. Now you need to roll the dough into a square 7″x7″.I have seen folks wrap their dough in wax paper or even a Ziploc bag to roll the dough, just didn’t work for me but maybe you will have more success than me. Wrap with plastic film and put in the fridge
2. Take the butter and sprinkle it with a little bit of flour to prevent sticking. Place it between parchment paper then you need to beat it together and fold it over it itself and repeat. You want to have butter that is malleable, using a bread scraper works really well for this. You need to be able to fold it without the butter breaking. Once you are there, shape it into a 4″x4″ square, cover it in plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge.
3. Wait at least 30 minutes. 
4. On a lightly flour surface, place the dough out and slightly roll out each of the 4 edges. Then place your butter square on the dough but sideways ( so that the corners are in the middle of the dough). Wrap each of the dough corners over the butter, you are basically gift wrapping. Pinch all the edges together and flip it over. Avoid trapping air then wrapping, when you will roll it in the next step, a bubble will start popping and you risk bursting the dough.
5. Lightly dust the gift with flour and roll it to make a rectangle 12″ x 6″, then fold one end 1/3 over itself. Then fold the untouched edge and fold all the way over the previously folded edge. This is the first of 6 fold. Rotate dough 90 degrees.
6. Right away, roll it again into a 12″x6″ and repeat the folding process. Cover in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 30 minutes. Always roll in the opposite direction you did in the previous step. When looking straight at the dough when rolling it down you should see the “S” from the fold ( like the main picture) . Avoid touching or pressing the dough with your hands ( they are hot and you will start melting the butter)
7. Take it out of the fridge and repeat 2 fold back to back like you just did. If the dough resists, put it in the fridge for 15minutes and continue; I find that after the 5th folds it does require a rest. Cover in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 30 minutes. You have 4 fold done now.
8. Repeat previous steps so you end up with 6 folds total. Let rest in the fridge for 1 hour before using it. Use within 3 days.
9. You then roll it down to whichever shape and thickness you desire. Baking instruction will vary depending on thickness but a good guesstimate is 20minutes at 375F.