Anyone who has watched any of the dozens of baking shows on TV has marveled at the flaky magic of multi-layered dough. There seems to be several types in play here, so I asked Chef Jerry Pellegrino, to teach us the different kinds and how to make them?
Here are the basics. Laminated dough is a culinary preparation consisting of many thin layers of dough separated by butter or other solid fat, produced by repeated folding and rolling. Such doughs may contain more than eighty layers. During baking, water in the butter vaporizes and expands, causing the dough to puff up and separate, while the lipids in the butter essentially fry the dough, resulting in a light, flaky product Pastries using laminated doughs include:
Croissant pastry, from France
Danish pastry, made with yeast-leavened dough, from Austria via Denmark
Jachnun, a Yemenite Jewish pastry
Kouign-amann, a sweet Breton cake from north-western France
Paratha, a flatbread native to South Asia
M'semen, a traditional flatbread of northern Africa
Here is a great recipe for puff pastry:
https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/puff-pastry/#recipe
Here’s a great croissant recipe:
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-croissants/
And some great ideas on how to use your puff pastry:
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/puff-pastry-recipe-ideas
