Apple turnovers
Apple turnovers in classic puff pastry with six single folds. The diced apples cook covered until translucent, then uncovered so the compote dries before it is chilled.
- Makes
- 12 turnovers
- Total
- 1,296 g, plus the apples
- Butter
- 76% of the flour
- Layers
- 729 of butter, on paper
The layers
Puff pastry is laminated without yeast: a block of dry butter is sealed into a plain dough, then rolled and folded six times.
A dough of flour, water and a little soft butter is rolled to 36 × 18 cm, the dry butter to a 18 × 18 cm square. They should bend alike when they meet: butter that is too cold cracks, butter that is too warm smears into the dough.
The butter goes on one half of the dough and the other half folds over it. One layer of butter between two of dough.
Rolled out and folded in thirds, two folds at a time with an hour in the refrigerator between: 3, 9, 27, 81, 243 and then 729 layers of butter.
Rolled 2 mm thick, each layer of butter is under a thousandth of a millimeter thick on paper. Layers that thin break and merge, one reason puff pastry stops at six folds.
Puff pastry has no yeast. All of its rise is steam from the water in the dough and the butter, lifting the layers while the butter keeps them apart.
Why two butters
- Butter in the USAt least 80% fat by law, about 17% water
- Butter in the doughFrench butter: 82% fat, about 16% water. 80 g here
- Dry butter for the layersAbout 84% fat, 14% water. 300 g here
Dry butter (beurre sec) has less water. It stays firm yet pliable when cold, so it rolls into one thin sheet instead of cracking or smearing into the dough, and it does not soften the dough it touches. In the US, use a European-style butter at 82% or more, or 84% laminating butter from a bakery supplier.
Classic puff pastry
| Ingredient | Grams | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 100% | |
| 10 g | 2% | |
| 80 g | 16% | |
| 250 g | 50% | |
| 4 g | 0.8% | |
| 300 g | 60% | |
| Total | 1,144 g |
- Dissolve the salt and white vinegar in the water.
- Add the flour and the softened butter and mix briefly with the dough hook.
- Roll the dough into a 36 × 18 cm rectangle and chill it.
- Roll the dry butter (laminating butter) into an 18 × 18 cm square.
- Enclose the butter in the dough and give it 2 single folds (letter folds). Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Do this twice more, for 6 single folds in all.
- Refrigerate for 12 hours.
Apple compote
| Ingredient | Grams | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | ||
| 50 g | ||
| 1 g | ||
| 1 g | ||
| Total | 52 g |
- Cut the apples into brunoise, a very small dice.
- Cook them covered with the sugar, which is 10% of the apples’ weight.
- When the apples turn translucent, uncover and keep cooking to dry the compote.
- Chill quickly.
Shaping and baking
| Ingredient | Grams | |
|---|---|---|
| 50 g | ||
| 50 g | ||
| Total | 100 g |
- Roll the pastry 4 mm thick and cut 11 cm disks.
- Pass the disks through a sheeter to 2 mm thick, which stretches them into ovals.
- Brush the edges with egg wash and put about 40 g of compote on the lower half of each oval.
- Fold the top over and press firmly to seal. Mark the sealed edge with small cuts from the back of a knife (chiqueter).
- Refrigerate until firm.
- Turn the turnovers over, brush them twice with the egg yolks and score the tops.
- With a knife, cut a small vent (chimney) in the center of each one.
- Bake for about 25 minutes at 180 °C (350 °F).
- Brush with the syrup and return them to the oven for a few minutes to dry.
For bakers in the US
- All-purpose flour (T65)
- French type 65 flour; in the US, an unbleached all-purpose flour
- Laminating butter (84% fat)
- Laminating or sheet butter, about 84% fat
- Golden Delicious apples
- Golden Delicious apples; “P” on the sheet means pieces
- Brunoise
- Very small dice, about 3 mm
- 30°Bx syrup
- Sugar syrup at 30% sugar by weight (about 3 parts sugar to 7 parts water)
- Chiqueter
- Mark the sealed edge with small cuts from the back of a knife so the layers rise evenly and stay sealed
