Ingredients

Pasta sfoglia begins with the same four basic ingredients as the two previously discussed tart doughs: flour, fat, salt, and a liquid. The fat in pasta sfoglia has a significant influence on the quality of the final product. Historically many kinds of fat have been used in its preparation, including lard, goose fat, vegetable shortening, margarine, and pastry margarine, but the classic fat, and the best for flavor, is butter. The fat must be chilled and kept at roughly the same consistency as the dough.