Butterteig

While puff pastry (Butterteig, literally “butter dough”) isn’t used as prodigiously in the Viennese kitchen as in the French, it is essential for such Austro-Hungarian favorites as Cremeschnitten and Schaumrollen. Many Austro-Hungarian bakers insist on a splash of rum in the dough, which they believe crisps and separates the flaky layers. Because of postwar restrictions on butter, some older cookbooks recommend margarine for puff pastry, in which case it was called Blätterteig (“leaf dough”), a term that can still be found in today’s cookbooks. Margarine does make a flaky pastry, but the flavor is greasy and unappetizing. Don’t use any substitutes for high-quality grade AA butter.