Theory

Puff pastry, rich, light, and delicious, is the base for a wide variety of sweet and savory dishes in the classic French culinary repertoire. Having a nice, even rise, it is used for pies, tarts, allumettes (puff pastry strips), and vols-au-vent (puff pastry shells), as well as many other dishes. It has an elegant and refined image that, for generations, has been surrounded with mystique. Throughout its history, puff pastry has been known as time-consuming to prepare, complicated to master, and, with its luxurious use of butter, expensive to make. Although it is true that it is time-consuming and somewhat expensive, given the proper attention, puff pastry—contrary to its reputation—is not particularly difficult to make.