No. 1378 — Puff Pastry for Savoury Pies
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 1378 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Make dough from ½ glass of very cold water and two glasses of flour, reserving ¼ glass for dusting the worktop. Roll to half a finger thick.
Wash ½ Russian pound of very cold butter in icy water, soften smoothly with a spoon and squeeze dry in a napkin. Flatten into a round half the size of the dough.
Enclose the butter in the pastry, seal, roll oblong and chill covered for fifteen minutes. Fold in thirds, roll and chill for another quarter hour.
Repeat the folding and rolling six times over about two hours, working somewhere cold but not freezing.
When the oven is ready roll to half a finger thick. Fold in quarters, place on a napkin, open out and arrange a layer of very thin crêpes fried on both sides and trimmed rectangularly.
Lay stuffing, fish and more stuffing on the crêpes to avoid a soggy lower crust, seal and bake as described in the general note.
To provide
2 glasses, or ⅔ Russian pound, of flour ½ Russian pound of butter | 1 egg for glazing |