Daring Bakers: Puff Pastry
Once again I waited until the very last minute to complete this month’s challenge. What kind of crazy person decides to attempt puff pastry from scratch for the first time with a time constraint? This crazy person, that’s who.
The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
I printed out the recipe and read through it and the instructions for the puff pastry vols-au-vent many times to mentally prepare myself for making this daunting pastry. I watched the episode of Baking with Julia where Michel Richard demonstrates making the pastry. Ben and I both watched in awe. It’s as if he could produce a smooth and beautiful puff pastry dough with his eyes closed and both hands tied behind his back while balancing some spinning plates on his head. Really, he makes it look that easy.