Palmiers

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200g) sugar
• Hide ingredients for 8 ounces puff pastry, store-bought or homemade 1 8 ounces puff pastry, store-bought or homemade (opens in new tab) 8 ounces puff pastry, store-bought or homemade
  • 2 ⅓ cups (290g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
  • 5 tablespoons (70g) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
  • ¾ cup (175g) ice water
  • 3 ½ sticks (14 oz or 395g) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour

  Sub-recipe steps

  1. Pulse to combine in a food processor: 2 ⅓ cups (290g) all-purpose flour; 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
  2. Scatter over the flour: 5 tablespoons (70g) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
  3. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle over: ¾ cup (175g) ice water
  4. Pulse just until the dough begins to come together, 10 to 15 seconds. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a 5-inch square. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  5. Meanwhile, cut into ½-inch slices and freeze for 2 minutes: 3 ½ sticks (14 oz or 395g) unsalted butter
  6. Place in the food processor: 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
  7. Distribute the butter slices over the flour and pulse just until the mixture looks like fine gravel. Scrape the mixture down from the processor sides and process just until smooth. Scrape onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape the butter into a 6-inch square. Wrap the butter block tightly and refrigerate while you roll out the dough.
  8. Place the dough square on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 13 × 8-inch rectangle. Brush off the excess flour. Remove the butter block from the refrigerator and unwrap it. As shown in the top three illustrations, above, center it on one half of the dough; fold the dough over the butter, completely covering it; press the dough together to seal on the three open sides. Turn the dough a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  9. Roll the dough package into a 17 × 7 ½-inch rectangle, keeping a short side facing you. Fold the bottom third of the dough up over the center of the dough. Fold the top third of the dough down over top of the first third, as though you were folding a business letter. This is called a single turn (shown on the bottom left). Rotate the dough a quarter turn counterclockwise and roll the dough once more into a 17 × 7 ½-inch rectangle. This time fold the bottom end up and the top end down to meet in the center (do not overlap), then fold the dough in half, to make 4 layers of dough, as shown on bottom center and right. This double fold is the second turn. Mark the dough with 2 finger imprints to remind yourself that you have given the dough 2 turns. Wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
  10. With the folded edge on the left, roll the dough out again to 17 × 7 ½ inches. Make another double fold, for the third turn. Mark with 3 finger imprints, wrap the dough, and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
  11. Roll the dough out and make another double fold for the fourth turn. Mark the dough with 4 imprints, wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using. Or wrap and store as directed in About Puff Pastry.
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten