Puff Pastry Croutons
Category
Snack
Servings/Yield
Makes about 32 pieces
Author
Christian Leue
Ingredients
1/4 pound salted butter (1 stick, 114 grams), unwrapped and frozen*
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (90 grams)
-
2-3 tsp Luberon N4 (depending on how herby you like it)
1/4 cup sour cream (60 grams) (must be the real full-fat kind to work)
Directions
Food processor: Set up the bowl with a shredding disk and shred the frozen butter. Switch to a regular blade, add the flour and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the sour cream and Luberon and process just until the dough comes together in a ball.
Or by hand: Coarsely grate the butter using a box grater. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the sour cream and Luberon and mix until the dough comes together, then turn out onto a floured board and knead just until it comes together in a ball. Do not overwork.
Flatten the ball of dough, wrap tightly with parchment paper or place in a plastic bag. Refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight. If storing for longer periods in the freezer, place a piece of dough in a ziploc bag and flatten so the dough fills the bag. This is a much easier shape to roll out once it is defrosted.
Preheat oven to 400°F (or 375°F if you have a convection oven).
Roll the dough out on a floured sheet of parchment paper to 1/8" thick.
Cut into small pieces using a pizza wheel, the shape is up to you. Separate the pieces slightly so they can cook on the edges.
Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the sheet pan once during cooking.
Recipe Note
Recipe Notes
* This can be scaled up or down as desired. The ratio is 3/4 cup (90 grams) flour to one stick salted butter to 1/4 cup sour cream.
Variations & Ideas
• These are lovely served on top of a soup, and are the perfect way to add flaky and herbaceous crunch to a salad.
• The sky is truly the limit when it comes to flavoring these light and airy morsels. Try Iris, Breeze, or Coquelicot.
• It's also perfect as a base for savory tarts. I simply make a double batch of the recipe above (you can try Orchidea or Smoked Cinnamon also as sweet notes to play off savory flavors) roll out a 1/4" thick rectangle, make a slit all the way around (be careful not to cut all the way through) about an inch from the edge to make a border, and pierce the center all over with a fork so it doesn't rise. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light gold. Fill with a mixture of yogurt, eggs, and cheese, and top with vegetables. Then just bake until the the veggies are cooked and the custard is set, about 10 minutes.
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