Bouchée or Small-patty Crusts

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy bare metal baking sheet
• •Rolling pin and ruler
• •3-inch (7.5 cm) fluted round cutter
• •2-inch (5 cm) plain round cutter or small sharp knife
• •Pastry brush
• •Small spoon and paring knife
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat and moisten

   Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat it to 425°F (220°C), or 400°F (200°C) with a fan. Give the oven a full twenty minutes at temperature; pâte feuilletée needs immediate heat to drive its layers apart. Wipe the bare baking sheet evenly with the cold water until the metal gleams. Leave no puddles, which would paste the bottoms to the tray; if water collects, blot it before the pastry goes down.

2. 2

   Roll and stamp

   Dust the board and rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll the pâte feuilletée to a true 1/3 inch (8 mm) thick, lifting and turning it without stretching. Brush away loose flour, then stamp out eight rounds with the 3-inch (7.5 cm) fluted cutter. Press straight down and lift straight up. Twisting the cutter seals the laminated edge and steals height. Set the rounds on the moistened tray about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) apart. If the butter softens or the surface becomes tacky, stop and chill the pastry for ten minutes before cutting.

3. 3

   Gild and score

   Brush the tops lightly and evenly with the beaten egg. This is the book's Gild: beaten egg gives the pastry its golden sheen under heat. Keep it off the fluted sides, because egg running down an edge glues the layers together; wipe away any drip with the corner of a damp cloth before it sets. Dip the 2-inch (5 cm) plain cutter in hot water, shake it nearly dry, and center it on each round. Press an incision about two-thirds through the pastry, never through the bottom. Without a smaller cutter, trace the same circle with the point of a sharp knife, keeping it 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) from the outer edge.

4. 4

   Chill the rounds

   Chill the prepared tray for fifteen to twenty minutes, until the pastry feels firm and the egg coating is no longer wet. This pause is the honest home-kitchen equivalent of working from a cold pastry bench. Cold butter layers meeting a fully heated oven make separate flakes; warm butter simply runs between them.

5. 5

   Bake them tall

   Bake without opening the door for nine minutes. Once the bouchées have risen strongly, reduce the oven to 400°F (200°C), or 350°F (180°C) with a fan, and continue for nine to twelve minutes. They are ready when the tops are deep butter-gold, the fluted sides feel firm, and the lower layers show no grey or doughy line. If the tops bronze before the sides are baked, lay foil loosely over them and finish the cooking; pale, soft sides collapse as they cool.

6. 6

   Clear the crumb

   Have a paring knife, a small spoon, and a folded towel ready. The instant the tray leaves the oven, steady one hot bouchée with the towel, trace the scored circle with the knife, and lift off its lid. Scoop out the soft interior crumb without piercing the thin floor or breaking the laminated walls. Work through all eight while they remain hot and flexible. If a lid will not release or the crumb has begun to set, ça se rattrape: deepen the incision with the knife, tease the crumb out one layer at a time, then return the opened shell and lid to a 350°F (180°C) oven for three to five minutes to dry.

7. 7

   Cool and keep

   Transfer the hollow shells and their lids to a rack and let them cool uncovered. Covering warm pastry traps moisture and softens every layer you worked to raise. Keep the bouchées empty until shortly before serving, then add the filling chosen for your menu and rest each lid lightly on top. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use all-butter pâte feuilletée in a block if possible. Thin pre-rolled sheets rarely provide the full 1/3-inch thickness, and pastry made with margarine leaves a waxy finish. We don't apologize for butter.
• •This entry makes each bouchée from one thick round with an inset incision. Do not stack a separate pastry ring over a base; that is another useful method, but it is not the method given here.
• •Press every cutter straight down. A twisted cutter smears butter across the exposed layers, effectively sealing the very edges the oven must lift.
• •Do not knead the scraps into a ball for more bouchées. Stack them flat, chill them, and roll them once for another use; kneading tangles the lamination.
• •For mignonnes bouchées used as a garnish, stamp 2-inch (5 cm) rounds and leave the pastry slightly thicker than for ordinary bouchées. Begin checking them a few minutes earlier.

Advance Preparation

• •The rounds may be stamped, gilded, and scored up to 8 hours ahead. Refrigerate them on the baking sheet under a loose cover that does not touch the egg-coated tops, then bake directly from the cold.
• •Baked and cleared bouchées may be kept for 1 day in an airtight container at room temperature once completely cool. Recrisp them for 5 to 7 minutes in a 350°F (180°C) oven before filling.
• •For longer keeping, freeze the cooled empty shells and lids for up to 1 month. Reheat them directly from frozen at 350°F (180°C) until crisp, about 8 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 90g)