Either you are planning on making appetizers for guests or you are looking for a way to use your leftover puff pastry, these Homemade Cheese & Sesame Puff Pastry Bites are perfect and so much better than any store-bought version.
Serves 18 bites
1 cup + 6 tbsp all purpose flour
6 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup iced water
6 tbsp chilled unsalted butter (European butter works best)
1 Homemade Puff pastry
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
1/4 cup pecorino, grated
1/4 cup Swiss cheese, grated
1 egg
Black sesame seeds
Step 1
1- Blend flour with cornstarch using a whisk and preserve 1/4 cup for step 2.
2- Stir in the oil and salt into the flour mix and mix the best you can using a fork or your fingers. The ideal texture should have no big clumps of flour and the oil should be nearly invisible.
3- Slowly, little by little, add the ice cold water pressing ingredients together using a spatula first then your hands to form a cushion like shape. No need to make a smooth surface, it will smooth out by itself during the folding process. The constituency of the dough should be pliable, not damp nor sticky.
4- Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate it for 40 minutes.
Step 2
5- When the dough is about to be ready to be rolled out, beat the chilled butter with a rolling pin to soften it. Add the preserved 1/4 cup of flour mix to the butter and combine until the mixture is smooth and easy to spread, but still cold. If the butter has softened too much, place it in the fridge at the time to roll out the dough, that should do it.
6- Remove the dough from the fridge and unwrap it.
7- Lightly flour the dough on both sides to make sure it doesn’t stick to the working surface.
8- Roll the dough into a 10 inches long – 6 inches wide rectangle.
9- Spread the butter mixture over the upper 2/3 of the dough, leaving about 1.5 inches unbuttered borders all around (1).
10- Fold the bottom unbuttered over half of the buttered surface (2), then fold the top buttered over it (3).
11- Rotate the dough 90 degrees so that the top flap is vertical (4).
12- Lightly flour the dough on both sides and roll it into a 10 inches long so it will be long enough to be folded in 4 layers.
13- Fold the top and bottom edges so that they meet at the center (5), then fold again both edges towards the center (6).
14- Wrap the dough in plastic and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes. The dough needs to be kept cold and firm to ensure the butter does not combine with the layers while rolling.
15- Once the dough is chilled, repeat the folding process one more time to create more layers of dough/butter: Roll into a long rectangular, fold just like we did (2), (3), (4), roll again into a long rectangular and repeat folding (5), (6). Make sure the dough stays cold during the process, if not, place the dough back into the freezer for a few minutes.
16- Wrap into plastic and place the dough in the fridge overnight. For the best result, do not skip this important step.
1- Preheat the oven to 390F (200C).
2- Combine in a bowl all grated cheeses. Whisk in another one the egg. Set aside.
3- Roll out puff pastry dough into a 8×18 inch rectangle on a working surface that has been generously dusted with flour.
4- Place the dough horizontally in front of you, then using a sharp knife, cut into 1 inch thick slices. You should have 18 slices. (It is easier to cut while the dough is still cold).
5- Working fast, brush the beaten egg on top of each slice. Sprinkle them with cheese and sesame seeds on top.
6- Tightly roll into a log shape each slice.
7- Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
8- Bake at 390°F (200 degrees) for 25-30 minutes or until golden.
Cheers Xx
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