Very few people make their own puff pastry thinking it’s too difficult.

It’s not. It takes some time but it’s not difficult. And most of the time is waiting for the dough to cool. Basically, it’s a layering of butter in a flour/water dough. When it cooks, the water in the butter steams up and that’s what makes the dough rise.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 19 ounces of flour
• 5 grams of salt
• 1 cup of water

The dough is in two parts: mostly water and flour and a little bit of butter (“detrempe”) on one side and mostly butter with a little bit of flour on the other.

Start by pouring 15 ounces of flour on a work surface or in a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and two ounces of butter and mix with a spatula. then add the water little by little and mix it. try and mix it gently with the spatula or a dough cutter instead of your hands so as not to knead it otherwise it will become too elastic. When the detrempe is ready, cover and put it in the fridge to rest.

Mix the rest of the butter with 4 ounces of flour. it makes a sticky mess. use the wax paper the butter came in to shape the butter in a flat rectangular shape. put it in the fridge.

After a couple of hours, take the detrempe out and roll it in the shape of a cross with a large square and 4 thinner arms. Put the butter in the middle and cover with the four arms.
The consistency of the detrempe and butter should be similar which will make rolling possible.

You are now going to do what is called turns. A turn is when you roll the dough down then fold it in thirds: fold the left third then right third over the middle. So you go from one square of dough to a 3×1 rectangle back to a square of dough. The dough is then turned 90 degrees either side and the process is repeated.

Puff pastry calls usually for 4 to 6 turns. Some people fold like a book: make a 4×1 rectangle, then fold each side toward the middle and finally fold in two. This is known as a turn and a half.

You cannot do 6 turns one after the other, usually after rolling and folding twice, then dough needs to be set in the fridge to rest and cool down for an hour or so.

Normandy is home to apple groves. Norman pie is thus a type of  apple pie.

Make a batch of pie dough (see here)
You will have enough for two pies.

Ingredients:

• Apples. at least 6. more is good.
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup sugar + 2 tbsp sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup ground almonds
• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 600 ml heavy whipping cream and milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Pre heat over at 325.

Peel and cut the apples in eight. put them in a pan with a bit of sugar and 2 tbsp of butter. Cook uncovered until the apples are soft and nicely colored.

In the meantime, in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and the cup of sugar. Add the almond meal and flour and mix. pour in the vanilla extract. Finally add the cream and milk. a total of 600 ml but you can vary how much milk and cream. i usually do about 400 ml heavy whipping cream and 200 ml milk.

Put the apple pieces to cool in a plate.

Roll the pie dough into two pie pans. I use the shallow ones with a removable bottom.

Place the apple pieces in the pans. Then pour the filling on top.

Bake for 40 minutes at 325.

Some people add calvados (apple alcohol) but it’s very good without too, so don’t buy a bottle of calvados just for that, we know what happens to opened bottles…

This the the pie dough I use for my fruit pies.

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• dash of salt

Pour the four and salt in a mixing bowl. Add in the sugar. do not mix.
Cut up the butter in small pieces and put on top of the sugar.
With your fingers or whole hands mix the sugar and butter. Then mix with the rest until it’s crumbly. Add the eggs and mix, knead a bit until it does not stick to your hands. Add a pinch of flour if it sticks a bit.
Split in two parts, Wrap in cling film or put in tupperware and let it rest in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Take it out of the fridge and microwave for 10-20 seconds. Roll to a couple of mm thick. You can transfer it to a pie pan. The dough can easily be patched if it does not come perfect the first time. Nobody will notice.

Fill the pie with desired filling and bake usually about 40 minutes at 325.