There are very few things that say comfort food like a chicken pot pie. I go for the classic combination with chicken, peas, carrots and a parsnip for flare, in a rich creamy white sauce that is made with fresh thyme and parsley. The whole thing is draped in a crust of homemade puff pastry. It is this last detail that transforms this bastion of Americana into something utterly sublime. The mille feuilles (thousand leaves) of pastry are baked as a golden brown crown that adds the flaky contrast to the creamy stew below. Seriously folks, it got me mother of the year status in my house! 😉
Puff pastry is the ultimate dough in any home or professional kitchen. One that is not at all difficult to make, but it requires some of your time and a bit of your patience. The store bought version may be convenient but it will leave you feeling lackluster, while the homemade dough will make you weep. In order to get the flaky puff that gives this dough its name, you must diligently “laminate” layers of dough with layers of butter, about one thousand in all. It is the butter that create steam as the dough bakes, which causes all the layers to separate into a flaky crust. Once you work with and taste the pastry you will understand why it is worth every moment that goes into its preparation. I make a batch that will easily prepare pot pie for dinner, a napoleon for dessert and flaky caramelized palmier to dip into my morning coffee. Or, the dough can be frozen for a month.
Do you have pie questions or need to troubleshoot your recipe? Check out my guide on how to make pie crust.
I’ve made several pot pie recipes and this time I tried one from Christopher Kimball’s latest kitchen tome The Cook’s Country Cookbook. It is a very simple and fast recipe that makes a chicken pot pie worthy of my puff pastry. I baked it in these fabulous individual red Le Creuset Stoneware Heart Ramekin with Cover.
Puff Pastry by Zoë
Dough layer:
2 ounces (1/2 stick) soft unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups (11 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (3 3/4 ounces) cake flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup cold water
Butter layer:
1 pound (4 sticks) soft unsalted butter – not so soft that the stick can’t old its shape when picked up.
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1. Make the dough by putting the 2 ounces of butter, flours, salt and water into your Stand Mixer
with the Dough Hook
2. Press the dough out onto a sheet of parchment or a Silpat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. While the dough is chilling prepare the butter layer. Mix together the 1 pound of butter, 2 tablespoons of flour, and salt until very smooth. there should be no hard lumps of butter.
4. Once the dough is chilled Roll it out into a large rectangle that is 1/8-inch thick, about 12×18-inches. Spread the butter over 2/3 of the dough with an Offset Spatula. Be sure to leave about 1/2-inch border around the butter.
5. Now you need to “lock in” the butter, so that it won’t leak out of your dough while you are working with it. Fold the 1/3 of dough that has no butter over the middle 1/3.
6. Fold the last 1/3 of the dough over the middle again. Press the edges shut, to lock in the butter.
7. Place the dough back onto the tray and cover with plastic wrap. refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. You should check after 20 minutes to make sure the butter is not getting too hard.
8. Take the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out to the 12×18-inch rectangle again on a lightly floured surface. Be sure that you are careful not to squeeze the butter out of the ends of the dough. In fact, you want to avoid the edges as much as possible as you are rolling.
9. Before you begin folding the dough brush the excess flour off of the dough with a Pastry Brush.
10. You are going to fold the dough in thirds again, like a letter. Start with one end and fold it over the middle section. Brush off the excess flour. Fold over the other side.
11. Gently roll the dough out a little bit so that the layers will chill faster when you stick it back into the refrigerator. Sometimes you can roll it quite a bit and others the butter is too soft or hard or the dough is resisting. If the dough is resisting, give up and cover it with plastic.
12. Now you have completed your first “turn” of the dough and you need to mark it as such. It is traditional to make an indentation in the dough, either with your finger or the blunt backside of a knife. If you are using parchment paper you can mark the turns right on the paper.
You need to repeat steps 7-12 a total of 5 more times, you will have 6 full turns by the end. As the layers of butter get thinner and thinner the time needed between turns in the refrigerator gets shorter. By the final turn you will only need to let it rest for about 10-15 minutes. If your dough is behaving well, you may even get 2 turns in one go. Don’t rush the dough, it is best to keep the dough chilled.
Now your dough is ready to use or freeze.
To make and bake the Pot Pie:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Use the pot pie recipe of your choice.
Cut the puff pastry dough in half. Roll out one half until it is 1/8-inch thick. Wrap and refrigerate or freeze the other piece of dough. It will last in the refrigerator or about 3-5 days, frozen it will last for a month.
If you are using the heart shaped baking dishes you can measure the outside of the lid and that will give you the right size dough. For any dish without a lid you need to measure the dish and make sure the dough measures about a 1/4-inch wider than the dish on all sides. As the dough bakes it will rise quite a bit and shrink in width. BTW-you will not use the lids for baking this!
Fill the baking dish with your filling, nearly to the top, but not quite.
Top with the dough. Tuck it into the pot so that it isn’t hanging over the edges.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the pastry is a golden brown.
Enjoy!
It looks amazing, and the puff pastry looks like a fun challenge. Thanks for the inspiration.
Beautiful. The images are mouth watering.
Wow! that is dedication!!! 🙂 I just might have to give this a try, because they only have the not-real-butter puff pastry in my grocery store.
Those heart shaped dishes are adorable!
Wow! You inspire me to try it. Cooking with Le Creuset would also inspire me.
I soooo need to try my hand at making puff pastry….this looks amazing!
I’ve been wanting to try homemade puff pastry, and this looks like a good reason to try it. I know my mom would love this dish, but so would I…
thanks for the tutorial on puff pastry Zoe! I’ll be bookmarking this one 🙂
p.s. don’t need to enter me in contest. No heart pots in my kitchen 😉
Oh that looks excellent. Must make soon….
What an awesome ramekin. I love it. It would look beautiful with something chocolate inside!
I love making chicken pot pies and I adore the color red (take a look at my blog and you’ll see ;)) so I would love to win this! Your pot pie looks so delicious.
That looks so tasty.
I think everything looks great.
Thanks for the giveaway.
Oooo. That potpie looks amazing and the dish is so cute!
What a perfect pot pie & for the lesson on puff pastry. Count me in on the draw for the adorable Le Creuset ramekin…my little Mamma would have loved the color!
Beautiful photography, beautiful pie. I’m impressed.. I’ve always thought of puff pastry as a store bought only kind of thing.
Sign me up for the drawing! beautiful dish for mother’s day, thanks!
What a great idea to use the lid as a template for the top crust! Thank you for a great recipe and all the photos.
Very cute. I probably don’t even know what I’m missing, having never tried homemade puff pastry.
Oh, pot pies…the epitome of comfort food! I’ll have to share this recipe with my Mom. She passed down her recipe to me, along with her love of Le Creuset, mais naturellement!
I love making chicken pot pies, but I’ve never tried making my own puff pastry…yet. I hope that Le Creuset has my name on it! :o)
Your website is fantastic! and the food looks amazing. Inspiring. Thanks, HR
Your website is beautiful and the food looks amazing. Inspiring. Thanks, HR
It’s gorgeous! And three of my favorite things–puff pastry, chicken pot pie, and Le Creuset!
I made puff pastry once, for the Daring Bakers–and you’re right! It’s not difficult, it just requires time and patience. But it’s worth it.
Those look absolutely beautiful. I make a chicken pot pie that is very tasty, but use regular pie crust. Puff pastry would make it extra special, I think.
And those heart-shaped dishes are adorable!
Beautiful! Puff Pastry is one of many winning concepts to learn from Julia Childs. I agree that it is worth the effort. The hearts are adorable – and you show what to do with the covers! Thanks for the post. Homemade is always best 🙂
Those are the cutest things ever. And I think that I would just curl up into a happy little ball if I got one of those Le Creuset ramekins.
Mmmmm. That looks fabulous. I’m a big fan of Cooks Illustrated/Cooks Country.
My mom doesn’t like cook, but I sure do, and would love to win!