The word “sacristain” refers to puff pastry dough that is formed into the shape of a twist, sprinkled with stuff, and then baked off. I made sacristains using fresh rosemary and thyme. I broke them in half so that they’d fit into a wine glass (for presentation purposes). See photo at right. Other things you could sprinkle on top of the dough include: caraway seeds and kosher salt, or even parmesan cheese and paprika, etc…

Ready

Puff Pastry Dough:

• 2 ½ Cups A.P. Flour
• ¾ Cups Cake Flour
• 8 T Unsalted Butter (1 stick)
• 1 ½ tsp Salt
• 1 Cup Very Cold Water

Butter Block:

• ¼ Cup A.P. Flour
• 1 lb (4 sticks) Unsalted Butter

Topping

• Fresh Rosemary (finely chopped)
• Fresh Thyme (finely chopped)
• 1 egg

Set

• Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer
• Mixing Bowl
• Rolling Pin
• Spatula
• Measuring Cups/Spoons
• Pizza slicer
• Ruler
• Pre-heat oven to 400°F when almost ready to bake.

Go

Puff Pastry Dough:

1. Place the A.P. flour in bowl and sift cake flour over it. Stir. Rub the butter in by hand and use a pastry blender to manually and thoroughly mix in the butter such that no visible pieces of butter remain.
2. Dissolve the salt in the water. Dig a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the water gradually, ¼ cup at a time. Mix by hand by gently, turning the bowl as you mix. Do not apply pressure (eg, by mixing with a spatula or spoon). The dough should be wet and ropey.
3. Press the dough into a square about 1 inch thick on a surface dusted with flour. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or even overnight.

Butter Block:

1. Pour the flour onto a clean work surface and coat the butter block (4 sticks of butter lined up in a row like a rectangle; ideally, you would use a 1lb block of butter). Pound the butter block with a rolling pin to flatten it to about 1 inch thickness, on the mound of flour. Turn the flattened block in the flour. As the butter begins to become more workable (but not soft), incorporate the flour into the solid butter. By hand, press the mass into a 1 inch thick square. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 min.

Turning and Folding the Dough:

1. Remove dough and butter block from refrigerator. Dust work surface with flour. Roll out 4 ears/flaps away from the center of the dough. Leave the center of dough intact. It should resemble a mound with 4 flat flaps coming off the center.
2. Place the butter block on top of the mound and fold in all 4 flaps. Pinch together the seams so that the butter block is completely covered.
3. Dust work surface with flour and gently press the dough with a rolling pin to flatten it a bit. Then roll the dough into a rectangular sheet, a ¼ inch in thickness. The rectangle of dough should be 3x as long as it is wide.
4. 1st Turn: Fold both ends of the dough in towards the center, but the flaps should not meet/touch. There should be an inch-wide gap in the center.
5. 2nd Turn: Fold one side over the other as if closing a book. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour or even overnight.
6. Remove dough from refrigerator. Repeat the turning and folding process to achieve a total of 4 turns of the dough. Chill in plastic wrap for at least 1 hour or even overnight.

Rolling, Twisting, and Baking the Dough:

1. Remove dough from refrigerator. Dust surface with flour and roll dough out into a rectangular sheet, 3/8 of an inch thick.
2. Chill in freezer for about 20 minutes to set.
3. Remove from freezer and egg wash 1 side of the rectangle.
4. Sprinkle with finely chopped rosemary and thyme.
5. Using a ruler, cut into even strips, 6 inches in length and ½ inch wide.
6. Twist each strip, and place twists on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Chill the twists for 15-20 minutes in freezer.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, or until light golden brown.
9. Serve and enjoy.

What you should know

Recipe from baking class at Tante Marie’s Cooking School.