Good puff paste is made by taking equal quantities of butter and flour--say a pound of each--the yolk of one egg, a pinch of salt, while the water used is acidulated with lemon-juice. For the manipulation of this pastry we must refer those who do not know how to make it to other cookery books, or to the shilling one above mentioned. In making ordinary paste we must use less butter; and when we use considerably less butter, if we wish the pastry light, we shall require baking-powder. The quantity depends very much upon the quality. Many persons make their own baking-powder, and we cannot recommend any better than the recipe given in the last chapter, viz., an ounce of tartaric acid, an ounce and a half of bicarbonate of soda, and an ounce and a half of arrowroot. A great deal, too, depends upon the quality of the flour. Vienna flour is much more expensive than ordinary flour, but incomparably superior. What limit we can assign to the quantity of butter used it is impossible to say. A quarter of a pound of butter to a pound of flour, and a teaspoonful of baking-powder, will make a fair crust. When less butter is used the result is not altogether satisfactory.
Source:
Cassell's Vegetarian Cookery
