For those who know me well, you know that I am an absolute fiend for all things sugary and sweet. And if that sugary and sweet edible confection has layers of flaky pastry rolled around it, so much the better for me. Last summer, I was lazing by the pool at my French friend Karine’s country estate in the beautiful Loire Valley when I was bemoaning the lack of ready-made pastry doughs in Bangalore. In most parts of the U.S. or Europe, there are many varieties of ready-made pastry doughs very easily available at the grocery store -- pizza doughs, pie crusts, puff pastry, phyllo sheets… you get the picture.
Karine, who is also an expat in Bangalore and is a gastronomic expert like most French women, looked at me quizzically and said, “But what do you mean? We have puff pastry in Bangalore! Mais oui, I will give you the numero de telephone!” So it is then that I discovered the gem that is All Saints Bakery on Brigade Road. Now, many of you know this Bangalore institution already. But did you know they sell puff pastry by the kilo? The trick is – you know there is a catch to everything good, right? – one must call at least a day in advance and order it. So since then, thanks to dear Karine, I have been using puff pastry for just about every party I’ve thrown and it’s been a hit every time.
For our Valentine’s Day weekend event with Adarsh and Gautami Parekh, I wasn’t too crazy about using egg roll wrappers for their delicious Chocolate and Fig Croustillant recipe because the crust got too hard after baking. So we substituted puff pastries, rolled very thin and cut out with pizza cutters. And voila! Instant magic. Another party favorite is my Baked Brie in Puff Pastry recipe. It couldn’t be easier to make and everyone just loves it. And of course, there are a myriad of other uses for this pastry, such as making savory pinwheels topped with a variety of toppings.
Foodies -- please email me with other puff pastry ideas you come up with and I will share them on this website. In the meantime, happy baking with puff pastry (and if you need any tasters for your puff pastry creations, you know where to find me…)!
All Saints Bakery is located on 126 Brigade Road (ph: 0802557209).
Wishing you all the best,
Namee Oberst
Founder, Food for Cause
Puff Pastry Party
Wednesday, February 16, 2011