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Hello!
Today, we’re talking about puff pastry, with both a learning article and a new recipe.
Pastry comes up in questions often, and puff pastry more than other types. So although I’ve written lots of recipes using it over the years, I want to run you all through a good overview of exactly what’s happening in the oven when you bake puff pastry, and why it works so well.
As you read today’s newsletter, I’ll be at an Aussie food bloggers conference in glorious Queenscliff. I’ve never been to a bloggers event before, and food bloggers in Australia are a pretty small community, so I’m excited to meet some of the people I’ve connected with online over the years! I expect I’ll come back inspired and fired up with lots of new ideas for how I can create even more useful content for all of you.
Wherever you are, I hope you’re having a good week. Happy cooking and I’ll see you again at the end of the month.
Emily x
New to Learn: Why you should cook puff pastry in a steam oven (and how to do it)
Conventional thinking says that puff pastry in a steam oven is not a good idea. But if you’ve done it before, you’ll know the combination of steam and high heat is a dream for puff pastry, making it both tender and crispy-golden at the same time.
A long time ago, I used to do regular cooking demos and classes for people who’d just bought, or were interested in owning a steam oven. I always included a puff pastry dish at these events, because showing people how to cook puff pastry in a steam oven seems a bit like a magic trick.
New to Cook: Puff Pastry Apple Roses
These very pretty little pastries only need a few common ingredients and they are so simple to make. There’s some work in slicing and preparing the apples, but it’s not complex and you’ll be rewarded with flaky, delicious pastries that look like a million bucks. I had a carpenter doing some work here on the day I made these to photograph, and he cheerfully ate several, still warm from the oven. Proof positive that fresh pastries will never be turned down!
The Season Flip
More pastry? You got it! Here are a couple of my favorites to suit the seasons.
Southern Hemisphere
Leek and Mushroom Tart
This upside-down vegetable tart is an all-year affair if you change up the vegetables (tomatoes or tiny, firm zucchinis are fabulous in summer). For cool-slash-springtime-ish weather, the leek and mushroom version is perfect; earthy and warming but not heavy.
Northern Hemisphere
Raspberry Cheesecake Pastries
If you’re drowning in late-summer-early-Autumn fresh fruit, lucky you. Can I recommend these delightful little cheesecake pastries which will have you stuffing raspberries (or, honestly, any kind of berries) into cream cheese filled puff pastry. They’re pretty and portable (back to school lunchboxes! Work afternoon tea treats!), and every time I make a batch I wonder why I don’t do so more often.
A Thing I'm Loving
I recently signed up for a digital subscription to The New Yorker. Although I’m more than half a world away from its namesake city, I’ve long loved the magazine’s articles, which span far further reaches than just NYC.
I joined for the food writing but I’ll stay for the thoughtful features on all sorts of fascinating people and stories from around the globe. My most-enjoyed read last week was this piece, folding European history, economics and philanthropy into one.
I’m unsure whether it’s a global offer or just one I got access to in Australia, but I got a year’s subscription for USD $1 a week, which was a bargain. Apparently I also get a free tote bag. I’ll expect that to arrive in approximately 16 weeks (by which point I will surely have forgotten all about it), after it makes a long, slow journey to my Australian mailbox.
Ask Me Anything (AMA)
Here’s your opportunity to ask me anything you like related to combi steam cooking!
I really encourage you to submit questions, and will do my best to answer as many as possible. I may not be able to get to every single question, but I carefully curate ones which are relevant and represent a variety of topics. We all learn from each other, and I often learn new things based on questions from all of you!
If you have an AMA question, please email it to [email protected]. Make sure you include the phrase INSIDERS AMA in the subject line so I can collate and read all your submissions.
From Rosemarie
Q: I am having several people over for carry out pizza and wine. Planning on ordering pizza ahead of time and wondering the best way to reheat when it is time for serving.
A: I love reheating pizza in my combi steam! My go-to setting for it is Combi Steam, 320°F/160°C, 30% (low) humidity. You want to achieve some humidity in the oven but not so much that your pizza ends up soggy after warming. It doesn’t take very long to heat through; individual slices need around 6-8 minutes, and full pizzas about 15 minutes.
From Susan
Q: I’m wondering if you can point me to where I can buy the different sizes of steam oven trays both perforated and non perforated?
A: Yes, there are loads of different options available on Amazon. For in-person (or non Amazon!) purchases, I’d recommend a local catering equipment supplier or commercial kitchen supplies store. In Australia, I’ve bought online from Nisbets and in-person in Perth from Reward Catering (Reward also does online sales, I believe).