Michelle Darmody: How to bake savoury scrolls with puff pastry
Handheld snacks are a good bet, so your host does not have to worry about plates or cutlery. Puff pastry is ideal for such snacks, from sausage rolls to cranberry and camembert parcels or these savoury scrolls.
It is the time of year when you may have guests calling, or you might be on route to a neighbour's or friend’s house for a festive gathering.
If you have the time and inclination, it is quite charming to arrive laden with some home baking, it will definitely elicit smiles and a warm welcome.
Handheld snacks are a good bet, so your host does not have to worry about plates or cutlery. Puff pastry is ideal for such snacks, from sausage rolls to cranberry and camembert parcels or these savoury scrolls.
The baby spinach and cheese are a nice combination. I make batches of sausage rolls every year for Christmas Eve and it is nice to have a non-meat alternative as well.
Puff pastry is notoriously tricky to make, with its many layers of butter and dough.
It takes precision with temperature and rolling to ensure the crispness and flakability. I generally rely on shop-bought puff pastry; there are good locally made brands available that use all-butter in their recipes.
Butter is important in puff pastry as it not only gives a deliciously rich flavour but when the butter is heated quickly to a high temperature it omits steam which lifts and expands the delicate layers of dough.
This process of making pastry is called lamination and is also used in croissants and other similar pastries.
Puff pastry is notoriously tricky to make, with its many layers of butter and dough. It takes precision with temperature and rolling to ensure the crispness and flakability. Servings Preparation Time Cooking Time Total Time Course Ingredients 350g puff pastry 140g feta crumbled 30g cheddar, grated a large handful of baby spinach, chopped 2 tbs pesto 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 tsp of sesame seeds Method Defrost your pastry. Preheat your oven to 200ºC/gas 6. Line two large, flat baking trays with parchment. If your pastry is in sheets, you can unfurl it, or if it is a block, you can roll it about 5mm in thickness and into a rectangle shape. Spread the pesto on the pastry leaving about 2cm around the edge. Sprinkle the feta and cheddar and chopped baby spinach on top. Roll from the longest side of your rectangle to make a sausage shape. Cut the pastry sausage into 12 discs and place six on each baking tray, leaving room between each one so they can spread while baking. Brush each scroll with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place the trays into your oven and bake for about 20 minutes until puffed up and golden. Allow to cool on a wire rack before serving.Savoury Scrolls
- Do not try to force puff pastry sheets to unfurl and open until they have defrosted. You will cause them to crack, and they will lose some of their airiness when baking.
- As with most pastry, it is best to keep your puff pastry as cool as possible to preserve the flaky layers. If the pastry gets too warm or is handled too much it will be oily when baked and lose its crispness. You can defrost it in the fridge and keep any pastry that you are not using in the fridge until needed, for example only roll half of the block at a time and work with this while the remaining half is kept cool in the fridge. If it gets sticky or very soft with use place it back into the fridge.
- Puff pastry can also get tough if you push and pull it too much. It is best to handle it gently and as little as possible. When you are rolling it from a block, push the rolling pin away from you in a gentle motion. Turn the pastry and then roll away from you again. Use a light dusting of flour on the rolling pin and the work surface.
- These scrolls can be prepared in advance and kept in either the fridge or freezer and baked when needed. Remove them from the freezer a few hours ahead of baking and let them defrost in the fridge.
- You can use a fork to press the end of the scroll to stop it opening. Press the edge firmly with the prongs of the fork.
- Your oven needs to be preheated to 200ºC/gas 6 because a hot oven is necessary to allow the pastry to puff up. The hot air makes the layers puff up as the butter in the pastry creates steam. You do not want the butter to melt before turning to steam so it is crucial that the oven is heated before the pastry goes in.
- Another option, with this recipe, is to use a little smoked salmon along with the feta and spinach as it is often on Christmas shopping lists. Even little scraps of the salmon can be dotted onto the pastry before it is rolled.
- Replace the basil pesto with sundried tomato pesto which already has some garlic and other ingredients in it, so is bursting with flavour.
- You can spread a thin layer of this paste directly onto the dough then sprinkle on some chopped and pitted olives.
- It is important to remove all the stones from the olives so there is not a surprise for someone's tooth.
- Some feta is good to include here as well to help the layers stick together.
- Ham and cheese are a classic combination.
- I add some mustard for a little punch and to break the saltiness of the ham or if you prefer to use red onion marmalade here, it is also delicious.
- Spread the mustard or red onion marmalade on the pastry and then cover with a thin layer of ham and about 180g of grated cheese such as gruyere or cheddar.
- Follow the rest of the instructions in the recipe.
- You can either use a walnut paste such as Muhammara which is a delicious combination of red pepper and walnut or make a version of the scrolls with walnut and blue cheese.
- Finely chop 70g of walnuts.
- Sprinkle 150g of blue cheese on the dough and sprinkle the walnuts on top.
- Follow the rest of the instructions in the recipe.
