Puff Paste
1 pint of water (2 coffeecupfuls.) Flour-all the water will take up. Butter-from 1 1/2 to 2 pounds.
Mix the flour and water to soft dough. Roll it out about an inch thick. Take half the butter and drop it in lumps the size of eggs upon the sheet of dough, the width of two fingers between each lump. Sift a little flour over, press the butter into the dough slightly, then fold the dough over in three. Roll out to the same thickness as before, distribute the remaining half of the butter over it, dredge, and fold over in three again, and count that one fold--the former folding with only half the butter in counts nothing, or "half a turn." Always keep the dough rolled out to square shape and turn the broad side towards you after folding. Roll and fold till you have counted 6 times. Use plenty of flour under and over until the last rolling when the surplus should be swept off. It is then ready for use.
After a few trials neither butter nor flour need be weighed--the rule of butter size of an egg two fingers apart is all that is wanted, and the amount to be made can be governed by the cups or dippers of water used.