Ground pork, sauerkraut, thawed frozen spinach means this filling comes together quickly and packs some serious flavour in this pastry roll. Rough puff pastry requires less commitment than the standard puff pastry, but go ahead and sub in thawed frozen puff pastry for an even faster short cut. An easy make-ahead main and a spectacular dish at potlucks.
Roughing it with rough puff pastry? What is it?
Rough puff pastry and puff pastry work on the same principles: a flour dough is flattened and folded with butter, folded and flattened multiple times (called “turns”) so that layers of dough are interspersed (“laminated”) with layers of butter. This structure results in the flakey, lofty, melt-in-your-mouth pastry that elevates any filling. Rough puff pastry is less delicate than regular puff pastry, but faster to prepare, as you’re making fewer turns and using less butter. With any puff pastry, the butter must remain in a solid state throughout this process. Melting, overworked butter causes it to soak into the dough; and then the dough becomes soggy and difficult to handle. In the below recipe, you’ll be doing the following to keep your pastry perfect and easy to handle:
- Freezing and grating the butter.
- Resting the dough to keep it from shrinking after you’ve just rolled it out.
- Refrigerating the dough while it’s resting.
Following written instructions for turning and laminating pastry can be mystifying. See below quick slideshow that illustrates the rough puff pastry portion of the recipe card featured below.
Pastry filled with pork mixture.
Pastry flipped, transferred, glazed, and vented. Ready for baking!
There you have it – an easy, rewarding, all-butter pastry filled with wholesome goodness. A picnic or potluck king that is make-ahead and can be eaten lightly warmed or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Pork & sauerkraut roll
Course: Main, AppetizerDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes40
minutesIngredients
- Rough puff pastry (makes approx 550 g)
1 cup butter, frozen
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 tbsp, plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold milk
- Filling
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 cup rinsed and squeeze-dried sauerkraut
1/4 cup thawed and squeeze-dried frozen spinach
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 lb lean ground pork
1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water (used as egg wash)
Directions
- Rough puff pastry
- Mix all-purpose flour with salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Grate frozen butter and divide into two piles.
- Place one pile onto a large square of plastic wrap. Mix butter with 2 tbsp flour and form into a 2″ x 2″ square by lightly pressing the butter together. Seal the butter into the plastic wrap and store it in the fridge to harden.
- Place the second pile of butter into the large bowl with the flour. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the flour until well distributed.
- Sprinkle flour with cold milk and incorporate by using your fingers to rake and scoop the flour in the bowl.
- Knead 5-6 times to incorporate the mixture into a dough. Shape into a round disk approximately 1″ thick. Wrap with plastic wrap and rest the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Unwrap the dough and place it on a floured surface. Dust dough with flour.
- With a rolling pin, flatten the dough, while rolling out each of the four sides of the dough to make four flaps. The dough should be shaped like a thick cross, with the centre large enough to place the refrigerated butter square.
- Unwrap the butter square and place it in the centre of the dough. Take each flap of the dough and fold inwards towards, covering and sealing the butter square.
- Flatten the dough by rolling it into a rectangle, with the short edge towards you. Fold the bottom edge towards the middle, and the top edge towards the middle. Fold at the middle (like closing a book). Four layers should be visible on the sides.
- Use your finger to create an indent on the dough to mark your first turn. Wrap and refrigerate the dough for half an hour.
- Unwrap the dough and place it on a floured surface, with the short edge towards you (this means you would have rotated the dough by 45 degrees). Dust dough with flour.
- Flatten the dough by rolling it into a rectangle, with the short edge towards you. Fold the bottom edge towards the middle, and the top edge towards the middle. Fold at the middle (like closing a book). Four layers should be visible on the sides.
- Use two fingers to create two indents on the dough to mark your second turn. Wrap and refrigerate the dough for half an hour.
- Continue in the same manner for the third turn, ensuring you’ve rotated your dough so by 45 degrees before rolling it out. Wrap and allow dough to rest.
- Filling & assembly
- Preheat oven to 425°F (225°C).
- Mix kosher salt, pepper, garlic, smoked paprika, sauerkraut, spinach and dried breadcrumbs in a large bowl until well blended.
- Chop lean ground pork and add into the large bowl, mixing with spices until well incorporated.
- Roll pastry dough out into a rectangle 1/4″ thick on a flour-dusted surface.
- Pile pork filling onto the dough as a long line, pressing into a log shape along the middle of the dough. This creates two empty flaps of dough above and below the filling.
- With a pastry brush, brush egg wash onto the two flaps.
- Fold one flap onto the filling, and fold the other flap onto the filling, overlapping with the first flap to create a sealed seam. The pork should be completely covered.
- Flip the roll over and place it onto a cookie sheet, seam side down. The short edges of the roll can be left open, allowing juices to run off as the pastry cooks.
- Cover pastry with egg wash, and cut diagonal slashes across the top of the pastry with a sharp knife to allow cooking filling to vent.
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until filling juices run clear and the pastry is browned. With a bread knife, cut roll into smaller sections. Serve warm.