Why Pastry Chefs Prefer High-Quality Butter

There are many different skills which combine to contribute to making the perfect pastry. This requires a good chef to prepare the ideal dough, to balance flavours and to get the light and flaky texture just right. The one factor which has the most influence over all of this, is a high-fat butter.

Most standard butters are made in the same way and have an 80% fat composition, but European butters, and particularly French butters, increase the fat percentage to around 82%. A standard butter is fine for everyday use, such as for making sauces, for frying or basting and for spreading, but when it comes to baking pastries, this extra fat percentage makes a critical difference.

What difference does a high-fat butter make when baking pastries?

A professional pastry chef will always opt for a high-fat butter because it allows them to make world class products. The 82% fat content, compared to standard butters, delivers the following differences:

• More intense flavour – 82% fat butter provides a more concentrated taste which is richer and more intense. The culturing process for French butter adds good bacteria to the cream, and this also takes on complex flavours from the local dairy cattle and the fresh nutrients they graze on. These rich flavours come out in the resulting pastry and enhance the overall quality.
• Better lamination – High fat content equals less water in the butter. This prevents the dough being disrupted and reduces the gluten development. The result of this is better separation of the layers in lamination, no soggy or heavy layers, and a crisp, delicate and melt-in-the-mouth quality to the mouthfeel when the pastry is eaten.  
• Consistency – A good chef needs to know they will get the same results every time, and a higher butterfat content allows this. Uniform fat content, along with the same technique of working the dough, produces consistent results.
• Better texture – The higher butterfat content produces a pliable dough that can take heavy working, but won’t tear and break. High-fat butter holds its shape and allows for thin, crispy layers to be produced, the hallmark of a perfect pastry. This airy structure will bake perfectly in the oven to produce a light and delicate result.
• Workable – The last thing a pastry chef needs is a butter which melts too fast and doesn’t allow you to work the dough. A butter with 82% fat content is more stable and will hold its shape for longer, allowing you to work it straight from the fridge, and also to work it at higher temperatures, which improves quality but also makes it more productive in a professional kitchen.

So high-fat butter is ideal for laminated doughs for croissants, and also for lighter French pastries such as Brioche. It can also be used for tarts, pie crusts and cookies, where it is important for the product to be light, have a delicate crumb and to have a rich flavour. So, make sure your pastry baking has the finesse and quality you need by using a high-fat French butter.