Puff Pastry Cheese Pockets
It's very easy to get some puff pastry pockets from the pastry shop on the corner, but it's really hard, if not impossible, to find some pastries with a strong butter flavour and a nice cheese taste. This is how these homemade cheese pockets are, because they are made with care and from safe ingredients. I also enjoyed the making process a lot - it's not complicated and, as you can see in the steps, you don't even need fancy ingredients.
We were all delighted with these homemade cheese pockets - they are indeed flaky and butter-flavoured. And the cheese taste is so wonderful, as the cheese was carefully chosen (unlike the rotten cheese smell and taste, which you can find in some pastry shops).
I prefer not using semolina in the cheese mixture for this pastry, in which case the cheese you buy has to be rather crumbly, not too creamy or soft. If you can't find any crumbly cheese, use a few tbsp of semolina, to prevent a soggy bottom when baking.
In a bowl, combine flour with salt and pour over the water and the vinegar.
Mix well, at first with a spoon until all the ingredients hold together.
Turn dough onto the lightly floured table and knead until smooth.
Let rest for 10 minutes, on the table, covered with a kitchen cloth.
After this time, divide dough into 8 equal parts and shape into balls.
Let rest again on the table for 15 minutes.
While dough is resting, prepare the butter - cut into 8 relatively equal cubes.
Roll out each ball of dough into a very thin sheet.
Sprinkle with some flour, so that the dough doesn't stick to the table during rolling.
Take a butter cube and grease a sheet with it - the easiest way is to use your fingers, but there are other ways as well.
Now bring one of the sides towards the middle of the sheet, just like you see in the picture.
Fold over the other side.
Bring the sides again towards the middle to shape an evelope.
Fold it again. This is the first stage of the pastry preparation.
Repeat the procedure for all the dough pieces and finally arrange them on a chopping board or a plate.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
I think they can be frozen too, for later, when you feel like eating some cheese puff pastries and you don't have time to make the dough.
While the dough sits in the fridge, you have time to prepare the filling.
In a bowl, combine the farmers cheese with the crumbly cheese (I used Romanian telemea or feta cheese) and the egg.
There was no need for me to add more salt, because the cheese was salty enough, just taste and adjust.
If the cheese mixture is too watery, add 2-3 tbsp semolina, to soak up excess liquid in the filling.
Now take each piece of pastry and roll out into a big square - slightly thicker in the middle, thinner towards the edges, you'll see why in a minute.
Spread the cheese filling across the middle of the square.
Bring the sides over in the middle.
Then fold over the other 2 sides to shape into an envelope.
Place the envelope seamless up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Shape the rest of the pockets the same way.
Bake in the preheated oven to 200 degrees C for 20-30 minutes or until nice gold brown.
Let cool for a bit, then savour them and notice how flaky the cheese pockets are.
Not to mention the taste...
Enjoy!
