About what size should the ramekins be? I have 6 oz. which seem about right to me, or I have 9.5 oz. which appeal to my husband a little bit more. The 9.5 oz. ramekins are wider and I wonder if the puff pastry would be more likely to sag in the middle. What size ramekins would you recommend?

This is my first comment so I thought I should add that I am absolutely in love with your site. It has been so incredibly enthralling being able to learn so many important things about the art of cooking in one reliable place. Keep up the awesome work!

The ramekins we used in the video where approximately 10 cm X 6 cm which I believe is the 9.5 oz ramekin.

You are correct that the larger the ramekin the bigger the possibility of the puff pastry sagging. Just be sure to watch the step on assembling the pot pies and you should be okay.

Hope this helps - good luck!

p.s. thanks so much for your kind words we are so glad you are enjoying the site. Cheers.

I make a quick puff pastry that comes out really well, but still not as flaky as the classic style. Would really love to see a class. I notice a couple years ago someone asked and I guess it's still in the works. I see from your post, Dawn, that it will be in an advanced course. Any ideas when?

In the meantime, after watching your Wheat and Gluten video I'm wondering if I use pastry flour instead of AP in my quick puff pastry recipe that it would be more flaky. Would I substitute all the flour for AP or some ratio of AP and pastry flour?

The crunch will actually come from using a flour with a slightly higher protein content (rather than a flour with low protein content). It's important to work the dough to develop the gluten to make it elastic but not so much that the dough will shrink (this is why resting is so important). Try making your puff pastry with bread flour.

We cannot give a date as to when puff pastry will be released, as this is considered an advanced technique. Our focus is on finishing the curriculum for the basic culinary level first before we move on to more pastry-related and advanced topics. The basic level will, however, include an introduction to basic doughs. Hope this helps! Cheers!

I couldn't find this dough in my area Karawaci, Jakarta, Indonesia. How to make it myself?

Here is two other threads on this subject. Cheers!

http://rouxbe.com/community/forums/12/topics/210?page=1#928
http://rouxbe.com/community/forums/21/topics/549?page=3#8511

i absolutely love this recipe. i have been buying the processed, boxed chicken pot pies forever n i say that doing it homemade is tops, hands down. it is always great to find recipes with vegetables that can be hidden from my daughter. she loved it!!!! we will never eat store bought pot pies again. n next time im going to try using turkey n then beef. great work as always!!!

I have always bought store bought pot pies but I only got the kind with crust on the bottom. Can I use the pastry puff this way? If so, is there anything in particular I should do so that it browns well and does not stick to the pan?

Puff pastry should not be used on the bottom of a pot pie. Puff pastry is meant to puff up and be fluffy which happens when steam expands the layers of dough. This will not happen on the bottom of the pie. You are better off to use a flaky pie dough. Cheers!

Would blanching the vegetables before adding them to the pan help brighten or retain their colors and make for better presentation? Or will they lose color in the oven anyway?

You could use blanched vegetables if you had them but it's not really necessary in this case. They will lose about the same amount of color, which is not too much by the way. Cheers!

I made this dish the other night and my picky-eater daughter, who is 21, and does not eat properly, LOVED it! I will most definately be adding this to my recipe box.

Instead of the overlapping topping as in the video would it be OK to place a simple disc of puff pastry inside the ramekin on top of the filling?

Rick

Yes, a disc of puff pastry would work as well. Cheers!

Hello

I'm about to cook the chicken hot pot pie. The ramekins used in the video appear to be quite deep. Please could you tell me how deep they need to be for best results?

Many thanks Rick

The ramekins we used in the video where approximately 10 cm X 6 cm and about 2 or 3" inches in depth. That being said, don't worry too much about the depth or size as long as things fit in your ramekins you should be fine. Cheers!

Long story, sorry... I had 20 lbs of chicken thighs frozen into a solid block. I could not separate the thighs without thawing out the whole block... What to do? I have been working on the brining lessons, so I thawed the thighs enough to separate them and brined them for about 8 hours.

Once brined, I tried roasting 4 of the thighs but wasn't happy with the results. Flavourful and tender, but had a texture that was too close to the texture of raw chicken.

Then I tried fajitas. Same problem
Battered and deep-fried. Same problem

I decided to take the remaining thighs and make broth. I needed to cook up the remaining chicken before ii went bad. The broth was perfect, and the smell in the house was amazing. Every dog in the village was outside my door! but now what do with all this cooked chicken?

I decided to try the Chicken Pot Pie. I had never made anything like this before, but Rouxbe videos were there to show me the way.

I removed the meat from the bones, diced it, and immediately began making the mirepoix for the pot pie. Oh my! This was amazingly easy and fun to do, and as things started to come together, my wife began anticipating a delicious meal.

There is no way I would ever be able to get "puff pastry" here on the island, so I made a "never fail' pie crust. I didn't drape it over the sides of the bowls (no ramekins here either) I just cut the pastry using one of the bowls as a cutter, and placed the pastry directly on top of the filling. Other than that, I followed the recipe as closely as possible... I egg washed the pastry, vented it, and baked it as stated in the recipe.

Wow! This was a labour of love over a period of several days, but I would do it again in a minute. The results were incredible. Home made broth from brined chicken thighs and then putting it all together in a homemade veloute, and baked with homemade dough. The only thing I didn't do was raise my own chickens... although that is certainly possible here!! Now that I have been through several of these lessons, I am beginning to see the results of applying what I have learned in other lessons to the new ones I am attempting. What a fun experience! Thanks to you all.

:)

The text recipe says "Pot pies are a great make-ahead meal, as they can be assembled a day or two in advance and kept in the refrigerator."

How about freezing the ready-to-go pies?
Is it possible to cook from frozen in a ramekin?

Also, any warnings/advise if trying to double or tripple the recipe?

You could make them ahead and then cook them from frozen. As for advice on doubling or tripling the recipe, I would say that there is not really anything to worry about with this recipe. Just make sure you follow the same skills and techniques as you would when making a single batch, i.e., using the appropriate sized pots and pans. Cheers!

I'm planning on making pot pies on Sunday for some of my friends. I'm a rather novice cook, so forgive me for what might seem a very simple questions. How long does it take the frozen puff pastry to thaw? I plan on making them for Sunday dinner. Should I buy the pastry on Saturday and leave it in the fridge overnight or should I keep it frozen through Sunday and just move it to the fridge Sunday morning so that it's ready to begin cooking around 5 p.m.?

Thanks in advance.

Because the puff pastry comes frozen, you can buy it anytime and keep it in your freezer until a night or two before you need to use it. Let it thaw in the fridge and keep it cold right up until you start rolling it. Leaving it until the morning won't give it time to thaw before dinner on Sunday. I'd move it to the fridge on Saturday morning at the latest.

I've tried thawing the puff pastry in the microwave, but that doesn't work so well. It tends to get way too soft.

Yes, Leigh is correct to thaw it in the refrigerator 1-2 nights before you plan to use it.

Never use the microwave to thaw puff pastry. The fat between the layers can potentially melt and the puff pastry will not puff up as much when you go to bake it. When working with puff, you just need to be aware of the time you need in advance. Cheers!

Any tips on how to wrap in the fridge or freezer?

Once the dough on the pot pies has chilled/firmed up in the refrigerator, I would then cover them well with plastic wrap. For the freezer, you can place them on a tray and once chilled/firm/frozen wrap them tightly with plastic wrap and even place into large freezer bags to protect them from getting freezer burn. Cheers!

We missed turkey at Christmas so I'm going to roast a small (10 lb.) for the two of us tomorrow, then use some of the leftovers, with turkey stock, to make some pies. I expect the taste would be a bit stronger than with chicken. Any suggestions for adjustments to seasoning, etc would be appreciated.
Re Freezing: is it safe to re-freeze puff pastry, once it's been thawed? As an alternative to freezing whole pies, I thought I might just freeze the filling, then thaw and assemble the pies when I wanted to make them. What do think about this plan?