Flaky Cheese Torsades

A perfect side to pre-dinner drinks, these snacks look impressive but are surprisingly easy to make, and work well with both grated parmesan or Gruyère if you can find it.

Ingredients

• 125g plain flour

• 125g Salted butter

  (I use Sublime Truffle, Parmesan & Black pepper butter for added flavour)

• 50ml cold water

• 40g freshly grated parmesan or gruyere

Method

In a large bowl, place the flour.

Roughly chope the butter into small pieces, and add to the flour, working the butter into the four with your hands, ensuring the mixture is combined but there are still distinctive pieces of butter.

Add water to the mixture, and work lightly until the dough just comes together but there are still visible butter pieces. 

Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 20 minutes. 

When cooled, put on to a lightly floured surface, and push the dough together to form a rectangle. With a rolling pin, rolling in only one direction, stretch dough to about 30cm x 10cm, ensuring edges are as straight as possible. Ensure the dough is not overworked, you will see a marbling effect beginning to form. 

Take one narrow end of the rectangle and fold to the centre, then take the other narrow end, and fold on top of that. With the rolling pin, roll the dough out again in the same direction, keeping the edges as straight as possible, until the rectangle reaches 30cm x 10cm. 

Repeat the folding in method of both edges into the centre, then wrap the rectangle in clingfilm, and refrigerate for a further 20 minutes. 

Grate the Parmesan or Gruyere cheese. 

When the dough has cooled, spread half of the cheese on to the counter. Place the dough on top with the seam facing down. Sprinkle the other half of the cheese on top of dough, and with a rolling pin, roll out the dough again in one direction, until it reaches about 10cm x 30cm. Flip the dough as you go, to ensure that all the cheese is absorbed by the dough and the dough is smooth on both sides. 

When the rectangle has reached the desired size, with a sharp knife, cut the pastry into strips of about 2cm. Lift one end of the strip, and twist from both sides, then transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once all the twists are done, refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 190ºc (fan)

Bake until golden - between 15 and 20 minutes. 

Take out of oven and let cool on baking sheet, then when cooled and hardened, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.