In puff pastry, what forms the flaky texture during baking?

• A. The fat in dough forms the main flavor; steam is irrelevant.
• B. The layers happen due to mechanical folding only; steam has no role.
• C. Steam expands the layers of fat between dough sheets, creating flakes during baking.
• D. Laminated pastry relies on air pockets created by frosting.

Answer: (C)

The flaky texture in puff pastry comes from steam expanding the fat-rich layers between the sheets of dough as it bakes. The dough is built in laminations, with thin layers of fat between thin layers of dough. When heated, the water in the dough turns to steam and pushes these layers apart, creating the distinct, delicate flakes. The fat acts as a barrier to keep the layers separated while the steam expands, and the high oven temperature helps this expansion happen quickly to form those crisp, light layers. The idea that frosting or purely mechanical folding without steam would create the same effect isn’t correct—the steam-driven separation of laminated layers is essential for the flaky texture.