Chicken, Bacon, Leek & Cheddar Savoury Plait

STEP 1: DAY ONE — MAKE THE DÉTREMPE

Rub the 60 g of diced butter into the strong white bread flour and fine sea salt until it disappears completely — no visible pieces, because the lamination butter comes later. Add the lemon juice, then the ice-cold water a little at a time, mixing to a firm, slightly shaggy dough. Knead for no more than a minute, just until cohesive; overworking now makes the dough fight you through six turns. Cut a deep cross in the top, wrap tightly and chill for at least 1 hour.

STEP 2: DAY ONE — MAKE THE BUTTER BLOCK

Beat the 340 g of very cold unsalted butter with the 30 g of plain flour, using a stand mixer with the paddle or a rolling pin and patience, until smooth, pliable and still cold. The flour is not optional — it stops the block cracking as you roll. Shape into a neat 18 cm square between two sheets of baking parchment, using a ruler to square the corners. Chill 30 minutes. Block and dough should be at roughly the same firmness when they meet: cold but bendable, like plasticine. A block that snaps will shatter into the dough and there is your lost flake.

STEP 3: DAY ONE — LOCK IN AND GIVE TURNS ONE TO THREE

Roll the détrempe into a cross with a raised square centre, the centre slightly larger than the butter block. Seat the block on the diagonal and fold the four flaps over to enclose it completely, sealing the seams. Roll out to a rectangle roughly 20 × 55 cm, keeping the edges square. Give it a single turn: fold the bottom third up, the top third down. Rotate 90°. Chill 45 minutes. Repeat for turns two and three, chilling 45–60 minutes after each. Mark the number of turns with fingertip dents so you never lose count.

STEP 4: DAY ONE — TURNS FOUR TO SIX, THEN REST OVERNIGHT

Continue for turns four, five and six, chilling between each. Six single turns give 730 layers of butter, which is the whole point of full puff and the reason it cannot be rushed. If butter breaks through the surface at any stage, dust with flour, stop, and chill immediately. After the sixth turn, wrap and refrigerate overnight. This long rest relaxes the gluten so the pastry rises upward rather than pulling back, and brings the butter to a uniform temperature so the layers separate cleanly instead of merging.

STEP 5: DAY ONE — COOK AND CHILL THE FILLING

Reduce the dry cider in a wide pan to about 2 tablespoons and set aside. Fry the smoked bacon in a dry pan until the fat renders and the edges crisp; lift out. Raise the heat and brown the diced chicken thighs hard in the bacon fat, in two batches so the pieces colour rather than stew — this browning is the base of the depth the original lacked. Lift out. Lower the heat, add the 25 g of butter and the leeks with a pinch of the salt, and sweat gently for 10 minutes until wholly soft and sweet, then add the garlic for one minute more. Stir in the plain flour and cook for two minutes. Add the milk gradually, then the cream, beating to a thick sauce. Off the heat, stir in the reduced cider, both mustards, the cider vinegar, tarragon, thyme, lemon zest, nutmeg and both peppers. Return the chicken and bacon and season with the remaining salt, then taste and correct. Cool completely, uncovered, then fold through both cheddars, cover and chill overnight. Taste again when cold: chilled fillings read blunter than warm ones, and baking mutes seasoning further, so it should taste slightly too assertive off the spoon.

STEP 6: DAY TWO — ROLL AND CUT THE PASTRY

Roll the chilled pastry to a rectangle about 30 × 40 cm and 5 mm thick — resist rolling it thinner, as a slightly thicker sheet gives more flake. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Mark three lengthwise columns; the centre column, about 12 cm wide, holds the filling. Cut the outer columns into strips 2 cm wide, angling each cut at about 30° towards the centre, and trim away the top and bottom corners so the ends fold neatly.

STEP 7: DAY TWO — FILL AND PLAIT

Pile the cold filling down the centre column in a firm ridge, leaving 3 cm clear at each end. Fold the top and bottom flaps in. Bring alternate strips over the filling from each side, overlapping at a consistent angle so the pattern reads as a braid rather than a lattice, and press each strip lightly where it lands. Tuck the final strips underneath. Chill the assembled plait, uncovered, for 30 minutes — a firm plait holds its definition in the oven, a soft one spreads.

STEP 8: DAY TWO — WASH, CHILL, WASH AGAIN

Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F (200°C fan) with a heavy baking sheet on the middle shelf. Beat the egg with the milk and a pinch of salt. Brush the plait thinly and evenly with a pastry brush, avoiding the cut edges — egg wash that pools in the layers glues them shut. Chill 10 minutes, then wash a second time and scatter with the nigella seeds and flaky sea salt. The double wash gives a deeper gloss without a heavy coat.

STEP 9: DAY TWO — BAKE

Slide the plait, on its parchment and cool sheet, directly onto the preheated sheet. Bake at 220°C for 15 minutes so the hard initial heat drives the lift. Reduce to 190°C / 375°F and bake a further 25–30 minutes until deep golden brown and visibly layered at the cut ends. Probe the centre with a digital thermometer: the chicken must reach 74°C / 165°F. If the top colours before the base is set, tent loosely with foil and continue — colour on top is not the same as a cooked base underneath.

STEP 10: REST AND SERVE

Rest for 15 minutes on a wire rack before cutting: long enough for the sauce to set so the slices hold, short enough that it is still warm. Cut with a serrated knife using a sawing motion so you do not crush the layers. Serve with a sharp green salad, and a spoonful of chutney or pickled onions alongside if you like — acidity on the plate is the same correction as acidity in the filling.