In baking, butter is usually preferable to other fatty substances for its rich taste and velvety texture, however dough made with butter may be problematic to work with. Butter softens very quickly, thus making it difficult to properly roll doughs that have a high butter content, like pëte feuilletÄe. For these, bakers use butter that is concentrated by clarifying it: cooking it gently until the water has evaporated. Clarified butter can be worked longer than ordinary butter.
Margarine may be used to make dough, but should not be used for creams due to its milder flavor. Oil is barely used in pastry, except to grease molds and baking sheets. It may be substituted for animal fat when making dough for a tart, and it will add a crisp texture to the dough. Used in crÉpe batter, it prevents the crÉpes from sticking.
