Cuban Guava Pie "PASTELITO de GUAYABA"

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (450 g) guava halves in syrup
• 110 ml of water, plus a little more if needed
• 340 g unsweetened butter or lard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 450 g of premium wheat flour
• 1 egg, lightly beaten with 30 ml of water
• 30 ml sugar syrup (heat equal amounts of water and sugar until the sugar dissolves)

Preparation:

1. Place the guava and half of the syrup in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Place the puree in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat until it reduces to a very thick consistency. Let the guava cool, then transfer to a pastry bag.
2. In a medium bowl, combine 110 ml of water, 55 g of butter, and salt. Whisk until smooth. Then add the flour and mix well. Continue adding water a little at a time until a moderately firm dough forms. Form the dough into a ball and let it rest for 15 minutes. Roll the dough out into a square about 1 cm thick.
3. Place the remaining butter in the center of the square and spread it over half of the dough with your hand. Fold the dough over from the four corners, one at a time, overlapping each corner to create a sealed envelope with the butter inside.
   
   Sprinkle some flour on top and roll it out into a rectangle about 0.6 cm thick. Now fold 1/3 of the rectangle to the center and then the remaining 1/3 over these two.
   
   Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Repeat the same steps, rolling out the dough and folding it into three layers twice, letting the dough rest for 15 minutes between rollings.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C.
   
   Roll the dough out one last time into a rectangle and fold it 1/4 of the way toward the middle on each side, then fold it one more time toward the middle to create four folds. Roll out the resulting rectangle to a thickness of 0.3 cm. Using a knife, cut the dough into strips 10 cm wide and the length of your baking sheet.
   
   Place the strips on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pipe the filling down the center of the strips in a stream about 2 cm in diameter. Spray the edges of the strips with water and cover with another 10 cm wide strip of dough, the same size as the bottom one. Using your hands, press the edges into a circle, very gently. Brush the surface with egg wash and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the top with sugar syrup. Bake for another 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and cut crosswise into 16 pieces.