Puff Pastry

Let’s pretend for one second that frozen, store-bought puff pastry isn’t a gift from the heavens. But while it’s a time-saving kitchen shortcut for all kinds of recipes—from party-worthy puff pastry appetizers to impressive-looking puff pastry desserts and even puff pastry chicken potpie—you haven’t really lived until you’ve learned how to make puff pastry from scratch (and then devoured it).

Trust us, our puff pastry recipe is a thousand times better than the store-bought version. To prepare perfectly flaky pastry at home, you’ll need some patience, time (don’t skip any steps!) and careful planning.

What is puff pastry?

Puff pastry is a light, flaky pastry made with laminated dough. If you’re not a baking whiz, laminating dough is a process in which layers of pastry dough and butter are rolled and folded together. (It’s the same process used to make homemade croissants.) The resulting thin, delicate layers are the key to light, ultra-flaky pastry.

There are three types of puff pastry recipes: full, half and three-quarter pastry. These names refer to the amount of fat in the recipe, in relation to the weight of the flour. For example, three-quarters puff pastry has a fat-to-flour ratio of 3-to-4. The recipe we’re sharing is for a full puff pastry, since there are nearly equal amounts of butter and flour.

You may think that puff pastry sounds a lot like phyllo dough, another popular freezer item that’s used as a shortcut for countless phyllo dough recipes. However, these two products are very different in taste, appearance and application. While both are flaky, the main difference is that phyllo dough is much leaner than puff pastry, containing only a little oil, while homemade puff pastry is made with a giant block of butter.

How to Make Puff Pastry From Scratch

Making puff pastry from scratch is more of a marathon than a sprint (like these other all-day baking projects). You’ll begin by combining the dough ingredients and then chilling the rough dough for around an hour. While the dough develops in the refrigerator, you’ll create a rectangular butter block with flour and butter. Once prepared, you’ll wrap the dough around the butter block and begin the lamination process. After a series of careful rolls, folds and turns, you’ll be ready to use your dough however you’d like and watch the layers upon layers of buttery, flaky goodness puff up as it bakes.

Puff Pastry Ingredients

• Flour: While all-purpose flour is fine and can be used successfully for the rough dough in homemade puff pastry, we recommend using it in combination with bread flour for the best results. Bread flour has a higher protein content and, therefore, more gluten. Gluten is important for making puff pastry because you want to create strong sheets of elastic dough during the lamination process.
• Butter: Butter is maybe the single most important ingredient when learning how to make puff pastry, so choose a great butter brand. It gives the pastry its mouth-watering flavor and signature flaky layers.
• Salt: It’s important to select the right type of salt for baking puff pastry. While table salt can work in a pinch (pun intended), we prefer using a fine kosher salt for this puff pastry recipe. This recipe only requires about a teaspoon of salt, but you’ll be amazed at how it enhances the flavor of the dough. Believe it or not, salt also strengthens the dough’s overall structure.
• Cold water: Unlike baking bread, where you’ll want to use warm water to proof the yeast, you’ll want to use cold water to make puff pastry. Cold water will help ensure that the butter is incorporated properly into the dough, and does not become too warm during the mixing process.
• Butter block: The secret to those flaky layers begins with a butter block made from softened butter and a smidgen of flour to make the block more pliable and easy to work with.

Directions

Step 1: Prepare the dough

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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the two types of flour, the salt and the butter for the dough.

Step 2: Blend the dough and add water

Mix on low speed until the butter is incorporated into the dry ingredients. Gradually add the water until a shaggy dough forms, about two to three minutes.

Editor’s Tip: The dough should hold together when pressed.

Step 3: Shape and chill the dough

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Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a 1-inch-thick rectangle with your hands. Wrap the dough tightly in the plastic and chill it in the refrigerator for one hour.

Step 4: Mix the butter block

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On a clean surface, make a small mound with the butter cubes. Sprinkle with the bread flour. Next, using a heavy rolling pin, beat the butter and flour together. Use a bench scraper to lift the butter off the surface and work the mixture together. Repeat this process until the flour is fully incorporated into the butter and the mixture is soft and pliable.

Editor’s Tip: You’ll know the butter block mixture is ready when it does not break or tear when you fold it.

Step 5: Shape the butter block

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Cut out a piece of parchment paper that measures 16×12 inches. Transfer the butter block mixture to the parchment and shape it into a neat 9×6-inch rectangle with sharp edges. The rectangle should be about an inch thick. Fold over the excess parchment, and then wrap the butter block in plastic. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes.

Step 6: Roll the dough

Meanwhile, remove the dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 12×10-inch rectangle.

Editor’s Tip: Now is not the time to eyeball it. Bust out a kitchen ruler and take your time to carefully measure and shape your dough with a bench scraper. This attention to detail and shaping will make the lamination process much easier.

Step 7: Position the butter block

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Remove the butter block from the fridge and peel away the plastic and parchment. Place the butter block on half the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch margin around the edges.

Step 8: Encase the butter block

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Fold the top half of the dough over the butter block and pinch the edges closed with your fingers to seal. Then, pat the edges back into a neat rectangle. Wrap the pastry dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Step 9: Roll out the dough-wrapped butter block

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Remove and unwrap the dough. Roll it out onto a lightly floured surface into an 18×12-inch rectangle that’s about a 1/2-inch thick.

Step 10: Complete the first fold

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Taking one of the shorter sides of the dough, fold it in toward the center, about 1/3 of the way across the dough.

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Repeat with the other side, overlapping the folds so you have three layers of dough. It should look like a brochure.

Step 11: Mark and chill the pastry

Use your finger to make an indentation in one end of the dough (this is simply a reminder that the first fold has been completed). Wrap the dough back in the plastic and return to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

Editor’s Tip: If at any stage of the rolling or folding process you find your dough to be too warm or sticky, return it to the fridge to firm up a bit. Conversely, if you accidentally let it chill too long, let the dough sit at room temperature to soften for a few minutes until it’s easier to work with.

Step 12: Complete the second fold

Remove the dough from the fridge and repeat the process outlined in Steps 10, 11 and 12. Chill for another 30 minutes.

Editor’s Tip: As you complete your folds, you should notice the puff pastry dough becoming smoother and more elastic. This is due to the gluten strands becoming stronger as they are developed through the rolling and folding of the dough.

Step 13: Complete the third fold

Complete your third (and final) fold. Remove the dough from the fridge and repeat (again) the process outlined in steps 10, 11 and 12. Chill for another 30 minutes.

Step 14: Use the puff pastry as desired

After completing your final fold, the lamination process is complete, and the dough is ready to be used as desired.

Editor’s Tip: This recipe makes the equivalent of two boxes of Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry, or four 9-inch square sheets. Once the dough is complete, we often divide it into four equal pieces and then chill or freeze it for future use.

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How to Use Puff Pastry

Here are some of our favorite puff pastry recipes that will put your homemade dough to work:

• Pot pies: Use homemade puff pastry to crown a homemade beef stew skillet pie or a comforting chicken pot pie recipe.
• Fruity pastries: Use puff pastry in tandem with a selection of fruit fillings to make blueberry turnovers, a rhubarb tart or a tantalizing puff pastry apple strudel.
• Savory appetizers: For an elegant presentation, serve your guests a fontina asparagus tart or Brie cherry pastry cups.
• Puff pastry desserts: Try Nutella hand pies or raspberry chocolate puffs for some decadent sweet treats.
• Upside-down puff pastry recipes: Thanks to TikTok and Instagram, you can now use homemade puff pastry to recreate any one of these viral upside-down puff pastries.
• Wellingtons and more: For an impressive meal your family won’t forget, use your homemade puff pastry to prepare a stunning beef Wellington or chicken Marsala en croute.

How to Store Puff Pastry

How long does puff pastry last?

As a general rule of thumb, use homemade puff pastry within two to three days. It should be stored in the refrigerator.

Can you freeze puff pastry?

If wrapped tightly in plastic, puff pastry may be kept in the freezer for up to one month. Defrost it overnight in the refrigerator before using it in a recipe.

Can you make puff pastry ahead of time?

Yes! The best part about this homemade puff pastry recipe is you can make it ahead for future use. In fact, because of the time involved in making puff pastry from scratch, it’s best if you break up a recipe with homemade puff pastry over two days. Make the puff pastry dough on day one, and bake and finish your recipe with homemade puff pastry on day two.

Puff Pastry Tips

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Puff pastry is a simple (albeit time-consuming) process once you get the hang of it. It can take a few tries to master, so don’t be discouraged if your first attempt isn’t perfect. To help you on your path to homemade puff pastry greatness, we’ve assembled a collection of our best homemade puff pastry tips and answers to common questions about making puff pastry from scratch.

Why is this recipe written in grams instead of cups?

Making puff pastry from scratch is all about precision. That’s why this recipe is written in grams, not cups. Using a kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients in grams is a much more accurate way to measure your ingredients, yielding more consistent results every time.

Inaccurate measurement of ingredients is perhaps the most common baking mistakes. Therefore, if you don’t have a kitchen scale, this homemade puff pastry recipe is a great reason to finally buy one. Don’t worry—even the best kitchen scales are super affordable.

How do you make a butter block pliable?

Beating a little flour into the butter when shaping the block is our secret hack for making a butter block that stays soft and pliable even once it has been chilled. This helps the puff pastry dough fold and roll with ease.

What’s the best way to keep puff pastry cold when working with it?

The best way to keep puff pastry cold when working with it is to chill it between folds for at least 30 minutes. Don’t try to rush this process, or you’ll end up kneading the butter into the dough instead of creating thin, flaky layers. Working on a marble pastry board (an essential pastry tool) is another great way to keep the dough cold, since the stone surface maintains a slightly cooler temperature than other work surfaces.

Can you use margarine instead of butter when making puff pastry from scratch?

No, no, a thousand times no! If you’re going to go through the process of making homemade puff pastry, do not attempt to make it with margarine (especially the spreadable kind). There’s a big difference between butter and margarine. The flavor, texture and overall result would be extremely disappointing compared to what you’ll get if you use real, high-quality butter. The small amount of water content in the butter is essential to create those beautiful steam pockets (which make the glorious, flaky layers).