🥐 Puff Pastry
Puff pastry is a light, flaky laminated dough made by layering butter between thin sheets of dough. When baked, the water in the butter creates steam, causing the pastry to “puff” into dozens of crisp layers.
🧈 What Makes It Special?
Puff pastry is made through a process called lamination:
- Dough is rolled out.
- A slab of butter is enclosed inside.
- The dough is folded and rolled repeatedly (called “turns”).
- This creates hundreds of thin alternating layers of dough and butter.
When baked at high heat, steam separates the layers, creating that signature flaky texture.
📝 Simple Rough Puff Pastry (Easier Homemade Version)
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (225 g) very cold butter (cubed)
- ½–⅔ cup ice water
👩🍳 Basic Method
1️⃣ Mix flour and salt.
2️⃣ Cut in cold butter (leave visible chunks).
3️⃣ Add ice water just until dough comes together.
4️⃣ Roll into rectangle → fold into thirds (like a letter).
5️⃣ Chill 30 minutes.
6️⃣ Repeat rolling and folding 4–6 times.
7️⃣ Chill before using.
🔥 Baking Tips
- Keep everything very cold.
- Chill between folds.
- Bake at 400–425°F (200–220°C) for best rise.
- Don’t press down on edges — it prevents puffing.
🍽️ Common Uses
Savory
- Beef Wellington
- Chicken pot pie topping
- Cheese straws
- Sausage rolls
Sweet
- Fruit turnovers
- Napoleons (mille-feuille)
- Palmiers
- Cream horns
🏪 Store-Bought vs Homemade
Store-bought (like frozen sheets) is convenient and works very well. Homemade has superior flavor but takes time.
If you’d like, I can give you a step-by-step illustrated folding guide, a quick 20-minute cheat version, or recipes using puff pastry.
