Content

• Ingredients
• Ingredients for simple puff pastry.
• Ingredients for traditional puff pastry
• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Make simple puff pastry
• Method 2 of 3: Make traditional puff pastry
• Method 3 of 3: Bake with puff pastry
• Tips
• Warnings
• Necessities

Puff pastry can be time consuming to make, but the results are worth it. If you have a recipe that calls for puff pastry, and you can't get hold of the frozen pre-made kind, you can make it yourself. This recipe will show you two different ways to make puff pastry dough. It will also give you a few recipe ideas.

Ingredients

Ingredients for simple puff pastry.

• 110 grams all-purpose flour or regular flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of fine salt
• 10 tablespoons butter, cold
  • You get about 8 tablespoons from a packet of butter.
• 80 ml of ice-cold water

Ingredients for traditional puff pastry

Ingredients for the dough:

• 330 grams all-purpose flour or regular flour
• 1.5 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
• 180 to 240 ml of water, chilled

Ingredients for the butter square:

• 24 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour or plain flour

To step

Method 1 of 3: Make simple puff pastry

1. Put the flour and salt in a food processor and let it run for a few seconds. This distributes the flour and salt evenly. If you don't have a food processor, pour the flour and salt into a bowl and mix it with a fork.
   • If you can't find all-purpose flour, use regular flour.
2. Cut the butter into cubes. This will help soften the butter more quickly and also make it easier to mix with the flour and salt.
3. Little by little, add the butter to the mixture in the food processor. Let the food processor run for a few seconds before adding more butter. This makes the butter more workable and prevents the blades from getting stuck.
   • If you don't have a food processor, put the butter in the bowl and mix it with the flour with a fork. You can stick a dough cutter through the butter and flour from back to front to mix it better. Continue to poke your dough cutter until you have a coarse, crumbly texture. The pieces of butter should now be about the size of a pea.
4. Add the cold water and run the food processor for a few seconds. The dough will begin to form a whole and pull away from the sides of the bowl.
   • If using a bowl, lightly press the dough with your hands and then make a small well in the center. Pour the water into the well and mix with a fork until the dough starts to loosen from the edges of the bowl.
5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 20 minutes. This will give the butter time to cool and keep your dough from getting too soft. When 20 minutes have passed, take out the dough and unwrap it.
6. Lightly dust your cutting board and rolling pin with flour. This prevents the dough from sticking to everything. Make sure to keep a bag of flour handy if you need to use more flour on your work surface; the dough will absorb the flour while working, making the surface sticky again.
7. Place the dough on the cutting board. The dough may feel dry, but this is normal. Do not add water; it will soften the longer you work with it.
8. Make a flat square of the dough by kneading it gently. Do not make the slice too thin; you will roll it out later. You can see some streaks of butter in the dough, but this is normal too. Do not try to mix in the butter.
9. Use the rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle. Only roll in one direction. The dough should be three times longer than it is wide.
10. Fold the dough in thirds. Take the bottom third of the rectangle and fold it just past the center. Take the top third of the rectangle and fold it down over the rest of the dough, making a square.
11. Turn the dough 90 degrees counterclockwise or clockwise. It doesn't matter which way. If the dough doesn't turn easily, it means it has started to stick to the cutting board. Lift it gently and dust a little more flour on the cutting board. Put the dough back and try turning it again.
12. Repeat rolling, folding, and turning six to seven more times. In this way you create layers in the dough.
13. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Leave it there for at least an hour or overnight.
14. Use the dough. Once the dough has cooled completely, you can take it out of the fridge, roll it out, and use it to make croissants, filled puff pastry snacks, or even baked brie.

Method 2 of 3: Make traditional puff pastry

1. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor for a few seconds. This allows the salt and sugar to be evenly distributed throughout the flour. If you don't have a food processor, pour everything into a bowl and mix with a fork. You can also use regular flour instead of all-purpose flour.
2. Add the lemon juice and some of the water to the food processor while it is still running. Start with 180 ml of water; you will add the rest later depending on how dry the dough is. Most food processors have a spout on the top that you can pour ingredients through without removing the lid. After a while, the dough will come off the sides of the food processor. If the dough is still too dry and has lumps of flour, add the rest of the water, a tablespoon at a time. Do this until the dough clumps together and separates from the food processor walls.
   • If you don't have a food processor, make a well in the center of your flour mixture and pour in the lemon juice and water. Stir it with a fork until the dough clumps together.
   • The lemon juice will help make the dough more elastic and easier to roll out. You won't taste it once you've baked the puff pastry.
3. Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten it into a square. The square should be 6 inches per side. Do not make the slice too thin.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for an hour. This will make it easier to work with the dough later on. During that time, you can start preparing the butter.
5. Place unwrapped packages of butter on a sheet of parchment paper and cover with two tablespoons of flour. Make sure that the butter packs are touching and that the flour is evenly distributed over the butter.
6. Cover the flour and butter with a second sheet of parchment paper and flatten with a rolling pin. Keep doing this until the flour soaks into the butter. When you're done pounding, peel off the top layer of parchment paper.
7. Roll out the butter into a square. The square should be 8 inches per side.
8. Wrap the butter in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. Leave it there for an hour. This will allow the butter to cake again and make it easier to work with later on.
9. Unwrap the dough and roll it out on a surface that is lightly dusted with flour. Ultimately, you want to have a square that is about 12 inches per side.
10. Place the butter in the center of the square and fold the dough around it. Unwrap the butter and arrange it so that the corners touch the straight edges of the dough square. Then lift the corners of the dough and fold them towards the center of the butter, making a square package.
11. Roll out the package into a rectangle. Don't make it too thin, and make sure the rectangle is three times as long as it is wide.
12. Fold the dough in thirds. Take the bottom third and fold it just past the center of the rectangle. Press it. Next, lift the top third and bring it down onto the rest of the dough, forming a square.
13. Turn the dough pack 90 degrees to one side. You can turn it to the right or to the left. If the package does not turn easily, the dough has probably absorbed the flour. Gently lift the package and spray a thin layer of flour on your work surface. Put the dough back and try turning it again.
14. Repeat rolling and folding one more time. Roll out the dough into a rectangle and fold it in thirds again. You do this to create thin layers of dough and butter.
15. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Leave it there until it gets solid; this can take about 20 minutes, depending on how cold your refrigerator is.
16. Roll and fold the dough in thirds four more times, cooling it in between. After you have rolled, folded and turned the dough twice, put it in the fridge for 20 minutes, then roll, fold and turn it two more times.
17. Place the dough in the fridge for another hour before baking. At this point you can start using your dough in your recipe.

Method 3 of 3: Bake with puff pastry

1. Make puff pastry shells. Roll out your puff pastry into a thin sheet, then cut it into circles with a round cookie cutter or a drinking glass. Press the center of each circle with a smaller cookie cutter or cap (such as from a spice jar). Lightly prick the inner circle with a fork. Place the circles on a baking pan and bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the puff pastry from the oven and either flatten the inner circle with the bottom of a spice jar or wooden spoon, or take the inner circle out completely. You can now fill the containers with cream, fruit or another cooked filling.
2. Use puff pastry to make baked brie. Roll out your puff pastry until it is slightly larger than your slice of brie. Place the cheese in the center of the dough and pour some honey over it. You can also add nuts and dried fruits. Then bring the corners of the dough to the center of the cheese, so that you make a package. Bake the brie on a baking tray at 175 degrees Celsius for 25 to 30 minutes. You can serve the baked brie with apple slices and crackers.
3. Make filled puff pastry containers. Roll out the puff pastry into two rectangles measuring 25 by 35 cm. Cut each sheet into 24 smaller rectangles. Press the rectangles into the cups of a mini muffin tin. Bake it at 190 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Remove the patties from the oven and flatten the center of the containers with the end of a wooden spoon or spice jar. Fill the containers with whatever you want, then return them to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Here are a few ideas for what you can fill the pastry boxes with:
   • Ham and cheese
   • Fried mushrooms and onion
   • Brie, pistachios and peach jam
4. Make a pie with ham and cheese. Roll out the puff pastry into two rectangles measuring 25 by 30 cm. Place one of the rectangles on a baking tray and spread mustard; leave an edge of 2.5 cm. Cover the rectangle with a layer of ham slices and then cover the ham with slices of Swiss cheese. Spread the beaten egg on the edges and cover with the second rectangle of puff pastry. Press the edges together and then spread the top layer of puff pastry with beaten egg. Bake it at 230 degrees Celsius for 20 to 25 minutes. Let the puff pastry cool, then cut it into squares and serve.
   • To make the beaten egg, beat an egg and a tablespoon of water in a bowl.
5. Make cheese and herb stalks. Roll some puff pastry into a rectangle measuring 25 by 35 cm. Spread half of the dough with beaten egg. Mix 35 grams of Parmesan cheese and a teaspoon of dried Italian herbs in a bowl, then spread it over the other half of the puff pastry. Fold the dough in half so that the egg side touches the cheese side. Cut the dough into 24 strips. Twist each bar into a spiral and then grease each bar with beaten egg. Bake it at 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Let it cool before serving.
   • To make the beaten egg, beat an egg and a tablespoon of water in a small bowl.

Tips

• Cold marble countertops are ideal for puff pastry work.
• Dust any loose flour from the puff pastry to prevent it from rising properly in baking.
• It is important to keep the dough cold while you work; the little bits of butter should remain cold and firm. When the butter starts to soften, put the dough in the freezer for 10 to 20 minutes and then continue with your work.
• Cover the top of the puff pastry with some more beaten egg for a shiny finish. Add chicken stock for flavor.
• This recipe makes about 450 grams of puff pastry.
• The dough can be stored in the freezer for a month, tightly wrapped in plastic. Double the recipe and keep it handy in the freezer.

Warnings

• This is the kind of crust you use to finish a savory pie, like wrap a potpie, a beef Wellington or fried mushrooms, or over a tarte tartin. Do not use this type of puff pastry under a pile of apples with cinnamon or pumpkin puree.
• Try not to overwork the dough. Work as soon as you reasonably can.

Necessities

• Food processor
• Refrigerator
• Rolling pin