Homemade puff pastry recipe

Homemade puff pastry is one of the easiest pastries you can make and the homemade version is so delicious and flakey, it will leave you wondering why you ever purchased it.

I think the word “pastry” can intimidate a lot of people and maybe that’s because it’s used in so many fancy desserts and originated in France under the name pâte feuilletée. Fancy, French names aside buttery, homemade puff pastry is one dessert that I believe everyone can make.

Similar to other pastries like pie crust, homemade sweet biscuits for Strawberry shortcake and Danish, puff pastry is meant to be buttery, flakey and delicate. And most important thing to remember is, is that you want to keep the dough cold.

The secret behind homemade puff pastry

To make homemade puff pastry, a process called lamination is used. Again, it’s similar to making any sort of biscuit and it creates hundreds of flakey layers in the finished dish. This basically means you’re going to continuously fold cold dough onto itself to create those layers. Then when the cold butter in that dough is put in a hot oven, steam is released, and this causes the dough to puff and create those layers.

Most recipes you find on Pinterest and from other bloggers will tell you that you can make homemade puff pastry in 15 minutes. Unfortunately, that’s not accurate. Your hands-on time will be about 15 minutes. However, the entire process to make the dough and go through several chilling phases will actually take you about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Then if you want to cook it, it will take about 20-25 more minutes or so.

I find that knowing the accurate time for recipes helps when I’m trying to plan out my baking, especially if I want to make this for something special. The dough is absolutely something you can make ahead of time, keep chilled and then pull out and bake right before you want to serve it. For me, that actually makes it the perfect dinner party dessert. It will impress your guests with the delicious flakey layers and you won’t have to feel like you’re ignoring them to make an amazing dessert.

How to make homemade puff pastry

To make homemade puff pastry you will only need three ingredients; Flour, butter, salt and water. Once you become a pro you can add in other ingredients like cheddar and chives, but to start I’m always a fan of keeping it simple.

You’re going to want to whisk the flour and salt together in a bowl and then cream in your butter with a pastry cutter. I have this one here {HERE}. If you don’t have a pastry cutter – like I didn’t when I first started making this – you can use a knife to cut your butter into pea-sized cubes and then mix and smush it into the flour and salt with a fork. Either, way, you want to make sure your butter is clumpy and I like to make it similar to the size of a pea even if I’m using a pastry cutter.

At this point, it’s time to chill it for one hour. After working with the butter so much, it will have softened and it’s so important that it stays firm and cold for this recipe. The cold butter helps you to get those beautiful layers. Just stick the whole bowl in the fridge. I don’t even cover mine.

Phase 2 of homemade puff pastry

After an hour, remove the dough from the fridge and make a hole in the center of the mixture. Then pour the ice-cold water in. To get the water ice cold, use a larger measuring cup like a Pyrex, fill it up with cold water and then stick a few ice cubes in for about a minute. Pull them out with a spoon and then pour in the correct amount of water.

Lightly with your hands start to combine the dough with the water until you have a loose and sticky mixture. Turn it out onto a clean, well-floured work surface and begin to roll it out with a floured rolling pin. Keep your flour next to you and use sparingly throughout the process.

Roll the dough out long and then fold the ends back onto the middle. This is how you create the layers. You want to do this about 6-9 times. The dough will be very rough in the beginning and sticky but as you begin to work with it and fold it over again and again, it will become smoother.

Once that’s done and the dough is smooth, wrap it in parchment paper and place it back in the refrigerator for at least one hour. However, at this point, you can leave it in there overnight.

And that’s it! The homemade puff pastry dough is made!

Cook time for homemade puff pastry dough

The cook time for your homemade puff pastry will vary, and as always with baking, all of our oven times vary. It’s something you’ll want to watch and perfect over time for your oven. I’d suggest starting with an oven time of 400 degree for at least 20 minutes. However, you made need more of less time, and if you’re using a recipe where you’re stuffing it right away follow that recipe.

Tips for working with homemade puff pastry

• The most important thing to remember when cooking the homemade puff pastry is that your oven is hot. Don’t skip pre-heating it and don’t open it to check on the progress of the dough. The heat mixed with the cold butter is what creates those billowy layers.
• That said, also don’t over-handle your dough when you remove it from the refrigerator and try not to press it down. You can lightly shape it and use a pizza cutter to slice it. If you press into it, you’ll inadvertently crush some of your layers down and it won’t puff as well.
• Roll it out to 1/4 or 1/8 of an inch depending on what you’re making.
• To give your homemade puff pastry a nice golden color, use a light egg wash. Mix together 1 egg and 1/4 cup of water. Lightly brush it on top of the pastry before cooking.
• Always use parchment paper when baking this on a cookie sheet to prevent the bottom from over browning. If you’re making it in cupcake tins, make sure they’re well oiled or buttered.

What to make with homemade puff pastry

• This Caramelized Onion & Tomato Tart is a favorite of mine.
• Make homemade cheese twists by slicing your dough with a pizza cutter, sprinkling it with cheese and then baking.
• Layer berries, homemade puff pastry and whipped cream for a light and gorgeous dessert.
• Slice it in strips, sprinkle on cheese and pepperoni and then roll the strips for pizza pinwheels. You can actually do this with a variety of ingredients so think outside the box – spinach and cheese and artichokes, mascarpone and jam, bacon and well, anything!
• Cut the dough in little squares and place it in cupcake tins with any filling you like too!

Thank you so much for visiting today, friends! Get the full recipe for homemade puff pastry below and please come back again to see what we’re up to at Sugar Maple Farmhouse. For more recipes, click {HERE}.