Puff pastry is quick to prepare, needs only a few ingredients and is versatile, as it can be used for making both sweet and salty snacks.
You probably thought it was difficult to make puff pastry at home, but in fact it’s neither complicated nor time-consuming to prepare. If you read the recipe below, you’ll be much less likely to opt for the store-bought kind. This quick puff pastry recipe was published on Pastry & Beyond, an excellent website for anyone who loves to bake.
It should be put together in a similar way to Linzer or pie dough. At least the first step is the same: mix the flour with the ice-cold butter in quick motions until you obtain a crumbly consistency. The butter shouldn’t melt from the heat of your hands, so it’s a good idea to put both the flour and the bowl in the fridge before you start making the dough.
Once you have a soft, elastic dough, then you just need to stretch and fold it. This isn’t a complicated process either: you just need to fold the dough into three, then stretch again, fold again and so on. Repeat this process at least three times, rotating the dough 90 degrees before each stretching.
You can also freeze the finished puff pastry, wrap in an airtight container and place in the freezer. The following portion will give a 300 g dough.
Ingredients for each piece of dough
- 125 g flour
- 140 g cold butter
- A generous dash of salt
- 60 ml cold water
Preparation
Put the flour and the bowl in which you will assemble the dough in the fridge for half an hour before you start.
Mix the sifted flour with the salt and add the cold butter. Crumble the butter into the flour, being careful not to melt it with the heat of your hands.
Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour the ice-cold water into it. Using a spatula, start mixing the dough. When it is roughly together, knead it into a ball with your hands.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Flour the stretching board as well, then stretch the dough into 25 cm rectangles. Brush off any excess flour. Fold the bottom third of the dough into the center, then fold the top third over it to form a layer. Meanwhile, always sweep off the excess flour. Turn the dough 90 degrees, then repeat the stretching and folding. Repeat at least three more times.
When you are done, wrap the folded dough in foil and refrigerate for 1 hour before using.