Quick & Easy Homemade Puff Pastry
This Homemade Puff Pastry, is so quick and easy and so much better than store bought puff pastry sheets. You will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner! Learn how to make it and use it in all your recipes that call for flaky, buttery pastry.
I have been dying to make puff pastry for years, since the first time I saw my sister-in-law make it. Unfortunately, I kept putting it off and putting it off because it was always just too much work and time consuming.
I was lucky enough to find this recipe on the Food Network website called the quickest puff pastry recipe. Now this was an amazing discovery. I can make puff pastry and save myself so much time and effort. Yeah, I like that!
This pastry is flaky, crispy and buttery, just like the classic puff pastry which takes time and lots of rolling. Another bonus point is, that you can fill it with any filling that suits your tastes, from savory to sweet.
Ingredients
- Very cold salted butter cut into cubes, do not use margarine
- Very cold water
- Salt
- All-purpose flour
How to Make Puff Pastry
I used my food processor to bring this puff pastry dough together and it was so easy, a few pulses and you are ready to go!
Place the flour and some of the butter cubes in the food processor. Pulse until the butter is worked into the dough. Add the rest of the butter and pulse just a few more times. Adding the butter in batches ensures it is worked evenly through the flour.
Add the cold water and pulse several more times or until the dough forms a ball. It’s very important to not over process the dough at this point – it should only take four to five more pulses for this step.
At this point, your dough will have bits of butter throughout but don’t worry, that is what makes this dough flaky.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. One thing I noticed is you have to make sure to keep your surface lightly floured all the time, gently form into a compact ball.
Lightly flour your rolling-pin, roll the dough out to a rectangle approximately 12×18 inches (30×45 cm).
To create all the flaky layers, fold the rectangle in half and then in half again, like an envelope.
Fold it one more time in half and then wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it for one to two hours. Once your puff pastry dough is chilled it’s ready to use!
Storage and Freezing Tips
- Store the homemade puff pastry in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Be sure it is sealed in plastic wrap.
- You can also freeze it. Wrap it well in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe bag or container, it will keep in the freezer for up to a month.
- Before using the frozen dough, leave it folded and wrapped and thaw it in the fridge overnight. Roll the dough out without unfolding it first.
How to Use It
There are countless ways to use your puff pastry sheets, both savory and sweet. Here I’m sharing two different pastry recipes that you might like to try!
Savory Filling
With the first part, I rolled the dough into a rectangle, lined it with slices of Cooked Ham and Shredded Gruyere Cheese, although any cream cheese would work.
I rolled it up as tight as possible, wrapped it in plastic and refrigerated it for about 20 minutes.
Then with a very sharp knife I made 1/4 inch slices, placed them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, sprinkled a little more shredded cheese and baked them for about 20 minutes
They make the perfect appetizers and were gone in minutes!
Sweet Filling
The remaining dough I rolled the pastry into a circle and made 8 triangles, on each triangle, on the bottom (large part) I placed one or two thin slices of pear, some chopped walnuts and a sprinkling of chocolate chips.
I then rolled them up starting at the bottom (large part) and placed the on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
I brushed them with an egg wash and baked them for about 10-15 minutes. Let them cool and a little dusting of Powdered Sugar is all they need.
If pears aren’t to your liking, then you could fill them with 2-3 apples slices tossed with a little brown sugar and cinnamon.
If you have any leftover dough you could always make some double cheese savory twists. They would be perfect with a big bowl of Soup or Stew.
I hope you decide to give this 10 Minute Homemade Puff Pastry a go. Let me know what you think and how you filled yours. Enjoy!
Quick & Easy Homemade Puff Pastry
Ingredients
FOR THE PUFF PASTRY
- 1¼ cup very cold butter (salted)* cut into cubes
- ½ cup very cold water
- ¼ teaspoon salt*
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
*If using unsalted butter then add ¾ teaspoon of salt. Be sure to use a good quality butter, apparently this year 2022, store brand butter quality is not what it used to be.
HAM & CHEESE ROLL UPS
- 6-8 slices cooked Ham
- 1¼ cups Gruyere or cheese of choice shredded
PEAR, WALNUT & CHOCOLATE CHIP CRESCENTS
- ½ – 1 pear sliced (not too thick/firm but ripe)
- ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
EGG WASH
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
MORE RECIPE IDEAS
DOUBLE CHEESE TWISTS
- ¼ – ½ cup shredded cheese fontal or gruyere
- ¼ – ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian Parsley
APPLE CINNAMON FILLING
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 apple peeled, cored and sliced thin
Instructions
10 MINUTE PUFF PASTRY
- Using a food processor, fitted with the metal blade, add flour and salt to the bowl, then add ¾ cup (170 grams) cold butter cut in cubes and pulse until butter is absorbed (about 10 to 12 one second pulses), then add the remaining cold butter (cubed) and pulse two or three times (no more) to combine, add the cold water and pulse four or five times just until the dough comes together to form a ball (really important not to over process).
- On a lightly floured surface place dough and knead lightly approximately 10 times. With a lightly floured rolling- pin (lightly flour the dough so it doesn't stick) roll into a rectangle approximately 12 x 18 inches (30 x 45 cm).
- Fold the dough like an envelope (see photos) then fold in half, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 – 2 hours (I left mine in the fridge for two hours).
Pre-heat oven to 375° (190° celsius) (for all recipes).
HAM & CHEESE ROLL UPS
- Remove from the fridge and on a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling-pin roll the still folded dough (I cut the dough in two parts, refrigerate the unused dough until needed) into a rectangle (approximately 10 x 14 inches / 25 x 35 cm). I covered the dough with thin slices of cooked ham and sprinkled with shredded cheese.
- Roll up length wise as tight as possible and brush the edges with egg wash to seal. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 20-30 minutes. Unwrap and slice with a sharp knife into ¼ inch slices. Place on prepared cookie sheet, brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with more cheese, bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately.
PEAR, WALNUT & CHOCOLATE CRESCENTS
- Roll the remaining dough into a large circle, make 8-10 triangles. Place 1-2 slices of pear on the large part of the triangle, top with some chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. Roll up from the large part, place on prepared cookie sheet, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with a little sugar and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden. Let cool then dust with powdered / icing sugar. Enjoy.
MORE RECIPES
DOUBLE CHEESE TWISTS
- In a small bowl mix together Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley, set aside. Roll (½ or ⅓) the dough into an 1/8" thick oval, sprinkle shredded cheese on the top half of oval, bring up the bottom half to cover the top, brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with parmesan cheese mixture, slice into ½ inch strips, twist and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden. Eat warm. Enjoy!
APPLE CINNAMON FILLING
- In a small bowl toss together, sliced apples, brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Roll out the dough into a large rectangle or square ⅛ " thick, then cut into 6-8 squares. Top each square with 2-3 apple slices, brush the edges of the square with egg mixture. Fold over and seal. Brush tops of pastry with the egg wash, sprinkle with sugar and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden. Drizzle with a little frosting if desired.
EGG WASH
- In a small bowl beat together the egg and water.
Notes
Nutrition
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Thanks to the foodnetwork.com.
I am republishing this recipe from October 19, 2014 with photo and video updates.
I am wondering about making this without a food processor also. I literally do not have room for one in my tiny kitchen, but I do have a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. Have you received any feedback using the stand mixer yet?
How exciting to be able to make fresh puff pastry! Thank you!
Hi Cynthia, I haven’t tried it with a stand up mixer, but it may work using the paddle attachment. If you try it, let me know how it goes.
I made it by combining everything by hand in a bowl. It turned out great! Followed all the directions otherwise
Hi Dallin, thanks for letting me know you made it by hand.
Do you use all purpose or self rising flour?
Hi Katie, I use all purpose flour. 🙂
Are we suppose to just guess on the cook time?
Hi Daniel, no, the recipe includes the baking time. 🙂
Nice one.Cant I make it without food processor? I have kitchenaid stand mixer. Is it possible to make in that?
Hi Pooja, thanks, I m sure it would work with a Kitchenaid too. Let me know how it goes.
The recipe says the serving size is ‘1 dough recipe’, does that mean it’s roughly equivalent to 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry? I found a danish recipe I want to try, but it calls for ‘2 frozen puff pastry sheets’. I’m trying to figure out if ‘1 dough recipe’ is equal to ‘1 frozen puff pastry sheet’.
Hi Ginger, the recipe is equal to 1 puff pastry sheet. Hope that helps. 🙂
Can you freeze this?
Hi Kathy, yes you can freeze it as long as you wrap it well (air tight). It will keep up to 6 months if it’s wrapped well. Hope that helps. Have a great weekend.
Hi how do you keep puff pastry crispy after several hours? Thanks
Hi Ika, it should stay quite crisp if it isn’t filled, unfortunately once it is filled after a bit it starts to get soft. So what I do is fill it just before serving. Hope that helps.
I can’t believe I don’t have to buy puff pastry anymore. My granddaughter made the dough Sunday morning and left to go to a soccer game. She was going to make garlic pinwheels (a puff pastry recipe) for a dinner I was having. Well, the dough remained in my refrigerator until today with me hoping I did not have to throw it out. It was still good. I made cinnamon/sugar rolls and they turned out great. The crust is flaky and, in my opinion, much better than store bought puff pastry. Since the dough was left in the refrigerator for two days we can definitely make it ahead of time and use it on the day it’s needed. Thank you so much for another great recipe.
Hi Ann, great to know it lasts in the fridge for 2 days, so glad it worked out and you like it. 🙂
Hi! I tried the recipe today. First of all I’d like to thank you for such an easy recipe. It was the only reason I tried it! ? I halved all the ingredients because I wasn’t sure how it’d turn out. I put some spicy minced beef in it and baked it. It looked great but when I tasted it it was quite crumbly. It was light though.
I am not sure if it’s supposed to be so crumbly and flaky? Is it? Or did I do something wrong?
Hi Rabia, thanks and sounds delicious and yes you did a good job if it’s flaky, exactly how it is suppose to be. Have a great weekend. 🙂
I’m definitely going to try this recipe. You can’t go wrong with it. Who doesn’t love puff pastry? Thanks for sharing.
Hi Ann, thanks, let me know how you liked it. Have a great weekend.
I’ve never made homemade puff pastry! Can’t wait to try it out once we get back home to our food processor. I’m pinning it for later. Buona gioranta!
Thanks Marisa, hope you enjoy and let me know. Have a great week.
Never thought I could make this so quickly- love it, totally pinning!
Thanks Rachel, it really is worth trying. And thank you for pinning.
I am excited to have this recipe but wondered where the 10 minutes comes in. You take 30 to prepare, 2 hours to cool, 20 to bake. But anyway thanks for the homemade puff pastry recipe.
Hi Ellen, sorry it was an older recipe and I re did it and preparation time really is only 10 minutes (I forgot to update that part). 🙂
Hi, thanks, you assumed correctly! Have a great day!
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM FILLING
1 cup (240 grams)
1 tablespoon (16 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon (2 grams) cinnamon
Can I assume the 1 cup…….. should be whipping cream?
Thanks –