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.
Can you do this in a blender mine has a low setting
Hi Janaye, I have never tried it in a blender but I don’t think it would work out very well.
Where is the link to the video?
Hi Leslie, the video is at the top of the post.
Do you need to put it in the refridgerator? What if I used it right away?
Hi Michelle, no it has to be refrigerated so that the dough hardens up, that’s what gives you the flakiness of puff pastry.
I Love your recipes & stories. Thanks for sharing. I always prefer recipes with metric measurements but when I chose metric for your Puff Pastry recipe I noticed that it shows 2 different gram numbers for the water and flour. Do I assume correctly that I should use the number in parenthesis?
Thanks Rosemary
Hi Jeanette, yes use the one in parenthesis, those are the ones I did manually, the others aren’t always correct and I am slowly trying to correct them.
I used this recipe to make the pastry for a galette and it burned like crazy. It was like butter was pouring out of it. Not sure what went wrong. Any suggestions?
Hi Alexis, I am not sure unless you didn’t mix it enough or added too much butter. Sorry it didn’t work out.
Would this recipe work for a top and bottom pie crust. Thought it would be nice for turkey pot pie.
Hi JC, Im sure it would work ok.
Can this be made in a kitchen aid mixer?
Hi DJ I have never used a mixer to make this recipe, but I think you could use the flat beaters. Just bring the dough together then gently knead it on a flat surface. Let me know how it goes.
Hi, I want to use your amazing recipe but would like to know how long it can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Thank you bunches for sharing such an easy and delicious looking recipe.
Priscilla
Hi Pricilla, you can store the dough in fridge for up to five days be sure wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or you can freeze it for up to three months, again be sure to wrap it well and place in a freezer bag. Hope that helps and you like the recipe.
I’ve got to try your recipe, it sounds great and easy to make. You guys wish me luck. Thanks for the recipe
Hi Jo, thanks let me know how it goes and good luck!
Really a great recipe! I found that if I rolled the pastry out very thin, so I could almost see through it, placed the pastries on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked them at 420 degrees Fahrenheit they came out beautifully puffy and flaky. I will definitely be telling friends who love to bake about this recipe !
Hi Kim, thanks so much, so glad you like the recipe. Have a great week.
It looks terrific!
I’m wondering why such a difference in temperature though…350 vs 420, Did you try 350 as the recipe suggests and it just didn’t quite work out as you’d hoped?
First of all, yum! So delicious. I am wondering though if it could take a little less butter. It was almost too buttery. Thoughts?
Hi Carrie, you could try but it might not puff up the same way.
Very awesome! Never would have thought to use the food processor! I always use the stand mixer. This is much easier! Used it right away with some canned apples I just made and it came out delicious! Will be using this for the holidays! Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Durchi, thanks so much, glad you liked it. And yes food processor is great for a lot things. 🙂
Can you freeze this dough?
Hi Linda, yes you can, wrap it tightly in plastic and place in a freezer bag, it will keep up to 3 months in the freezer. Hope that helps.
There was no link to the video on this page. 🙁 Kept looking for it.
Hi Joyce, the video is at the top of the post, right underneath “Be sure to watch the video”. Hope that helps.
Hi Rosemary, thank you so much for this recipe – never thought I would be making my own puff pastry, all traditional recipes call for so much work (and time) that I was always discouraged. Yours is perfect, and the result is much, much better than store bought. Just one thing: I made this pastry several times and it always came out great… until you added the amount of butter in grams. I followed, just to check – but the pastry was flat (tasted fine, but didn’t resemble puff pastry). This made me think – 1 1/4 cup butter = 2 1/2 sticks, one stick is 113 grams, so shouldn’t it be some 283 grams and not 250…? Before, when I calculated the butter by cups and added some 285 grams or so, everything was fine. Will be using the recipe with more butter as it works better for me. Otherwise, as I said, it’s perfect and thanks again.
Temp. For baking puff pastry.
Hi Marge, the oven temp is 350F (the instructions and temperature are given with the Ham & Cheese Rollups). Hope that helps. Have a great weekend.