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
.
Thanks to the foodnetwork.com.
I am republishing this recipe from October 19, 2014 with photo and video updates.
at what temperature do you cook the puff pastry?
Hi Amy, pre-heat the oven to 375F (190C) for all the puff pastry recipes.
Can you use cold heavy whipping cream instead of cold water?
Hi Becky I don’t know how that would work, it might be too much fat including the butter too.
Great recipe, easy to follow.
Was a bit oily when cooked, but not enough to put me off.
Really puffed up and tasted delicious, very flaky and crunchy.
A once in a while treat.
Thanks Maree, glad you liked it. Take care.
I love using this recipe to make Hot Pockets Our Every Friday Night Favorite
Hi Dana, thanks so much, and what a great idea. Have a great week.
Brilliant recipe, so simple and successful.
Hi Haidee, thanks so much so glad you liked it. Have a great weekend.
Do you think frozen butter would work ok? I buy stick butter and put them in the freezer. If making dough, I just grate the butter into the flour. But I wonder if that would work for this? (Can’t get much colder than frozen!)
Hi Marlene, oh yes that’s fine I do that all the time too. Let me know how it goes.
Since cold butter and ice water is being used would it be ok to skip the refrigeration part and go straight to baking?
Hi Becky, no not a good idea because working the dough warms it up and in order to make it flaky it needs to be refrigerated. 🙂
Thanks for a very simple recipe, Rosemary! 🙂
I do not have a food processor, do you think mixing with hand is possible here!? I really want to really make this hence pls do share the alternate option. Thank you.
Hi Roma, Im sure you could make it by hand, using a fork or a pastry blender instead of the the food processor. Of course it may take a bit longer and some arm strength but it should work. Let me know how it goes.
You can grate frozen butter. Also you can break up the butter cubes w/ your band instead of using the food processor. Just keep putting the mixture in the fridge if you have warm hands to keep the butter cold. The cold butter pieces give flaky pastry.
After the 2 hours do you unroll the dough or roll it out from the way it is folded?
Hi Ciska, you roll it out from the way it is folded. I hope you like it. Happy New Year.
Sounds great, can’t wait to try it
Thanks Claudia, let me know how it goes. Happy New Year.
I’m very excited! This was a success! I just made it with apples and cinnamon. I will never buy puff pastry again! I will put the ham one in the oven later tonight. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Lois, thanks so much so glad you enjoyed it. Happy New Year.
Apple turnovers were a hit…yummy! Will come back to this recipe for puff pastry again.
Hi Ellen, thanks so much, so glad you liked the recipe. Happy New Year.
I tried to make this today but unfortunately my pastry didn’t puff, it looked more like pita chips at the end. I made a lot of substitutions though. Used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour and vegan butter instead of regular butter. I also cut the amount of butter used in half. Where did I go wrong with my substitutions? Was it the whole wheat flour? The vegan butter? Or the lack of butter that ruined it for me ? I want to try making this again because it was so easy. And really hoping to get the puff next time. Are there any ingredients I absolutely can’t substitute ? (Trying to make this as healthy as possible) Thank you!
Hi Daria, to tell the truth I think it was a combination of all them, whole wheat flour because there isn’t enough gluten to cause the flakiness, plus puff pastry needs butter also for the flakiness. To tell the truth I have never used vegan butter so I don’t know if the fat content is enough. Hope that helps.
Taste great and very easy to make. I don’t have a food processor so used my ninja blender it worked great
Hi David, thanks so much and thanks for letting me know. Take care.
Any tips on how to make this without a food processor. I attempted this recipe and found out that my food processor is too small for 2 cups of flour and all that butter! (Is it really 2 1/2 sticks of butter?!) Well it didn’t fit and so I tried to put it in a bowl and use a hand mixer. I didn’t over mix it at all and it was sooooo sticky I couldn’t even transfer it over. I had to heavily flour my work surface just to be able to work with it. I couldn’t get it off my hands! Lol! After a lot of flour I ended up getting it to look like the picture and now its in the fridge. I hope it still tastes good. 🤞🏻 Not sure if I will attempt this again 🤔
Hi Jess, it’s actually 2 1/4 sticks of butter, and yes puff pastry has lots of butter in it. Try making half the recipe so it fits in your food processor. Let me know how it goes.