Flaky and buttery, this homemade Puff Pastry is shockingly easy to make. Made with only five simple ingredients, you can have a high-quality, melt-in-your-mouth puff pastry in no time.
Puff pastry, also known as pâte feuilletée, is a flakey pastry made by laminating dough. Frozen sheets of puff pastry are easy to pick up at the store, but after trying this quick homemade puff pastry recipe, you’re never going to want to go back to store-bought. While it does take a little bit of elbow grease, homemade puff pastry just cannot be beaten. Thanks to the quality of ingredients used, you can really taste the difference when you make puff pastry from scratch.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Cold butter — To get the distinct, crispy layers in your pastry, the butter must be cold. When the bits of butter melt in the oven as the pastry bakes, it leaves you with air pockets, making the dough airy and flakey.
Cold water — Icy cold water helps keep the dough temperature down and prevents the butter from melting when combined. Making a couple of ice cubes beforehand to keep your water cold is recommended.
HOW TO MAKE PUFF PASTRY
Grate the butter. To make it easier to grate, you can freeze the butter beforehand.
Combine the grated butter with whisked flour, sugar, and salt.
Drizzle the cold water over the mixture and fold the mixture until it clumps together.
Gently knead the dough and then shape into a ½-inch thick square and wrap in plastic wrap before chilling for an hour.
On a lightly floured surface, start laminating the dough by rolling out the dough and folding the dough in thirds.
Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat rolling, folding, and rotating 3 more times before chilling or freezing for later use. It should look much smoother than when you started.
