Rough Puff Pastry From Scratch

Puff pastry is a useful ingredient in so many recipes and it’s very easy to find in the frozen section of any grocery store.  But have you ever considered making it at home? Since I’m a bit extra, I decided to make rough puff pastry from scratch and tell you all about it!

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Rough Puff Pastry vs Puff Pastry

 

One of the first questions you have is probably what is the difference between rough puff pastry and regular puff pastry?  Rough puff pastry cuts cold butter into the pastry dough and then you fold, or “laminate”, the dough to create the many layers of puff pastry.

In contrast, proper puff pastry folds a cold slab of butter into the dough, very similar to how I made these croissants.  However, croissants are made with a yeast dough so the final product is very different. Rough puff pastry is a cheat to make the process a smidge faster and easier.

 

 

But Why From Scratch?

 

Look, I know I may seem like a crazy person to some of you.  Why the heck would someone make puff pastry from scratch when you can just grab some at the grocery store?  Long story short, I’m extra. Longer story, my experience with The Great American Baking Show lit a little pastry fire under my butt.

The main reason I made rough puff pastry from scratch was simply to be able to say that I did it.  For a lot of home bakers, that might not be a good enough reason. But since I’ve tried it, I gotta say, the flavor is way better and you know exactly what is going into the recipe.  If you’ve got the time, this might make it worth it.

 

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How to Make Rough Puff Pastry

 

This recipe only has a few basic ingredients that I can all but guarantee that you have in your pantry.  But it’s how you use these basic ingredients that creates beautiful layers of pastry.  You can read more about the original recipe from Food52 if you’d like.

 

Related Reading: How to Make Croissants Three Ways

 

First we’ll start off by smushing butter into the flour and salt.  You can try this in a stand mixer if you have hot hands like me. Use the dough hook, maybe the paddle, on a low speed.  Or use your hands and rub the butter into the flour with your palms. The goal is to create flat slivers of butter that are about the size of a walnut half.

Make a well in the bowl and add 6 ounces of cold water.  Use the stand mixer or a spoon to gently combine. You want the dough to be cohesive, but not super wet and sticky.  Add up to 3 more ounces of water a bit at a time until you reach this consistency. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured baking sheet lined with a silicone mat and shape into a rectangle.  Cover and chill until firm, but pliable, about 30 minutes.

 

 

Shaping the Dough

 

When you’re shaping dough, it’s best to keep it in the shape you want to end up with.  In this case, we want a rectangle with very precise corners. Throughout the shaping process, use your hands and scrapers to keep these corners sharp.  If they end up rounded, your rough puff pastry will not come out as well.

We will fold the dough four times using two different styles of folds.  They are called a four fold and a three fold. This will create the many layers of our rough puff pastry.  The chill time between folds keeps the butter firm, but pliable, so that it doesn’t melt into the dough before we bake.

 

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Folding Time

 

Transfer your chilled pastry to a floured counter top.  Roll it out to a 10×25 inch rectangle. I prefer to roll it out directly in front of me, but you can do whatever works best for you and your counter space.  Now fold the dough ¾ of the way back towards you. Fold the remaining dough up to meet the other edge. Fold the dough in half, do a quarter turn and transfer it back to your baking sheet.  Cover and chill for 20- 30 minutes. That was the first four fold.

Take the chilled dough out of the fridge and transfer to a floured counter top.  Once again, roll the dough out to a 10×25 inch rectangle, keeping those corners sharp.  This time we will do a three fold, which is the same as the book turns from my croissants.  Fold the top third of the dough down, and bring the bottom third of dough up and over it. Rotate a quarter turn and transfer back to the baking sheet.  Cover and chill for 20- 30 minutes.

You’ll repeat with another four fold and another three fold.  Every time I take the pastry dough out of the fridge, I like to invert the dough onto the counter top.  This helps the dough roll out evenly.

 

 

How to Use Puff Pastry

 

This recipe makes two “servings” of rough puff pastry.  But I don’t mean you should eat an entire half by yourself!  The boxes of frozen puff pastry come with two sheets. Similarly, you’ll divide the finished dough and end up with two even portions of rough puff pastry.  

Now that you’ve got homemade rough puff pastry, how will you use it?  It would be amazing with my Puff Pastry Breakfast Pockets.  I used this particular recipe to make Mille Feuille with Elderflower Custard.  But I’ve still got a half batch to use somehow…

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