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The Fundamentals of Puff Pastry

The Fundamentals of Puff Pastry

Puff pastry may sound like a daunting and unenviable task. But, if you're feeling up for the adventure or can't find it in store, it can be done! The most important thing seems to be to keep the butter as cold as possible and to keep from over handling the dough. It also helps to freeze the butter for 10 minutes or so and shred it in a cheese grater.
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Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chill Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 55 minutes
Course Dessert, Side Dish
Cuisine French
Servings 8 servings

Equipment

  • 2 Bowls
  • Freezer
  • Cheese Grater
  • Plastic Wrap
  • Refrigerator
  • Rolling Pin
  • Oven

Ingredients
  

  • 227 g. butter preferably unsalted (1 c.)
  • 240 g. all-purpose flour (2 c.)
  • 12 g. sugar (1 tbsp.)
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 8-10 tbsp. cold water
  • 2 eggs whisked

Instructions
 

Form Dough

  • Place butter in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.
    You need to get it cold enough to put through a cheese grater, which means that it needs to essentially freeze throughout. For butter that has been stored in a refrigerator, this should take about 10 minutes. On warmer days and for butter that has been stored at room temperature, this may take more like a half hour.
  • Place at least 10 tablespoons of water in the freezer and chill for 10 minutes as well.
    You can also add a splash of vodka or other higher proof alcohol to keep the water from freezing. This is a trick for making pie crust as well.
  • Meanwhile, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.
  • When the butter is cold and solid, quickly grate with a cheese grater.
    The key here is not to let the butter warm or melt. I put mine through a rotary cheese grater so that I didn't have to touch it virtually at all. Because your ambient body temperature can warm the butter too much and it's best to handle it as minimally has possible. Although a regular cheese grater will work as well.
    I have been warned that dicing the butter will not achieve the best results and that grating it is fairly imperative.
    On a warm day or if you're at all unsure if the butter has warmed up, place it back in the freezer for another 10 minutes before proceeding.
  • Add the butter to the flour mixture and add just enough chilled water to be able to mix it together and form a rough dough ball. You can do this by starting with a fork and then roughly kneading it a couple of times.
    This should be done as quickly as possible. You should still be able to see pockets of butter, but not pockets of unmixed flour. This isn't cookie dough! It should not be smooth and mixed entirely. But just enough to hold a shape.

First Chill

  • Shape into a 1/2-inch thick square and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for an hour.

Roll Dough

  • After an hour in the refrigerator, lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle.
  • Fold both of the ends toward the center. This will make 3 layers, much like folding a pamphlet or piece of paper to fit into an envelope.
  • Rotate one half turn, or 90 degrees, and roll out the dough again into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Fold the ends into thirds again.
  • Repeat this process a total of 4 times. Make sure to do it quickly and without heating up the dough or melting the butter. If this even begins to happen, put the dough back into the refrigerator or freezer and chill before continuing.
    This will laminate the dough. It's a process of rolling out the layers, without melting the butter. Puff pastry is essentially insufficiently mixed layers that then separate during the cooking process and puff up to make the distinct flakiness.
    So, the goal is to create layers, without actually worrying about mixing them together. The dough will be shinier and smoother, but still not completely incorporated at the end. Don't worry if you can still see pockets of butter!

Second Chill

  • After rolling out and folding the dough 4 times, leave the final layer folded into thirds. Then, wrap again with plastic wrap and put back in the refrigerator for 2 more hours.
    You can leave the dough in this stage for up to 48 hours before using.

Bake Dough

  • At this point, you can turn the puff pastry into whatever pastry that you desire.
  • To simply cook it in sheets, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Meanwhile, whisk 2 eggs in a small bowl and set aside.
  • After the oven has preheated, lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Cut into 2-inch squares or desired shape.
  • Lightly coat with egg wash.
  • Cook for 15 minutes, or until the puff pastry has turned golden brown.

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

  • If the pastry doesn't puff up and create distinct layers, you have likely mixed it too much or the butter has warmed and melted into the dough. Unfortunately, there is no remedy for an already cooked puff pastry! But try again and make sure to keep the butter as cold as possible.
  • Grating the butter with a cheese grater really helps in this respect because the butter is already in small enough pieces where you don't need to worry about handling it too much to get it incorporated, without actually melting in the process. So, if you don't have a cheese grater, do go out and get one! And get block cheese while you're at it. It's less expensive than the pre-shredded variety and has a much better taste because it isn't coated in literal wood pulp. Look it up. That's what "cellulose" literally is. And also explains why pre-grated cheese tastes like sawdust.