Puff pastry
Puff pastry is a dough folded with butter into hundreds of thin layers that rise into a crisp, flaky pastry. Here is how to bake it tall and crisp.
Also called Pâte feuilletée, Rough puff pastry.
Puff pastry is a rich, flaky pastry made by folding a block of butter into a plain dough and rolling and folding it many times. The process, called laminating, builds hundreds of thin layers. In a hot oven the layers puff apart into a tall, crisp, buttery pastry. You use it for vol-au-vents, palmiers, sausage rolls, beef Wellington and fruit tarts.
How to do it
Most cooks buy it ready-made. To bake it:
- Thaw frozen pastry in the fridge overnight, or for 30 to 40 minutes at room temperature until it bends without cracking.
- Roll it on a lightly floured surface to about 3 to 5 mm (⅛ to ¼ inch) thick.
- Cut with a sharp knife straight down. Do not drag the knife.
- Brush the top with egg wash, keeping it off the cut edges.
- Chill the shaped pastry for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Bake at 200 to 220°C (400 to 425°F) until deep golden and well risen, usually 15 to 25 minutes for small pieces.
How to tell it is done
The pastry has risen into clear layers and is golden brown all over, including underneath. Lift a piece: it should feel light and the inside layers should look dry and flaky, not doughy.
Why it works
Water in the dough and butter turns to steam in the oven. The butter keeps each dough layer separate, so the steam lifts them apart. The heat then sets each layer before it can fall back. That is why the oven must be hot and the butter cold until it goes in.
How to store it
Keep unopened pastry in the fridge until the date on the pack, or freeze it for several months. Baked pastry is best the same day. Crisp it again for 5 minutes in a hot oven.
Common mistakes
- Pastry too warm. The butter melts and leaks, and it rises unevenly. Chill it if it goes soft.
- Pressing a cut edge with a fork or egg. It seals the layers and stops the rise.
- An oven that is too cool. The butter melts before steam can lift the layers.
- A wet filling straight on raw pastry. Dock the center, or bake the base first.
In recipes
"All-butter puff pastry" is made only with butter and tastes richer. "Rough puff" is a faster homemade version made by folding cubes of butter into the dough.
Recipes that use it
6 recipes from the sites we collect.
Palmiers
www.onceuponachef.com · 30 min
Pigs in a Blanket with Spicy Honey Mustard Sauce
www.onceuponachef.com · 65 min
Baked Brie en Croûte with Honey, Dried Cherries, Pecans & Rosemary
www.onceuponachef.com · 40 min
Chicken Pot Pie
www.onceuponachef.com · 70 min
Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie Soup
pinchofyum.com · 250 min
Ham, Egg, and Cheese Brunch Cups
pinchofyum.com · 35 min
Related terms
- LaminateTo laminate is to fold a slab of butter into dough and roll it out again and again, making hundreds of thin layers for croissants and puff pastry.
- Egg washEgg wash is beaten egg, often thinned with water or milk, brushed on dough before baking. It gives a shiny, golden crust and glues seeds and seams.
- DockTo dock is to prick holes in raw pastry, crackers or pizza dough with a fork so steam can escape. It keeps the base flat instead of puffing up in the oven.
- Shortcrust pastryShortcrust pastry is a crumbly, tender pastry of flour, fat and a little water, used for pies, tarts and quiche. Here is the ratio and how to make it.
- Choux pastryChoux pastry is a cooked dough of water, butter, flour and eggs that puffs hollow in the oven. It makes eclairs, cream puffs, profiteroles and gougères.