Easy Homemade Puff Pastry Recipe
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Leave those frozen sheets of puff pastry on the store shelf! This Homemade Puff Pastry is tender, flaky, and full of buttery flavor. Best of all? It comes together with just four simple ingredients and a few easy folds. There are no special tools and no complicated laminating process.
If you're baking savory tarts, sweet turnovers, or breakfast pastries, this shortcut puff pastry delivers that light, crisp texture we all love. Once you try it, you may never go back to store-bought again!
Table of Contents
- Here's Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You'll Need
- In Photos: How To Make Homemade Puff Pastry
- How To Use Puff Pastry
- Puff Pastry FAQ
- Storage and Freezing Tips
- More Recipes To Try
Puff pastry is the kind of thing that makes it feel like a special occasion. All those light, flaky layers and that rich buttery flavor!
But it's not the kind of thing you'd think to make yourself. I mean, it's just an ingredient you buy from the freezer section at the grocery store. Right?
Wrong! What if I told you you could make homemade, all-butter puff pastry sheets from scratch in your kitchen? And it only takes four ingredients and comes together in about 15 minutes?
It's true! This is the most delicious puff pastry you'll ever taste, and the best part is it's SO EASY to make. You'll never buy store-bought puff pastry again! This will become one of your favorite recipes!
Most puff pastry recipes tell you to start by combining softened butter with a bit of flour, then form it into a square encased in dough. There are a lot of steps: chilling, measuring, rolling, and folding. It can get very specific and precise, and to be honest, that stresses me out. I like it when things are a bit simpler and more intuitive.
I have cut back the number of steps and the time needed to make this easy homemade puff pastry.
The first time I made it, I couldn't believe how amazing it tasted, even though it was so easy to prepare. In other words, this is a shortcut recipe.
The result is almost identical to authentic puff pastry made the fancy French way, but the prep time has been cut down to about 15 or 20 minutes.
Here's Why You'll Love This Recipe
- No fancy equipment needed: Just a bowl, rolling pin, and a little counter space.
- Comes together in minutes: Only 15 minutes of active prep, plus chill time.
- Super buttery & flaky: Every bite melts in your mouth with rich, layered textures.
- Make ahead & freeze: Keeps beautifully in the fridge or freezer for whenever inspiration strikes.
Ingredients You'll Need
The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you're cooking.
- All-Purpose Flour: You'll need 2 cups. When measuring, be careful not to pack the flour. To avoid this, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and use a knife to level off the top. Here's more info on the best way to measure your ingredients: How to Measure Ingredients for Baking. A gluten-free flour blend that can sub 1:1 for regular flour should work just fine if you'd like to make gluten-free puff pastry.
- Salt: Salt carries the flavors and intensifies them. The end result won't taste salty, but it will make everything so much more flavorful! I like kosher salt best because it doesn't contain any additives (table salt usually contains iodine, which can leave a bitter taste), so the flavor is pure, and it's very inexpensive and easy to find.
- Unsalted Butter: Make sure that the butter is cold. This will create excellent lamination. Cold butter also helps to reduce the time and steps involved in a traditional recipe. Without cold butter, your pastry will not flake into all those beautiful layers. I like to use unsalted butter because it lets me control the amount of salt in the pastry. For vegan or dairy-free puff pastry, use a plant-based butter that can substitute for dairy butter 1:1.
- Cold Water: Use cold water so the butter doesn't melt too quickly.
In Photos: How To Make Homemade Puff Pastry
Step 1: Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt to evenly distribute.
Step 2: Add the Butter
Slice cold butter into ¼-inch pieces and toss with the flour mixture to coat. Don't overwork it! You want visible chunks.
Step 3: Bring It Together
Stir in the cold water until a shaggy dough forms.
Step 4: Shape and wrap
Shape into a ball, then flatten into a disk.
Wrap tightly and chill for 1 hour in the fridge, or 20 to 30 minutes in the freezer.
Step 5: Roll & Fold
Unwrap the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a rough rectangle. Fold into thirds like a letter. Rotate 90 degrees, then repeat the roll-and-fold process. Do this 2 to 4 times in total for lots of flaky layers.
Step 6: Chill Again
Wrap the dough tightly and chill for at least two more hours, or overnight.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Keep everything cold: Cold butter = flakier layers. If the dough gets too soft, pop it back in the fridge.
- Don't overwork the dough: You want to see chunks of butter - that's where the puff comes from!
- Egg wash before baking: A quick brush with beaten egg and water gives the pastry a glossy, golden finish.
- Hot oven, cold dough: Always start with a fully chilled pastry and a preheated oven for the best rise.
How To Use Puff Pastry
Savory Recipes
- Cut the pastry into long strips, sprinkle with grated cheese, twist, and bake for cheese straws.
- Wrap strips around sausages or mini hot dogs for the best sausage rolls/pigs in a blanket.
- Cover a small wheel of brie or camembert with pastry for a brie en croute, aka baked brie.
- Make little tarts or cut rounds and top with mushrooms, spinach, and/or onions for a savory appetizer or pizza.
- Use to top a chicken pot pie.
Sweet Recipes
- Cut into squares, top with apple pie filling, and fold into apple turnovers.
- Bake puff pastry dough and sandwich it around whipped cream, pastry cream, and fruit for Napoleons.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and brown sugar, roll into a tight "C," cut into slices, and bake the elephant ears, aka palmiers.
- Roll around a fruit/cheese filling to make a strudel of sorts.
- Sandwich around jam for homemade Pop-Tarts.
- Cut into rings and fry in hot oil for the most incredible donuts!
Puff Pastry FAQ
Anything from sweet treats like turnovers and tarts to savory recipes like hand pies or cheese straws.
Absolutely! Wrap it tightly and freeze for several weeks. Thaw in the fridge before using.
This makes roughly 24 ounces (685g) of dough, about the same as two standard store-bought sheets.
Nope! This recipe is designed to be made by hand, keeping it simple and accessible.
Yes, there are four different types of puff pastry: half, three-quarter, full, and inverted. The different types are based on the proportion of fat weight to flour weight. Full is equal parts fat and flour. Three-quarters denote three-quarters of the weight is fat, to one-quarter flour. Inverted puff pastry is when the dough is encased in the butter, rather than the butter encased in the dough, which is the traditional way.
Storage and Freezing Tips
- Make the puff pastry at least a day before serving it.
- Puff pastry kept in the refrigerator will keep for several days.
- Keep it in the fridge tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
- To freeze it, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a sealed freezer bag.
- It will keep in the freezer for up to one month.
- When ready to use the frozen pastry, transfer it from the freezer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight. Keep it folded together and wrapped in plastic wrap while thawing.
More Recipes To Try
- Baked Brie in Puff Pastry
- Apple Galette
- Caramel Apple Cream Puffs
- Cream Puff Cake
- Challah Bread
- Baklava
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups (283.75 g) unsalted butter, (2 ½ sticks), cold
- ½ cup (118.29 ml) cold water
Instructions
- Place the flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Cut the cold butter into ¼-inch slices and add to the flour mixture, tossing to coat.
- Stir in the cold water until a thick dough forms.
- Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disk-shape, and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Chill for 1 hour in the fridge, or 20 to 30 minutes in the freezer.
- Unwrap the dough, dust the work surface with flour, and roll the dough into a rough rectangle shape.
- Fold the dough in thirds, like a letter.
- Turn 90 degrees, roll and fold again.
- Repeat about 2 to 4 times, wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and chill for 2 hours or overnight.*
Notes
- Brush the pastry with an egg beaten with a couple of teaspoons of water before baking for a beautiful sheen.
- When you're ready to bake the pastry, make sure it is COLD and the oven is HOT.
- Bake times will vary based on exactly what you are making, so follow your recipe!
- The dough can also be frozen. It will keep for several weeks in the freezer, tightly wrapped. Thaw in the refrigerator.
- This recipe makes approximately 24 ounces, or 685 grams, of dough.
Thank you so much for this recipe, it was easy to follow, I live in a warm climate so the butter kept melting quickly, just put the pastry in the fridge between each roll. Although it tasted amazing(!) my husband and I both woke up in the middle of the night with serious heartburn and indigestion! Maybe next time I’ll use less butter! Either way the taste was worth the pain!
Made it for a chicken pot pie. It was a perfection
So happy you liked it!
If I’m using this to make Chinese egg tarts for example, is there a need to blind bake to ensure the bottom gets nicely browned?
Hy,
Loved it!! Tried Egg Puff without Oven :
EGG PUFFS
Thank you for this much easier puff pastry
Hi , I can’t cover the flour with all the butter n I press until all the butter melt into the dough .. may I know will I get pie dough instead of puff ? Kindly let me know as I have already fold 6 times n chill in fridge now , thanks ?
I'm so sorry- I'm not sure I understand your question. ??
I m sorry I type wrongly , I mean I can’t cover the 21/2 sticks of butter(280g) with the 2 cups of flour which weigh around 320 gram as per your recipe , I cut the butter size as per your video and add the flour ,i find it too little flour to cover the butter and after i add the water, the flour become separated with the butter , so i use my hand to mix until like a dough but i guess i had press too hard and the butter already melted in the dough , so i quickly put in the freezer and freeze for 20 mins and i roll 6times and chill over night, the next day i try to put in the oven , the layer dont come out as per your photo..the top part was smooth and inside got a few layer only .Please advise is it alright to have big chunks of butter with the uneven dough cover , if yes i will try again the next time and leave it dont overmix it ...May i know the above amount that i had convert is it correct ? Flour 320 gram , butter 285 g ? Thanks so much I really love this puff recipe and the taste was great ,just that i cantget it right .Thanks for your prompt reply .Appreciate !:)
Yes it's ok- you want to see streaks of butter layered within the pastry dough. As for your conversion, you can just click the "Metric" button below the list of ingredients if you prefer to measure that way. Maybe read through some of the other comments here if you're looking for more info. Good luck!
Thanks so much for this recipe! I really appreciate its simplicity. I made some breakfast pockets with the dough and they turned out tasty, but the top of the egg washed pastry burned within about 4 minutes (middle rack). I threw some tinfoil over the top and cooked them for the rest of the time at 365 degrees. The top layers came out gorgeous and flaky and amazing, but the half of the dough nearest the insides was completely raw. I put them in for longer (still with loose tinfoil on top) but burned the bottoms before the rest of the dough ever fully cooked. I'm sure this is "user error" considering how gorgeous the cooked parts were. I couldn't roll the dough thin enough when it was cold so it definitely warmed up before making it into the oven. Is that the problem? Do you have any tips for how to work more effectively with the cold dough? Thanks again for your beautiful, approachable recipe! Hopefully I can get it right next time!
So happy you like the recipe! It's possible it would have cooked more evenly if it had been rolled a little thinner. And it is definitely best if it's cold when it goes into the oven. If you have to pop it back into the fridge or freezer for 10-20 minutes that should help!
I want to make this for s'mores. Can I put cinnamon in the dough? And I only have salted margarine due to COVID-19 empty shelves in my local store. Should I take the tsp. of the salt out? Thanks.
Sorry I have not tested the recipe that way so I can't say for sure. But feel free to experiment! Good luck!
Hi,
I’m not sure why I couldn’t post comment on your homemade puff pastry blog. Or maybe I ended up posting too many comments with the same content. Apologies if that happened. Anyways.
First of all, thanks a lot for the quick recipe. I’m an absolute newbie when it comes to cooking/baking. I tried following your recipe (With video) using metric measurements. While making the dough I might have added a little bit more water resulting in a wet dough. I tried fixing by adding more flour. I kept it in the refrigerator for about 2-3 hours and then while rolling I found that the dough is sticky. I floured the surface and the top surface of the dough so that it doesn’t stick to the rolling pin. I made about 6 folds or so. But the dough seems to be ultra soft and not stiff and it didn’t give me rough rectangles but smooth ones. Is that normal? Currently, the folded dough is in the refrigerator. Also when I pull it out, should I roll it to 1/4th of an inch and then chill again before finally putting it in the preheated oven? And I’ve never used a store bought puff pastry (Only seem completely done puff pastry in different dishes) so I’m flying blind here. Do I place it like a normal “chapati” bread thin in the oven?
Hey there! It does sound like you may have added too much water and then the ratios were a bit off. Have you watched the video? It's embedded in the recipe card but if you're using an ad blocker you may have to turn it off in order to view it. I think it might be really helpful for you.
Hoy much pastry is made? Enough for one beef Wellington or 2?
Makes approximately 24 ounces (685 grams) of dough, as noted just below the recipe instructions.
I followed your instuctions exactly. I made blueberry raspberry turnovers. I'm currently walking around my kitchen like a God among men. And by the way, your narrative the precedes the recipe is essential.
So glad you found it useful Erik! And PS making homemade turnovers DOES make you a god among men!
Hi, can I usd this puff pastry to make egg tart?
You can use it for anything you like!
Hi!! I'm going to make this recipe tomorrow and make pastillas de carne the next day. Pastillas de carne is puff pastry wrapped around a cuban dish called picadillo (ground beef). I'm soooo excited to try this recipe as I've not been able to find already made puff pastry anywhere!! I'll let you know how it comes out!! Thanks!!
Sounds wonderful Sabrina! I love picadillo- would love to try your pastillas de carne! Good luck!
Hi! When I tried to make this, my dough wouldn't mix well because of the chunks of butter, so I mixed it with my hands and it always came out very , very sticky (I double checked all the ingredient amounts and used precise measurements) and I had to pour at least another cup of flour on the table to be able to roll it out properly. I refrigerated it for several hours, thinking the butter would go back to a semi-solid state and would make the dough more firm, but to no avail. Help!:( What am I doing wrong?
Hey there- so sorry you had trouble! Have you watched the video? It's embedded in the recipe card, just below the directions. If you could watch that, and let me know at what point your dough changed from what you see in the video to what you ended up with, that would be really useful for me to help you troubleshoot. Thanks!
Hi, MEASUREMENTS ARE IMPORTANT IN RECIPES! Where are they?!
All of the measurements are noted in the recipe card at the bottom of the article, just above the comments section. Very sorry you are upset but it is all right there in black and white.
This is rough puff pastry, completly different thing from actual puff pastry. Also saying its done in 15 minutes is a joke, when even you chill it for an hour.
It is indeed a rough puff pastry recipe. I think it's accurate to call rough puff an easy version of puff pastry. This recipe requires 15 minutes of active time and one hour of resting time. I would not characterize that as a joke.
The first time I ever made this- it came out really good. Thank you.
You're welcome! I'm so glad you were happy with it.