Easy Homemade Puff Pastry Recipe
Leave those frozen sheets on the store shelf! This is the best-tasting, easiest homemade puff pastry recipe ever! Plus, it comes together in just 15 minutes.
Puff pastry: It’s the kind of thing that makes things 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 make yourself. I mean, it’s just an ingredient you buy from the grocery store freezer section. 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 will tell you to start by combining soft butter with a bit of flour, then form that into a square encased in dough. There are a lot of steps, a lot of chilling, measuring, rolling, and folding. It can get very specific and precise, and to be honest, that stresses me out.
I like when things are a bit more simplified and intuitive.
I have cut back the number of steps and the time needed to create this homemade easy-puff pastry.
The first time I made it, I couldn’t believe how amazing it tasted despite the easy preparation. 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.
What is puff pastry?
Puff pastry is a delicate, light, and flaky pastry that can be used in countless ways. You might also know it by its French name: pâte feuilletée.
It is meant to be tender, buttery, and flaky, like pie crust, biscuits, and danish. And the most important thing to keep in mind when making these kinds of pastries is to keep them nice and cold at all times!
Butter is layered within the dough, creating hundreds of flaky layers. This process is called “lamination.” Steam is released when the cold butter goes into a hot oven, causing all those layers to separate and the pastry to puff up skyhigh!
Ingredients and Notes
All-Purpose Flour: You’ll need 2 cups. When measuring, be careful not to pack the flour. To keep from doing this, spoon the flour into the measuring cup, and use a knife to level off the top. Here’s more info 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 have any additives (table salt usually contains iodine and that 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: You want to use cold water, so the butter doesn’t melt too quickly.
How to Make Puff Pastry
Start by combining flour and salt in a large bowl. Just give the mixture a quick whisk to combine everything evenly.
Then, get your cold butter, and slice it thinly. You want lots of slices, all of them no thicker than 1/4-inch.
Toss the butter slices into the flour mixture, ensuring each buttered piece is evenly coated.
Next comes cold water. Pour in the water and stir until the dough forms a ball. Don’t worry if you see big hunks of butter- that is precisely how it should be!
At this point, your butter is probably starting to warm up and get soft, so it’s best to give the dough a chill. Flatten it into a disk shape using a rolling pin, wrap it in plastic wrap, and pop it into the fridge for an hour or the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
Once it’s cold and stiff, place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and start laminating. It’s as easy as rolling the dough into a rough rectangle shape and folding it into thirds, like a letter.
After each fold, give it a 90-degree turn and then repeat. You can see what I mean if you watch the video below. Then roll out into a rectangle.
I’m not going to tell you what the rectangle’s dimensions should be. It doesn’t matter. As long as you can fold it into thirds, it’s just fine.
And I’m not going to tell you exactly how many folds you should make either. I’ll leave that to the fancy-pants French pastry chefs. The bottom line is the more you fold it, the more flaky layers it will have.
I usually fold anywhere from 4 to 6 times. After that point, the butter is probably starting to soften up again, so it’s probably a good idea to get the puff pastry sheets back in the fridge or freezer.
How to Bake
When you’re ready to bake your puff pastry, pull it out of the fridge and roll it to a thickness of about 1/8 to 1/4 inch, depending on how you plan to use it.
If I’m making a baked brie, for example, I might go closer to 1/4-inch, but if I’m making puff pastry cups, I might roll it a little thinner so it’s easier to tuck into the wells of the cupcake pan.
Then you can cut your puff pastry down to whatever size you need. I like using a pizza cutter to do this. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or follow the recipe you are using.
Expert Tips
- If you want to give your class puff pastry a beautiful, golden brown sheen, brush it with an egg beaten with a couple of teaspoons of water.
- The most important thing to remember for this to work is the pastry must be COLD, and the oven must be HOT. Do not put room-temperature puff pastry into the oven.
- Make sure the pastry feels cold and stiff, and your oven is preheated so that the minute it goes in, the butter releases steam and lifts all those gorgeous layers.
- Bake times will vary based on exactly what you are making, so follow your recipe!
- Most of the time, an oven temperature of 400 degrees F and a bake time of 20 to 25 minutes works best.
- The best way to know your pastry is ready is if it looks puffed (obvs) and deeply golden brown and feels light and shatteringly crisp.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can homemade puff pastry be made ahead?
Yes, you can make this puff ahead; I would recommend it! There may only be 15 to 20 minutes of active time for this recipe, but you will need to get it nice and cold in the fridge, so there will probably be no more than 2 1/2 hours of chill time.
Is puff pastry the same as crescent rolls or phyllo dough?
They are two different types of pastry. Crescent rolls are traditionally made with yeasted dough rolled into a crescent shape. Puff pastry is made without any leavening agent and instead gets its layers from the folded layers of cold butter mixed with flour. It is also not the same as phyllo dough. Phyllo dough is made of very thin sheets that are made from flour and water.
Are there different types of puff pastry?
Yes, there are four different types of puff pastry; half, three-quarter, full, and inverted. The different types are based on the amount of weight that comes from fat compared to the weight of the flour. 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 you make a pastry where the dough is encased in the butter instead of 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.
How to Use It
One of the best things about puff pastry is how versatile it is. It can be used in so many ways, both sweet and savory!
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 cheese 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 around whipped cream, pastry cream, and fruit for napoleons.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and brown sugar, and roll into a tight “C,” cut into slices and bake 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!
Next time you’re planning on making something with puff pastry, don’t bother with the pre-made, frozen, pre-packaged stuff. It’s loaded with partially hydrogenated oils, and goodness knows what else!
Plus, the flavor doesn’t compare to this homemade version. And with only four simple ingredients, and 15 minutes of active time, there’s no reason not to make it from scratch! It’s so easy!
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Easy Homemade Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups (283.75 g) unsalted butter, (2 1/2 sticks), cold
- 1/2 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 1/4-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.
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.
it is is not puff pastry if the butter is not laminated between a lean dough. This is perhaps a rough puff but not true puff pastry.
Yes, as noted this is an easy shortcut puff pastry, aka: rough puff. It is laminated.
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.