How To Make Puff Pastry
Learn how to make a homemade puff pastry dough recipe from scratch to use in all your favorite recipes. This easy recipe is perfect for beginners with no yeast and no laminating needed to make a light, flaky pastry dough.
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Making from scratch dough can seem intimidating.
But take a deep breath and let’s go through how to make puff pastry dough.
This recipe is a beginner friendly recipe that doesn’t need any yeast to create those delicious flaky layers.
What is puff pastry dough?
Puff pastry dough is pretty much the same thing as a French dough called pâte feuilletée.
It is a light, flaky pastry dough made of flour, water, and butter or another solid fat.
Then it is folded to create layers upon layers of flaky, buttery goodness.
When it bakes up it is delightfully flaky and a little crunchy.
It’s delicious in main dishes like beef wellington, appetizers, and desserts.
Ingredients
To make this you’ll need:
- Flour– All purpose flour
- Sugar– Granulated
- Salt– To balance the flavors
- Butter– This is one situation where you want cold butter straight from the fridge.
- Water– Ice water
How to Make
Making homemade puff pastry dough is easier than you might think!
To do it, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a fork or a pastry cutter until large pieces of butter remain.
Mix half the water into the dough until a shaggy dough starts to form, then add the remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together.
Dump onto a lightly floured surface and gather the dough and pat it down into a rectangle that is large enough and thin enough to be folded in half twice.
Then fold the rectangle in half twice, once horizontally and once vertically.
Wrap the puff pastry dough in plastic and place into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
After 2 hours, roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it is about ½ inch thick and roughly 6 x 12 inches.
Fold the dough up into thirds.
Then rotate the folded dough, and repeat the rolling and folding and rotating 3 more times.
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill again for at least 1 hour before using in your favorite recipes.
Recipes to Use Puff Pastry Dough
Puff pastry dough is so versatile!
You can use it any of these recipes:
- Smoked Turkey A La King
- Irish Potato Pie
- Poor Man’s Beef Wellington
- Air Fryer Strawberry Pop Tarts Recipe
- Puff Pastry Cheesecake Cups
Storing Puff Pastry Dough
I recommend storing the dough tightly covered in your fridge until you are ready to use it.
It should last in the fridge for up to a week.
Can I freeze homemade puff pastry dough?
Yes!
Just wrap it tightly in at least 2 layers of plastic wrap and put it in a freezer safe bag.
Freeze the dough for up to a month or so.
Let it thaw in the fridge when you are ready to use it.
Tips and Tricks
- This is one of the rare times when you want your ingredients super cold so do not soften your butter. The steam from the cold butter and ice water creates little air pockets in the dough that help contribute to the flakiness.
- Planning to use the dough for a party? I like to make it the day before so the day of all I need to do is assemble the recipe I am using it in.
- The refrigerating time is key for extra flakiness.
Other Homemade Doughs
Learning how to make a puff pastry dough recipe will really take your cooking and baking to the next level.
Make it and enjoy it in all your favorite dishes.
Looking for other homemade doughs?
Try these:
- Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
- Homemade Butter Croissant Rolls
- Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels
- Sweet Hawaiian Rolls Recipe
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Homemade Puff Pastry Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter
- ½ cup ice water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.1 ½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Cut the butter into the flour mixture until large chunks remain.¾ cup butter
- Add half the water and mix until a shaggy dough starts to form, then add the remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together½ cup ice water
- Dump onto a lightly floured surface and gather the dough and pat it down into a rectangle.
- Fold the rectangle in half twice, once horizontally and once vertically, then wrap in plastic and place into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours
- Roll the dough until it is about ½ inch thick and roughly 6 x 12 inches, then fold up into thirds. Rotate the dough, then rotate the folded dough, and repeat the rolling and folding 3 more times.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill again for at least 1 hour before using.
Notes
- This is one of the rare times when you want your ingredients super cold so do not soften your butter. The steam from the cold butter and ice water creates little air pockets in the dough that help contribute to the flakiness.
- Planning to use the dough for a party? I like to make it the day before so the day of all I need to do is assemble the recipe I am using it in.
- The refrigerating time is key for extra flakiness.
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details. As always, all opinions are my own.
