Perfect Puff Pastry Recipes

PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Put the flour and a pinch of salt in the food processor. Turn it on and steadily pour in 150ml of water. When the dough comes together, cover it in cling film and chill for 20 mins.
• Lightly flour your surface and roll the dough into a 25cm circle. Put the butter in between two pieces of baking parchment and soften it by tapping it with a rolling pin. Cut the butter in half and repeat the process until the butter is pliable but still cold. Reshape to the size roughly of a postcard.
• Put the butter in the centre of the pastry and fold over the right and left sides of the circle, overlapping in the middle. Press the dough with your rolling pin to make it longer and then lightly mark into thirds. Fold the bottom third up to cover the middle third and the top third down. Seal the dough gently by pressing down on the edges with your rolling pin. Give the dough a quarter turn.
• Roll the dough out to a long rectangle (roughly 18 x 38cm), keeping the edges square and the sides straight. Mark the dough into thirds again, fold the bottom third up and the top third down. Seal the edges and give the dough a quarter turn. Repeat one more time, cover and chill for 20 mins.
• Repeat step four twice more, chilling each time. Chill for one hour before using. Watch our puff pastry video for a Good Food tutorial.

CLASSIC CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and quickly stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until a film forms on the bottom of the pan.
• Remove from heat and transfer contents to a bowl to cool slightly, about 3 minutes. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously to entirely incorporate egg after each addition.
• For the egg wash, whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water. Set aside.
• Transfer the pate a choux to a large pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip. Pipe 1-1/2-inch rounds onto each prepared pan. Gently smooth the pointed peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising. Brush tops with reserved egg wash. Bake until puffs rise and are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.
• Transfer pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8-inch plain round tip. Insert the tip into the opening of each pastry, and pipe to fill with pastry cream. Serve immediately.

HOMEMADE PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Place cubed butter in a bowl; lower into a large bowl full of ice to keep cold.
• Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse twice. Add 1/4 cup of the butter cubes and pulse 4 times. Repeat with the remaining butter cubes, 1/4 cup at a time. Place mixture into a large, chilled bowl.
• Combine 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add 1/2 the mixture to the flour-butter mixture and toss until just combined; dough should be lumpy with bits of solid butter.
• Place dough on a floured work surface. Knead lightly to form a ball. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Roll chilled dough out into a square. Place whipped butter in the center of the dough and smooth outward, leaving a 1/2-inch edge. Fold dough in half; pinch edges and seal. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for another 30 minutes.
• Roll dough out into a rectangle. Fold 1/3 of the dough into the center. Fold the other side toward the center to overlap the first fold. Rotate dough 90 degrees. Roll out into a rectangle again. Repeat folding. Make 2 indents in the top of the dough with your finger to show you've completed 2 folds. Wrap dough again and chill for 30 minutes.
• Repeat folding and rolling 4 more times, marking the dough before chilling every time. Cut in half after the sixth fold; wrap each half and chill.

QUICKEST PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Cut 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter into 1/2 to 1/4-inch dice, place on a plate and refrigerate while preparing remaining ingredients.Measure water and add salt; stir to dissolve and set aside.
• Coarsely dice remaining 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter. Place flour in work bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade; add 4 tablespoons butter and pulse until butter is absorbed -- about ten to twelve 1-second pulses.
• Add remaining butter and pulse once or twice to distribute. Add water and pulse 3 or 4 times, just until dough forms a rough ball. Do not over-process.
• Flour work surface and scrape dough from work bowl. Shape dough into a rough rectangle and place between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Press dough with rolling pin to flatten, then roll back and forth several times with rolling pin to make a 12 by 18 inch rectangle of dough.
• Peel away plastic wrap and invert dough to floured work surface. Peel away second piece of wrap. Fold dough in thirds in the width, folding the top third down and the bottom third up, to make a 6 by 18-inch rectangle, then roll up the dough from one of the 6-inch ends, making sure to roll end under dough. Press the dough into a square, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour, or until firm.

PERFECT PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• In a food processor or using the flat paddle on an electric mixer, mix 1/2 cup flour with the butter until very smooth. Shape into a flat square 1 inch thick, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine salt with the remaining flour and add the cream. Mix dough well by hand or with an electric mixer; the dough will not be completely smooth, but it should not be sticky. Shape it into a flat square 1 1/2 inches thick, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator or 15 minutes in the freezer.
• Remove flour dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured board, roll the dough into a rectangle twice as long as the butter dough. Place butter dough in the center, fold up ends to encase it completely, and seal edges by pinching together. Wrap well in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes so that dough achieves the same temperature throughout.
• Remove dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured board, roll it out into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Fold into thirds, aligning edges carefully and brushing off excess flour. The object is to ensure that the butter is evenly distributed so that the pastry will puff evenly when baked. Wrap dough and chill for at least 30 minutes. This completes 1 turn.
• Repeat this process 5 more times; classic puff pastry gets 6 turns, creating hundreds of layers of butter between layers of the flour dough (729, to be exact). Use as little flour as possible when rolling out the dough, and always brush off any excess. Remember to let the dough rest and chill between turns. This chilling makes the rolling out much easier and keeps the layers of butter of equal thickness.
• By the sixth and final turn, the dough should be very smooth, with no lumps of butter visible. Wrap the pastry in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 2 days), or freeze for future use. (It's convenient to divide the dough into 1-pound pieces and freeze it that way.)

PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer that is fitted with a dough hook. Gradually stir in water until the dough holds together enough to clean the sides of the bowl. You may not need the full amount of water. Shape into a flat ball, and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.
• Place the butter between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound into a flat disc using a rolling pin or other heavy object. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Place the disc of chilled butter in the center and fold the two ends over it so that it is completely encased in dough. Roll out the dough again, taking care not to let the butter break through the dough, to about 1/2 inch thickness. Fold into thirds. This is the first ''turn''. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll out into a rectangle again. Fold into thirds. By this time the butter is starting to warm up. Place the dough on a baking sheet and mark it with two pokes from your finger (two turns). Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Repeat this rolling, folding and turning two more times, then refrigerate until firm. Repeat two more times for a total of 6 ''turns''. Wrap and refrigerate. The dough is now ready to roll out and use in any recipe calling for puff pastry. Roll the dough out as thin as 1/4 inch to make pastries. Bake in a preheated oven of at least 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) to get the maximum puff from your pastry.