Pretty easy puff pastry, from scratch
If you’ve seen the Great British Bakeoff you’re familiar with the rough puff, a quick and dirty puff pastry you can make in less than one hour.
Way better than store-bought, and pretty easy to whip up, you will always want a batch of rough puff in your freezer for those last-minute tarts, hand pies, sausage rolls, galettes… the list goes on!
Ingredients:
2.1 ounces (60g)+ 7 ounces (200g) of best quality, unsalted butter, frozen, grated and re-frozen (weight after grating)
12.3 ounces (350g) all-purpose flour, very cold, put in the freezer a couple hours before starting
8-10 tablespoons ice water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar (or lemon juice)
Equipment:
rolling pin
Prep:
- Several hours before starting the rough puff, grate the frozen butter using a frozen or chilled grater, weigh it and portion it out: 60g and 200g. Freeze those grated butter portions at least 2 hours before starting.
- Also, weigh out your flour and freeze it in a metal bowl.
- If you have a metal rolling pin, pre-freeze that also.
👩🏻🍳 IMPORTANT: It’s critical that your butter stay solid and cold during this process. If you have a warm kitchen or you notice at any point that your butter is feeling soft or is in danger of melting, wrap your dough and let it thoroughly chill 10-15 minutes (or longer) before continuing. You can stop the process at any point after folding and continue later when your dough is cold again.
Method:
- Remove the chilled bowl and flour from the freezer along with the first 60g of frozen grated butter. Mix in the salt. Add cold butter pieces, mix with your hands and rub between fingers until the butter is incorporated and the mixture resembles sand.
- Add the vinegar (or lemon juice) and 6 tablespoons of ice water and mix with your hands, gently kneading in the bowl. Keep adding water, a little at a time, JUST until the dough comes together. To test the dough, take a gum-ball size piece and press it between your fingers. If the dough holds together it has enough water. Even if you still have some crumbly parts, just keep kneading for about 1 minute until it comes together. It’s OK if you have some cracks.
- Form the dough into a rectangle, pressing the edges in so cracks are mitigated. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 10 minutes, or longer.
- Once your dough has rested, lightly dust your work area and remove the dough from the fridge.
- Unwrap the dough and roll it out into a rectangle about 6-7“ wide and 16-17“ long (about the length of 3 iPhoneXs 🙂) You can dust lightly with flour if needed. As you roll it out, push in the edges if you see cracks.
- Get the grated butter from the freezer and spread 1/2 of the frozen butter (100g) over 2/3 of the dough starting with the section of the dough closest to you up 2/3 of the way. (Make sure the rest of the butter goes back in the freezer.)
- Fold the top third of the dough that has no butter (the section furthest from you) over the butter-covered middle section. Then fold the section of dough closest to you (with butter) over that fold. (like a letter).
- Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll it out again to the same parameters (6-7“ wide and 16-17“ long). Repeat the process with the remaining butter. Spread it over 2/3 of the dough starting with the section of the dough closest to you up 2/3 of the way.
- Once again: Fold the top third of the dough that has no butter (the section furthest from you) over the butter-covered middle section. Then fold the section of dough closest to you (with butter) over that fold. (like a letter).
- Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat this process 3 more times but now without adding butter:
- Roll it out again to the same parameters (6-7“ wide and 16-17“ long). Fold the top third down over middle third, then fold the bottom third up over the middle.
- Do this 2 more times: turning, rolling and folding each time.
- When you have completed your turns, rolls, and folds, cut the rough puff in half, wrap well in plastic, and store either in the fridge (if you plan to use it in the next few days) or the freezer, where it will keep for a month. If you plan to use it the day you make it, wait at least 2 hours before rolling out and using.