How To Make Easy Puff Pastry
Save RecipeMy Mum’s recipe for an easy, shortcut Puff Pastry is so fast to make without all the folding like a traditional pastry, but it still yields amazing results.
Hi Bold Bakers!
Knowing how to make great Pastry is baking 101. It is essential to me that you know how to make it well. So this week, I’m going to share with you my Mum’s recipe for an easy, shortcut Puff Pastry recipe, aka rough puff pastry, flakey pastry, or blitz pastry.
Do you normally watch my videos? For this recipe you really should, and here’s why: Some of my recipes are more detailed than others, and this Puff Pastry recipe being one of those recipes. I can explain to you in great detail the “why and how” of this recipe, but the video is so much better than a blog post. There are tons of great tips in this video, so I strongly suggest you watch it.
This recipe is fast to make without all the folding like a traditional pastry, but it still yields amazing results. How do I get away without resting and folding 100 times? The secret is grated frozen butter! The colder the butter the better. And nothing is colder than frozen, so it works out well.
Do I need to fold puff pastry?
My pastry is a hybrid of puff AND rough puff pastry. If you read the comments below, you will see people love my recipe because it is much faster to make and it doesn’t require folding and resting to create the layers. Instead I grate in frozen butters to give you the same effect. Same results, but the technique is simpler and saves time.
The simple steps of the grated butter makes sure you have tiny pieces of butter throughout your pastry without having to roll and fold for hours to get them. Why take the long road when the shorter (and smarter) road will get you to the same place?
What to do with leftover puff pastry?
Great question! Because the beauty of puff pastry is all its lovely layers, there is a rule that you don’t ‘re-role’ puff pastry as it throws off its structure. This pastry, however, is a tad different because we don’t fold it like a book, so there isn’t as much of the same fear.
A good way to use up leftover odd and ends is to make Palmiers, or do what my mum used to do, which was cut the pastry length ways, twist it, and sprinkle some cheese over it. She called them Cheese Straws (TM).
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My Mum's recipe for an easy, shortcut Puff Pastry is so fast to make without all the folding like a traditional pastry, but it still yields amazing results.
- 2 ⅓ cups (11 ½ oz/ 325g) plain flour
- 14 tablespoons (7 oz/198g) butter, frozen
- Pinch salt
- 8-10 tablespoons chilled water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
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Place your butter in the freezer for a minimum of 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
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In a jug, mix together your water and lemon juice and set aside.
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In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt. Now I’m going to sound like a home economics book, but you need everything to be cold to yield great pastry, so feel free to put the bowl of flour in the fridge to chill.
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On the larger side of a grater, grate the frozen butter directly into the flour mix. Stir the butter into the flour in with a knife. Frozen butter is my secret ingredient. The colder the butter the flakier the pastry.
So remember, this is a shortcut short crust pastry, so we aren’t folding and doing that whole process. I’m all for process, but if you get a great result with less work, then I’m all for that too.
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Add in the liquid, holding a little back just in case you don’t need it all. Using your hand, bring your pastry together gently. You want to add just enough water to bring the pastry together. Too much water will not yield you a flakey dough.
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Bring the dough together to form a ball. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour. You can refrigerate it for up to 3 days or freeze to use at a later day.
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Note: Once you put pastry in the fridge and it relaxes it will get a little wetter so factor that in.
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To use your pastry: Follow instructions required by the recipe you are making. Alway bake in a HOT oven for best results.
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How much puff pastry does this recipe make in comparison to a box you buy in the store ?
I’m not sure how many a box from a store yields, but this recipe will make anywhere between 12 to 16 pieces.
Tried this recipe today. Followed the instructions exactly. Rock hard frozen butter, cold bowl, flour and ice water. Big disappointment as it didn’t puff at all, although it did have a great taste.
I’m sorry to hear that. Can you give me more details so I can see where it might have gone wrong?
I have read the recipe and comments but have not seen anywhere, where you have said a temperature to bake at. It just says a hot oven. 400 degrees, 425, 450? I was looking at doing my own thing, not going by someone else’s recipe. If I wanted to just bake some plain and fill it after I bake it, what temperature and how thick or thin to roll it? Thanks so much!
Winona
Hortense GA, USA
Hi Winona,
yes, I can see that. Thank you for pointing it out, I will go back to this recipe to correct it.
I bake this at 200C/400F – this is a hot enough oven for this.
What interests me is what you intend to use it for. This is great baked flat then sliced and filled, or used as a base for savory tarts. It puffs up, so it will not make a good base for some things. If you want it to rise around the rim, and leave it flat in the center, you can cut into the pastry where you want the rim to form, then the center can be flattened when you are filling.
How thinly you roll this depends on whether you want it to be a thin or thick finish. This recipe will give you one idea (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/galette-recipe-mushroom/). This one for another way (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/tart-breakfast-toaster-oven/).
I hope this is of help, for a sweet tart I would use a shortcrust pastry,
Gemma 🙂
Wow…this recipe is amazing!
I didn’t have a cheese grater so I chopped (finer than dicing but not quite minced) the butter and chilled it in the freezer for a half hour in a bowl with the flour.
I was skeptical, mainly because I can’t successfully bake a cake or even sugar cookies, and secondly because I wasn’t entirely following the directions…but to mine and my husband’s surprise it was fabulous! The loaf danish was buttery & flaky, and my husband said it was better than the bakery!
Thank you for sharing this fool proof recipe and making baking more approachable for amatures.
I’m thrilled to hear that, Delores! Thanks so much for trying this recipe out.
Best,
Gemma.
Gemma: I plan to try your puff pastry recipe on some sausage rolls . Should I pre-cook the sausage before rolling? Thanks. Tom
Hi Tom,
Great question, but you don’t cook the sausage before hand. It has loads of time to bake through while the pastry is baking.
Gemma.
I really appreciate your detailed recipes that include gr/oz and volume measurements. I followed your directions carefully and the result was perfection. Thank you for sharing.
I used vinegar in lieu of lemon, as that was what I had in the kitchen. As I was using this with a savory dish the slight vinegar taste was welcome. When I use this for a sweet recipe, I’ll make sure to have lemon handy.
Hi Peter,
well done you! I am delighted you had success with this recipe.
Thank you for this lovely review,
Gemma 🙂
Everything looks lovely. Too bad none of us who have to eat for diabetes and keto can use any of your recipes. I am disappointed that the world does not embrace serious disease when designing recipes….there is the challenge….besides, it is healthier eating. How about channeling your talents toward that?
Hi Nancy. Thanks for this. I am not sure if you have seen my entire section of recipes dedicated to dietary restrictions like gluten free, vegan and vegetarian. I even have a specific section for low sugar/low carb recipes, which you can find here https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/category/recipes/dietary-preferences/low-sugarlow-carbs/
We do want to make sure that everyone, no matter what challenges they are going through with their diets, would get to enjoy baking at home.
I am sure you will find something you will like and try.
Gemma 😊
Hi Gemma, I thank you for the recipe. I made it the other day and I was amazed of the way it came out for a first time, delicious and all. What can you suggest if I want it flakier? Should I add more of the lemon juice? Thank you for your answer.
Hi Chantale! The key to flakier puff pastry really is minimal handling. The more you work the dough, the tougher it gets. You can try to create more layers, but it would risk overworking it. I hope this helps! Gemma 😊
Hey Gemma! I tried making the puff pastry and it did not turn out good they weren’t as puffy as your’s, it wasn’t flaky at all it was tasting weird it was more like I was eating half cooked dough I followed the instructions infact I even chilled the bowl and the flour as you suggested i took the tarts out of oven when they were golden brown I did everything mentioned but I don’t know what went wrong can you please provide me with suggestions?
Hi there,
The secret to the success of any pastry is to work fast and keep things as cold as possible, no hanging around.
This is an easy pastry when you get used to that idea. The pastry needs to go into a hot oven too, but that is also true of all baking.
The butter needs to be real butter, chilled and grated so that it retains its form in the flour. The water needs to be cold, and you need to work fast, not over wetting the dough, nor overworking it.
What interests me is what you used it for. If you lined a pan with it then you would need to give it time to bake, this pastry will be best without a wet filling sitting on it.
It sounds to me like it was underbaked, that is what you are describing. The filling will affect baking time. Do let me know about this, I need a bit more detail, the devil is in the detail,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
just wonder if I can use 3.25% milk instead of water?
Thanks,
Ada
Hi Ada,
I think I got this yesterday. I do not know of a pastry, apart from choux, which works well with milk. It will change the texture of the pastry, making it more scone/biscuit like.
I hope this helps,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
Just wonder if I can replace water to 3.25% milk instead?
Thanks,
Ada
Hi Ada,
no! I have never heard of a puff pastry, or any pastry really being made with milk, it will completely change the texture of the bake. I would need to try this to be sure, if you try it do let us know how it worked, it may be very good, but different!
Gemma 🙂
I am really intrigued by this technique. I eat gluten free and was wondering if this technique would work for a GF version? Which flour would be best if it works at all?
Hi Isabelle,
Yes the technique will absolutely work for gf flour. However I personally don’t have a huge amount of experience working with that flour so for that reason I’m not sure you will get the exact same results.
The method however should work 🙂
Gemma.
I really like your pastry recipes and the way you made them in different ways…
I’ll show you my puff pastry and my beef pies once I’m done.
I’m delighted to hear that!!!
Thanks for trying it out,
Gemma.
My butter wasn’t cold enough so it clumped together will it still work?
Hi Ankita,
Sorry for my late reply. Yes it should work even though the butter stuck together.
Best,
Gemma.
Gemma: I am absolutely in love with you for your videos. Many thanks for your recipe for puff pastry.
Thank you Warren, there would be no point if you bold bakers were not here,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
Hope you are well 🙂 Am going to make Australian meat pies with this pastry recipe, do I need to blind bake the pastry first?
Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks!
Hi Jane,
you almost never blind bake puff pastry. We use this pastry for meat pies too, add the filling when it is cold, keep the pastry as cold as possible, rest it before rolling, and all will be well.
Now I feel like a meat pie!
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
Thank you for sharing your puff pastry tip. Looking forward to making a pork Wellington tomorrow. The recipe calls for 500g of puff pastry. But I want to make it myself using your tip. How many grams of flour and butter would I need for the pastry and of course how many teaspoons of water and lemon? TIA
Hi Jacqui,
I cannot be precise about the water. Flour in different places behaves in different ways, depending on how, where, when, and even the type of wheat being milled. It absorbs liquids differently too, depending on humidity, temperature, etc. It is much easier to add more than to take some out! So, next time stop when the dough comes together into a clean ball. This is what you want. Add 3/4 of the liquids in one go, then the remainder more slowly, until the dough comes together. That is the secret! I hope this makes sense to you. Do not give up!
The measurements will be about twice the recipe here, if you want to get this to be more precise then it is math! You may have a little left over but you can use it for dessert.
I am not sure what pork cut you are using, if it is Tenderloin/pork fillet/pork steak then it will work well for you.
Generally, I would part cook the meat, and cool it, before proceeding, to be sure!
Gemma 🙂
Made the recipe. But the pastries did not puff and were not flaky at all. I put everything in the freezer including the grater . The butter was in the freezer for two days. The bowl, flour, salt, and grater were in the freezer for four hours. What did I do wrong?
Hi Linda,
I am presuming you used a block of dairy butter, though hard baking margarine will work well for you too.
I think you may have over wet the mix or over handled it, or the oven was not heated to temperature before you started to bake it. I know this is a list of things that you may have done wrong, and I do not wish to make you feel bad about this.
The secret with this type of pastry, or any pastry really, work fast and cold, do not over handle the dough, and all should be well.
I hope this sounds ok,
Gemma 🙂
Hi, thank you for sharing the recipe, I look forward to making it tomorrow. Butter is in the fridge and ready to go for tomorrow. I have a question that I hope you would be able to answer. I am planning to make the pings in a blanket appetizer dish with this dough. Would you happen to know how many pigs in a blanket this recipe will yield?
Thanks!
Hi Robert,
that is what we use this for too, I am looking forward to seeing your results. Remember this pastry cooks quickly so you may need to pre-cook the ‘pigs’.
work fast, keep things as cold as possible, all will be well,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma ! I just wana know a roughly idea that how many Palmiers can I make with this recipe.
thanks in advance
Hi Sheema,
It will make roughly 16 or so I would say. That is just a guess because I haven’t used it for palmers before.
Hope this helps,
Gemma.
Thanks very much for this lovely recipes. I’ve just made it and loving it’s flakiness. I attempted to make puff pastry so many times in the past but always ended up with some sort of butter saturated bread or cookies or even worst. I was just about to give up trying while your recipe come across right in front of me.
I measured lard and flour. Put them in the freezer together with grater and knife overnight.
I mixed the dough in the morning 8 o’clock and rested it until just before lunch 12 o’clock.
I put ice-cubes in an empty large glass jar to be used as a rolling pin.
I put mincemeat to make mince pie pastry.
I am very pleased with the outcome and will try to make with different fillings soon.
Many thanks and sending my best wishes to you.
WOW, great job on this, that sounds lovely! I love mincemeat too!
Hi Gemma, the crust is so crunchy and flaky. I made pizza & saved some for the next day but it became soft, so I put it in the oven toaster for 5 mins but still it’s crunchiness didn’t come back. What should I do to retain/bring back its texture? Tnx
Hi there,
any pastry is best baked and consumed when fresh, usually in the same day. It can be refreshed in a hot oven for sure over a few days, but it will never come back to exactly as it was when freshly baked. Better to 1/2 the dough, cover and refrigerate it, then roll and bake the following day.
I hope this is of help.
If your OTG is a convection one you will also get a better result.
I hope this is of help,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma, that looks like a lovely recipe.
I wanted to know whether I can make it in a bulk and freeze it or not.
If, yes! Then, How??
Hi, yes you can you can freeze this, great idea!
Thanks a lot Gemma!
This recipe was amazing! Pastry has always been my downfall, but this was so easy and tasty!!!!
I’m delighted to hear that 😀
Hi Gemma, can I use this puff pastry recipe to make Portuguese egg tarts? Thanks
Hi there,
Yes, and when you make them I am coming to your house <3
my mum uses this recipe for exactly this purpose, one of her favorite things.
Secret of this type of pastry is to work fast, keep it as cold as possible, and rest it before rolling.
Do let us see the results,
Gemma 🙂
Oh I see! that’s nice! I’m looking for a good recipe for that,cI hope you could share your version. 🙂 Thanks
Carla,
I will email it to you,
Gemma 🙂
Wow thank you! You’re an angel! So excited! 🙂
Hi Gemma, may I ask for the recipe if already available? Tnx..
Hi Carla,
Did you get my copy of that recipe by email?
I did not do this here at BBB, but really I should, please let me know if you got it as I did send it on 4th April,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma, there’s none on my inbox..
Regards, Carla
Hi Carla,
I will resend today,
Gemma 🙂
Yes yes! Thanks a lot!
HI Gemma, im looking for your version of portugues egg tart could you share it. It that the same of hong kong egg tart?
Love your easy puff pastry thanks
It’s on my list and I’ll share one really soon 🙂
Stay tuned!
Gemma.
Hi! When I grated the butter it went into little curls. Does this matter?
Karen
Hi, not that is just fine here.
Hi Gemma.. Even I’ve started learning to bake at home.. Just wanted to ask for 1 kg ofplain flour how much butter do I need to use?
Hi Mary,
Pastry is a proportional thing, relatively. For a shortcrust pastry it is more or less 1:1, equal quantities of flour and butter.
A puff pastry will need a little more fat to flour. for this puff pastry this is the recipe: 2 ⅓ cups (11 ½ oz/ 325g) plain flour
14 tablespoons (7 oz/198g). If you are using 1kg of flour then you would use 600g of butter or just slightly less. It is about 3 times this recipe.
That is a lot of pastry to manage in one batch, and if you are not going to use it right away it will be best to make it as you need to. In baking fresh is always best!
Gemma 🙂
can i halve the recipe? will it still work?
Yes you can, no problem 🙂
Best,
Gemma.
Can we use this recipe for mille feuille? Also for how long can we freeze this dough?
Yes you absolutely can. it freezes for up to 8 weeks.
Best,
Gemma.
can you do the puff pastry dairy free, substitute the butter for something else.
Hi, yes you can use a vegan butter sub.
nice recipe watching here from philippines
Hi Maria,
good to have you with us in the Philippines. We have lots of lovely followers from your country here on BBB. Thank you for being in touch,
Gemma 🙂
This is how I make my pie shells with lard. I should try this for croissants
Yes, it’s a great recipe!
Is it okey to deep.fried the puff pastry?
I’ve never tried that but i do think it would work, yes!
Hello! What would happen if I mix the butter directly onto the flour? Will it still be good with a croissant? I don’t have a grater.
This will work but it will not create the same amount of layers and air pockets. I suggest, getting a good little grater!
Oh my goodness, easiest and tastiest puff pastry recipe ever! I watched the video and did all the steps exactly, it came out amazing! Just to emphasize people – chill everything!! the bowl, the knife, and make sure the butter is really frozen for a few hours. This recipe saved our expat (in Brazil) Aussie day celebration ; ) We made meat pies and I came across this recipe after having no luck finding puff pastry in the stores. Workouted out for the better, now I can’t wait to try more of your recipes Gemma! Many thanks and wishing you much success!! Xoxo
Hi Larissa,
Well, thank you, and thank you for posting the pics too! love to see the results.
You are right, work fast and cold, a light hand makes the best pastry. Glad you had a great Australia day, I saw some fireworks video from Perth, the Aussies know how to celebrate!
Gemma 🙂
I like puff pastry very much, used to make it by rolling and folding method using pastry shortening, which it is the only way to make pastry here in tropical country, that make it almost impossible to roll and fold the dough using butter. I love this recipe because I can make puff pastry without shortening, and I’ve already tried it. It taste good, not fluffy but crusty. The problem with this recipe is it takes much longer time to bake than traditional puff pastry. I think it is because of the thicker layers. And I think I need a little rolling and folding with the dough to make thinner layers for the next try.
Hi Vina,
Yes! that is good to hear, thank you for letting us know.
You can roll this pastry as thinly as you wish, it is best thin, it will puff up better too.
I am happy that you are baking with us, even the challenging tropics!
Gemma 🙂
LIFESAVER!! EASY AMAZING 👌😍. I did struggle with grating the butter and was worried I didn’t do it fast enough, but it actually came out perfect the first time I did it! Thank you so much for the recipe it’s a absolute lifesaver!
Hi Anastasia,
I know! it is a wonder when you get it right. Well done you, I am delighted with this very kind review,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
Do you have a Danish puff pastry recipe??
Hi, i dont at the moment but that’s a lovely idea!
Hi gemma, is it important to put water in the mixture? I forgot to put water in my mixture, will it affect the pastry? As the butter and flour already hold it together
Hi Lelia,
If the butter is holding this pastry together then you will get a shortcrust pastry, not a puff pastry. This tells me that it is over mixed, possible in a mixer. This will make a really lovely tender pastry, difficult to roll and handle, but very good after it is chilled.
When the butter is grated for the puff pastry then you really must just incorporate the flakes into the flour, just barely covering the flakes in flour, and mixing with the water to bind. As the butter melts in the bake it creates steam which in turn makes the flakes.
Use this one as it is, it will be good,
Gemma 🙂
Gemma many thanks for the recipe which undoubtedly works – just not in my case. I’ve tried two batches, followed the recipe and video carefully but my outcome is just a flat inflakey result. I’m totally puzzled. Is there any specific handling required of the dough after refrigeration? My dough has been intentionally on the dryer side when mixing the water but the bowl is clean when done. Any insights would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for the website.
Hi Brad,
it sounds like you blended the butter too much. The idea here is to work fast, the butter should be coated with the flour and mixed through, not into the flour. The flakes of butter generate steam when melting as it bakes, and this is what creates the little puffs/flakes.
So, cold as possible, fast as possible, do not over wet, and top tip, mix with a table knife/dinner knife. This allows you to keep control of the dough without warming it, and will also help to judge when it is wet enough.
I hope this is of help, it is worth persisting with this one,
Gemma 🙂
Great tip on puff pastry. Am goin to use it for a comombert appetizer. For now I froze the dough which turned out perfectly, just enough to bind for a ball form. Super easy indeed. Many thanks. Wolfgang
Delighted to hear that Wolfgang!!!
Thanks for trying it out 🙂
Gemma.
Hi jemma
Is it a must to add lemon juice what can I use if I don’t have that
Hi,
If you don’t have it you can leave it out. It softens the flour but it won’t make or break the recipe.
Best,
Gemma.
Hi, I’m a baker and used to bake at an all scratch bakery. I was responsible for making croissant, puff pastry and Danish doughs. I used the traditional method of rolling and turning the puff pastry dough with layers of softened butter. However, my recipe called for sugar along with salt. Can sugar be added to this recipe if not being used for savory dishes?
Thanks!
Hi there, yes you can, that would be lovely!
Hi – I have a recipe that calls for 1-3/4 pounds puff pastry. Can you please tell me how much this recipe yields? (Super new to baking so sorry if this is a silly question!)
Hi there, for that much i would double this recipe 😀 enjoy!
Hi Gemma
Wanna ask… my top pastry is cooked and not my bottom part. Not sure what went wrong. I was using this recipe to bake ham & egg pie….but overall this is a keeper. Very flaky
Thanks
That very odd! Which rack in the oven did you bake on?
Hi Gemma,
I put all the flour and butter overnight in the fridge and it really helps with all the rolling. I came from a very hot country. Not sure you have heard if it , Brunei Darussalam. I made this today using the ham & cheese pie recipe. The top part of my pie is cooked but not the bottom part. Is it because I butter the casserole dish? Or is it because its too thick? I transferred the pie into a masterclass baking tray and slowly … finally… the bottom pie is cooked….
But overall the recipe is really good. And this is my second time I used this recipe….
First time I made chicken pot pie
Wow, great job on these recipes, next time send us a photo!
Hi Gemma,
How many sheets of puff pastry can I get from this recipe? How thin do I have to roll out the dough?
Hi, this is more of a rough puff dough so it makes a thick layer of puff pastry not several sheets that are rolled then layered.
What are the measurements of each ingredients used?
Hi! Here’s the recipe 😀 – https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/easy-puff-pastry-recipe/
Hi Gemma,
Can I cut the butter in small pieces and freeze it instead of grating the whole stick ?
Hi there, yes you can but i still suggest you grate it as the effect of the grated butter is really what created the light fluffy and buttery texture. Enjoy!