Puff Pastry Recipe (All Butter)

This recipe makes a small batch of delicious buttery puff pastry. I absolutely adore puff pastry. It’s probably one of the foods that I eat more of than I should. Making puff pastry is definitely not for the faint hearted but if you’re able to master it, you do feel a sense of achievement.

It took me a while to master puff pastry but I now have a recipe that I am very proud of and comes out perfect every time I use it.

Now, I am going be very honest and say that this recipe is time consuming and it not the easiest recipe to make but if you read the notes and read through the recipe before starting, it will be much easier for you.

This recipe is for a small batch of puff pastry because sometimes you don’t need too much but a great thing about puff pastry is that you can make larger batches by doubling the recipe then you can freeze it until required.

I use this puff pastry recipe to make sausage rolls, meat filled pastries and pies and this recipe is perfect for them. Their also perfect for sweet treats such as palmier and sweet puff pastry tarts.

This puff pastry is flaky and tender with a delicious buttery flavour and all the work that goes into it is well worth it.

There are many different puff pastry recipes that you can follow and many cheat puff pastries and honestly these are all amazing but I chose to make my puff pastry using one of the French methods.

This method is done by making a dough which is known as the détrempe then separately making a butter block called the beurrage that is placed and sealed within the détrempe. The dough is rolled out with the butter inside then folded and refrigerated. The process of rolling, folding and refrigerating is repeated until you have those beautiful buttered layers that you want to puff up.

The Science Behind Puff Pastry!

So, you’ve sealed in butter and rolled it out with the dough. You’ve folded the dough a few times and then you will bake the puff pastry. When you place the dough in the oven, the water from the dough and the butter will create steam. The steam will puff up the pastry between the layers of butter before evaporating in the oven. You’re then left with a gorgeous flaky puffed-up pastry.

Ingredients for Puff Pastry

For the Main Dough (détrempe)

• 170g strong bread flour - I use a mixture of bread flour and plain flour.
• 90g plain flour - also known as 'all purpose flour'.
• 1 teaspoon caster sugar - I like my puff pastry slightly sweetened but you can leave out the sugar if you wish.
• 1 teaspoon salt - enhances the flavour of the pastry.
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice - tenderises the pastry.
• 125ml - 130ml water - around 13 tbsps.
• 50g unsalted butter - butter for the main dough should be very soft.

For the Butter Block (beurrage)

• 200g unsalted butter - butter for the butter block should be slightly soft.
• 40g strong bread flour - adding a little flour to the butter block will give it some structure and make it easier to roll.

How to Make Puff Pastry

1. To a stand mixer bowl add both the flours, sugar, salt, lemon juice and water. Using a dough hook on a medium setting mix the ingredients together. While the ingredients are mixing add in the soft butter and continue to mix until a dough has formed. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into a square. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge while you make the butter block.

2. To the same bowl you used to make the main dough, add the flour and the soft butter. Remove the dough hook and attach the paddle then beat the butter and flour until well combined. Pour out the butter and flour onto a piece of parchment paper and shape into a square block as pictured. The block should be approximately 14cm in length, 11cm in width and have a depth of around 1.5 cm. Wrap the shaped block in the parchment paper and refrigerate until it is the same consistency as the main dough. This could take between 30 and 90 minutes.

3. Remove the dough and butter block from the fridge. Lightly dust a work surface then roll out the dough to double the size of the butter and place the butter block on half of the rolled-out pastry. Try and leave a little gap at the edge. Fold the pastry over the butter block then seal the edges by pushing around the edges with your finger. Fold any excess pastry underneath the butter block until you have a square securely around the butter block.

4. Roll the dough out longways to around 25cm length and 16cm width then fold over a quarter of the pastry then fold the remaining pastry on top. Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll it out again then repeat the folding. Place the dough back in the fridge for around 2 hours then repeat the roll out and fold process around 3 – 4 more times, refrigerating for 2 hours between each set of folds.

5. After the last fold, refrigerate the dough for around 2 hours before rolling out and using for your puff pastry recipe.

Recipe Tips

• When you plan to make puff pastry for a particular recipe, it’s best to make the puff pastry a day before as it will need rest time before using.
• For this recipe I use a mix of bread flour and plain (all purpose). Bread flour provide an elastic texture due to the high protein content and helps the pastry to stretch without tearing.
• This recipe is best prepared using a stand mixer with a dough hook and paddle. You can do this by hand but I wouldn’t advise it.
• When rolling out the dough to make your recipe, ensure you don't roll it out too thin as you will destroy your layers and it won't puff up. If you roll it out and can no longer see your layers then you have rolled it out too thin and will end up with shortcrust pastry onced baked.
• If you want a larger batch of puff pastry, you can easily double this recipe.
• I usually do a test bake to check the layers of my puff pastry. If you decided to also do this, then cut and roll out a small piece of the pastry to around 3 – 4 mm in thickness and bake in an oven preheated to gas mark 6/400^oF/200^oC. For 15 - 20 minutes. Bear in mind that if you test it with a filling then it will take longer to bake. Usually around 30 minutes.

Troubleshooting

• When making puff pastry, you can sometimes encounter a few problems. Below are some of the problems that I’ve come across and how I solved them. Remember, most problems can be fixed when making puff pastry so just take your time. Don’t rush anything and if something goes wrong, don’t panic. Most problems will usually occur at the beginning of the recipe.
• When folding the pastry, ensure you dust off any excess flour with a pastry brush. This prevents your pastry layers from separating.
• If you get any air pockets in your dough, just use a sharp object to pierce it then smooth it by rolling over the area with the rolling pin.
• If you find any exposed butter when rolling out the pastry to fold, just sprinkle some flour on the exposed area then smooth over the area with the rolling pin.
• The process of making this puff pastry will require you to roll out the pastry multiple times between refrigeration. When you remove the dough from the fridge, before you roll it out make sure the dough is not too hard. If the dough is too hard then allow to rest at room temperature for a few minutes to slightly soften. Before you roll out the dough, you want the dough to be firm but pliable. If the dough is too hard, it may start to crack when rolling it out.
• If at any point your pastry starts to get too soft when rolling it out, return it to the fridge immediately until it firms up. You don’t want your butter to melt and ruin your layers.

Storage

This puff pastry can be stored in the fridge for a few days but can be frozen for up to 3 months. Remove from the freezer and allow to thaw in the fridge for 12 hours before use. Once thawed do not refreeze.

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