Easy Puff Pastry {Rough Puff}

three slices of baked, golden rough puff pastry

4.86 from 7 votes

Easy Puff Pastry {Rough Puff}

A buttery, flakey pastry similar to puff pastry, prepared quickly and easily instead of taking days. Once you try it, you won't repurchase store-bought! This recipe makes two 1lb portions.

Course Dessert, Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword Easy Puff Pastry, Puff Pastry, Rough Puff Pastry

Prep Time 3

Cook Time 0

Total Time 3

Servings

Calories 187

Author Erren Hart

Ingredients

12 oz butter 3 sticks / 340g, chilled and thin sliced
3½ cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
ice water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
Add the oil and whisk until thoroughly combined with the flour mixture being careful not to leave any large clumps.
Thinly slice the butter and add to bowl. Toss to coat butter and separate any pieces that have stuck together.
Add the lemon juice to a quarter cup of the ice water and add it to the flour, then using a butter knife or spatula, work it into the flour mixture.
Drizzle in a couple more tablespoons of the ice water, constantly tossing to distribute.
Then switch to using your hands to mix. Drizzle in a tablespoon of ice water. Knead the dough several times to bring it together in large clumps. You want it to be dry and a bit crumbly but hold together.
Move moistened clumps to the side of the bowl, leaving behind any dry bits. Drizzle in more ice water by the tablespoon as needed with the dry bits in the bowl and toss until they are dry and a bit crumbly, but hold together when squeezed. Then bring the clumps together in the bowl.
Wrap the mixture in plastic and massage the dough to work the crumbly bits into the dough and flatten it into a rectangle. Chill for 2 hours (or up to 24 hours).
Remove the dough from the fridge, unwrap it and pound it with a rolling pin a few times to soften it. Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a long rectangle about 12x18" long and ¼" thick. Then fold it into thirds, like you would a letter.
Rotate the dough 90° and repeat the rolling and folding process twice, dusting with more flour as needed. If the dough seems to be resting, cover and rest for 10 minutes, then repeat the process one to two more times dusting with more flour as needed.
Cut the dough in half to portion it. Rewrap and chill for at least 30 minutes before using.

Video

Notes

Please Note: The nutritional information below is based on 24 servings which is typically how many servings 2lbs of dough will make.

Tips:

Use European butter as it has less water content than American butter, making your dough less likely to become soggy during baking.
The butter should be very cold when you add it to the dough. This will help create a light and flaky pastry. Putting it in the freezer for 10 minutes before you begin will work well.
If your kitchen is warm, place the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes every so often to keep it from getting too soft.
When rolling out the dough, flour your work surface and rolling pin well. This will prevent the dough from sticking and tearing, which can cause the butter to leak from the dough and pool during baking.
If the dough becomes too sticky, add more flour; if it’s too dry, add more water.
If the butter becomes too soft, place the dough in the fridge for 5 minutes.
Rest the dough after each set of folds for an extra tender dough.
Use cold butter and ice water – This is key to keeping the dough cool and the butter from melting.
If the dough starts to resist rolling after a couple of folds, stop and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes.
Allow the dough to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using it.
Try to work quickly when handling the dough so it doesn’t get too warm.

Nutrition