This PERFECT homemade Quick and Easy Rough Puff Pastry is beautifully flaky, and buttery. Delicious puff pastry made from scratch that tastes infinitely better than frozen, store-bought puff pastry and it only takes 30 minutes of your time? Almost too good to be true!
Flaky, buttery, homemade, Easy Rough Puff Pastry!
- What is puff pastry?
- What creates flaky pastry layers?
- Why is homemade puff pastry better?
- What is Rough Puff Pastry?
- What can I make with this pastry recipe?
- What is the difference between the classic and shortcut version?
- How to make Rough Puff Pastry, step by step
- Why should I make this recipe at home?
- How to store this cheat’s puff pastry
- What can rough puff pastry be used for?
I first published this rough puff pastry recipe in December 2014, just a few months after I started this blog. Loved the recipe then and I love the recipe still and I’m very proud of it. I’ve also made it many times since then. The one thing I wasn’t quite proud of though was the pictures in that original post. So I decided to finally update this rough puff pastry post with better photos, step-by-step instructions and tips, and how and why you should make this quick & easy rough puff pastry!
What is puff pastry?
Originating from France, classic puff pastry is made using a dough called détrempe (pronounced day-trahmp, a basic dough made with flour, water and butter) to which you add more butter, roll it out, fold it, turn it, roll it out, fold it, turn it and on and on till you have made several such turns. This process is called “turning the dough” or “laminating the dough” and the idea is to distribute the butter evenly in layers throughout the dough (laminating the dough layers, with butter layers).
What creates flaky pastry layers?
The sign of a good puff pastry dough (classic puff pastry or rough puff pastry) is the lamination layers. To laminate a dough you need to incorporate layers of butter into the dough by repeatedly rolling out and folding the dough and butter together which results in beautiful, paper-thin layers as you can see in the pictures of this rough puff pastry.
When this dough bakes, the moisture in the butter and dough turns to steam and lifts the layers in the dough (which is what puts the “puff” in puff pastry) resulting in thin, crispy, buttery layers of delicious pastry!
Why is homemade puff pastry better?
The simple fact is, homemade puff pastry is infinitely better than store-bought, and I’m not just saying that to sell you this recipe. This really is an observable fact. Mass-produced puff pastry available at the store, often uses sub-standard ingredients and the difference between that and the stuff you make yourself at home with love and care is pretty easy to tell.
But the thing is, classic puff pastry is an absolute pain in the ass to make. So if someone has already done it for you and it’s frozen and it’s available at the store, then there’s no reason to boycott them altogether. I do still use store-bought puff pastry for emergencies, because life ain’t always planned, you know. But what if I told you that there’s a cheat’s version of puff pastry out there? Also known as “Rough Puff Pastry”?
What is Rough Puff Pastry?
Rough puff pastry is a cheat’s way of making puff pastry, a QUICK AND EASY Puff Pastry, if you will. This only takes 30-45 minutes of your time (30 on a cold day and 45 on a hot summer day), and is just as good as classic puff pastry and tastes downright phenomenal! This method of making puff pastry takes short cuts, cutting down on the time it takes to make puff pastry – thus giving you a “rough” puff pastry.
There are two ways people can make this –
- Grating the butter, and incorporating the butter in TWO folds. This will increase the lamination layer with fewer folds. You still have to make sure the butter doesn’t melt, and the ingredients are super cold to maintain the dough and butter layers, but it is easier to fold and roll out because the butter is grated (and not in a block). Since you do maintain the laminated layers, you still get flaky, puffed layers as it bakes.
- Shortcrust style puff pastry – The butter is mixed into the dough in chunks, using the food processor. The dough is folded and rolled to create layers, while there are still chunks of butter in the dough. You don’t create dough-butter laminated layers with this method, and alternatively rely on chunks of butter IN the dough to make the dough flaky. This method is faster, but the result looks more like extra flaky pie dough (instead of beautiful layers of flaky puff pastry).
The recipe I’m sharing here is for the first method. I prefer this over the shortcrust method too. This is because the grated butter method mimics the puff pastry much better than the shortcrust method, which is more like an extra flaky pie crust.
What can I make with this pastry recipe?
You can use this rough puff pastry for any recipe that calls for puff pastry! From sausage rolls to pies, to tarts, to desserts! Anything you can think of that calls for puff pastry.
What is the difference between the classic and shortcut version?
Classic puff pastry takes several hours to make with lengthy resting steps in the middle, but this Quick and Easy rough puff pastry recipe cuts it down to about 30-45 minutes (not counting the non-active prep time to freeze the ingredients). Yet, the pastry still comes out unbelievably well. Those beautiful flaky layers puff up as they bake (not to the same extent as classic puff pastry, but this difference is quite negligible to me). And the recipe is quite flexible too. You can use a little less butter if you prefer, and you will still get deliciously puffy, flaky pastry.
How to make Rough Puff Pastry, step by step
The basic dough (détrempe)
First step is to make the basic dough. This is easy and only requires AP flour, water, salt, butter and a little vinegar.
The butter can be incorporated into the dough in anyway you like. You can rub the butter into the four, or grate the butter and add it to the dough. Melting the butter isn’t a good idea though because you want to keep the dough as cold as possible.
Make sure the flour, butter, and water are chilled before making the dough. Don’t forget to add the vinegar as well. You can add lemon/lime juice, or white wine vinegar or white vinegar or even citric acid powder as the vinegar. Once the dough is made, let it chill in the fridge so that the gluten is allowed to rest more.
Why is vinegar (or an acid) important?
The reason why an acid (typically in the form of vinegar) is important for the dough is that the acid helps relax the gluten in the flour. This makes it easier to roll out. You can use any of the following as an acid.
- Lemon or lime juice – this can add some flavor to the dough as well.
- White vinegar and white wine vinegar has less of an after-taste.
- Citric acid adds the least after-taste of all these options.
Incorporate the butter layers
There is a total of FIVE lamination steps in this rough puff pastry recipe. The first two lamination steps are to incorporate the butter into the dough. This will increase the buttery lamination layers in fewer folds (basically that means better results with less effort).
The First Fold
Roll out the chilled dough into a long rectangle. The length and width don’t really matter, but I usually go for at least 6 – 7 inches in width, and 15 – 16 inches in length.
Place the half of the butter on 2/3 of the rolled out dough, and then fold over the 1/3 of the dough with no butter, over the middle 1/3 of the dough with butter. Then fold over final 1/3 of the dough with butter, over the top.
Second Fold
Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll it out again, into a rectangle (5 – 6 inches x 15 – 16 inches).
Repeat the same process with the remaining butter.
Work quickly through this process so that the dough will remain nice and cold and the butter won’t melt.
If it’s summer or a particularly hot day where you live, the dough and butter might warm up and soften. Don’t worry if this happens, just quickly put it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to firm up the butter again. You don’t want the butter to soften, as it can melt and incorporate into the dough while folding and rolling, and then you will lose the lamination layers.
Creating more butter dough layers (increasing lamination)
After the butter has been incorporated, it’s time to repeat the folds THREE MORE TIMES.
The remaining folds
Turn the dough another quarter turn and roll it out to a similar sized rectangle as before. Fold it into thirds (just like before, but without the butter).
Rotate the dough another quarter turn, and repeat two more times.
In total, this recipe for rough puff pastry will create a whopping 171 layers of butter within the dough, with just five folds!
Once the folds have been completed, tightly wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until needed. I personally prefer to cut the dough in half and wrap each portion separately (so that I can freeze the portion I don’t need for later).
Store the wrapped dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (longer is even better), to rest the gluten in the dough. It will be much easier to roll out the dough the more you rest it at this stage.
Do you find that your rough puff pastry dough isn’t rolling out easily, or rolling out nice and thin?
Or do you find that the puff pastry dough shrinks as you roll it out, or as you bake it?
This is because you didn’t let the dough rest properly after making the puff pastry. Wrap it again, and let it rest in the fridge for longer. The amount of time you need to rest the dough can vary, so keep that in mind.
Why should I make this recipe at home?
- It’s cheaper to make your own puff pastry at home.
- Tastes better. Seriously, it’s not even close. I cannot stress this enough.
- Since it’s rough puff pastry, it’s much faster than making classic puff pastry.
- Since all the ingredients are ice cold and the butter is grated and frozen before use, it makes it easier to handle the dough – to roll it out and fold the dough.
Take a look at that lamination in the photo right at the top of the post, if you don’t believe me. Doesn’t that look beautiful? Perfect homemade quick and easy rough puff pastry achieved in 30 minutes (might be about 45 on a hot day)!
How to store this cheat’s puff pastry
Make sure the dough is wrapped tightly with plastic wrap. Even two layers to make sure it’s not in contact with air so that it doesn’t dry out. You can wrap this again in foil, or put it in an air-tight container as well.
I have stored this rough puff pastry in the fridge for up to 5 days. And YES, this rough puff pastry dough can be frozen too, for up to one month. After using the dough, the remaining scraps could maybe re-rolled once. However if you knead or handle it too much, the lamination layers will be lost.
What can rough puff pastry be used for?
This recipe is an absolute godsend if you’re entertaining guests or hosting a party or family festivities. Good quality puff pastry is the perfect base for tasty appetizers and party food.
You can make so many great recipes with puff pastry. Like delicious puff pastry appetizers and snacks, desserts and even meals using this rough puff pastry like,
Sausage rolls – like these,
Mini hand pies – like these,
Mini tarts – like these,
- Super easy prosciutto, pear and honey tarts
- Cheesy palmiers (technically not a tart, but has the flavors of one!)
- Poached Pear tarts (perfect dessert!)
Great brunch or lunch or dinners – like these,
So save, share and pin this tutorial and make your own puff pastry right at home and then even save a batch in your fridge. This rough puff pastry has been a lifesaver for me on many occasions! How do you like your puff pastry? Savory or sweet?
EQUIPMENT & TOOLS I USED FOR THIS RECIPE
Grater – to grate the frozen butter
Flat Mixing Bowls – I like these wide flat bowls if I’m kneading dough by hand. It’s easier to access the dough and knead it.
Rolling pin – A heavy rolling pin to roll out the dough to create laminated layers
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Easy Rough Puff Pastry
Ingredients:
- 2.1 oz unsalted butter grated and frozen
- 7 oz unsalted butter grated and frozen (weigh the butter after grating it)
- 12.3 oz AP flour that has been kept in the freezer for a couple of hours
- 8-10 tbsp ice cold water I used about 9.5 tbsp (142mL)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp lemon / lime juice (or white vinegar)
Instructions:
- In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and the 60 g / 2.1 oz of butter. With your fingers quickly rub the butter into the flour.
- Add the lemon and water, a tablespoon at a time, while mixing with a wooden spoon or your finger tips to bring the dough together.
- Add enough water to form a firm dough (that is not tacky or too wet).
- Knead the dough on a floured surface for about a minute, and leave it to rest for about 5 minutes (in the fridge).
- Roll the dough out into a long rectangle (about 6 – 7 inches wide, and 15 – 16 inches long).
- Sprinkle 100 g / 3.5 oz of grated butter on 2/3rds of the area of this rectangle.
- Fold over the portion without butter, towards the middle.
- Then fold over the other end, over the first fold. You completed one fold (while laminating butter).
- Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll it out to form another long rectangle (about 5 – 6 inches wide, and 15 – 16 inches long).
- Repeat with the rest of the butter and fold over, (completed 2nd fold with second lamination) and turn 90 degrees. Now you have incorporated all the butter in two folds.
- Complete 3 more folds so you have folded the dough about 5 times. You shouldn’t need to refrigerate between folds, if you work quickly, HOWEVER if it’s a hot day and the butter starts to seep through, keep the dough in the freezer for about 10 minutes to harden the butter and continue.
- After the fifth and final folding, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge until needed.
- Let it rest for at least 2 hours before using. (I prefer to leave it longer, even overnight for best results.)
- If you’re not using it right away, cut the dough in half, wrap individual pieces in plastic wrap and store in the freezer.
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Elizabeth says
Great recipe!
I froze half of my dough – any recommendations/directions for thawing?
Dini says
Hi Elizabeth
This dough will be thawed out the same way regular puff pastry is thawed as well. Leave the frozen puff pastry in the fridge at least overnight and let it thaw out there. The thicker the dough, the longer it will take to thaw.
I hope that helps!
Elizabeth says
Thank you!
sally laRhette says
Great Presentation and reicpe!Bravo!
Tim Evans says
Ounces or grams?
Dini says
Hi Tim,
I’ve provided both oz and g measurements in the recipe card. If you click on the “Metric” toggle button below the ingredients list, you can see the g measurements. I hope that helps!
Kitty O'Hara says
This is a great recipe! I never thought I would make puff – too complicated. But this recipe was so easy to follow I couldn’t resist.
Just one question. Could I use a food processor to grate the frozen butter? Or would it get melty from the heat?
Thanks Dini!
Dini says
Hi Kitty!
If you’re using the grating attachment in your food processor, you can absolutely go ahead. I prefer to use cold or chilled butter so that it doesn’t melt too easily, and then transfer it back to the freezer for the butter to freeze again.
I hope that helps!
wilber says
I love this Recipe,but could you tell how many pastries it will make
Dini says
Hi Wilber
This recipe makes 1.5 lbs / 680 g of puff pastry dough. How many pastries this will result in depends on how big the pastries are, what shape they are and how thick you roll out the dough. So unfortunately, I can’t provide you with a definite answer.
Hope that helps.
Mo says
This was my first attempt at rough puff and it was definitely a good result! I will use this as my go to recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Linda T says
Very easy to make. Perfect!!
Sarah says
Fab recipe so easy to follow and just made cheese, onion and potato pasties – they look great ! So easy to handle the pastry much better than store bought …won’t be buying it ever again !! Thank you 🙂
Nina says
So happy I found your recipe.
pauline says
Appreciating this ‘short-cut’ recipe and your common sense.
Making Ruff-Puff pastry at school when I was fourteen years old. Never did get around to it at home.
I am now 79 years old.
Here goes ” better late than never”
so they say…Thank you
Pauline
Kathryn Fox says
Wow Pauline you just inspired me. I also have not made puff pastry since school when I was 14 and am now 63.
Judi Notara says
I also made it at 14 in home economics, never made it again but with being isolated I made it and tomorrow I’m going to make Chou pastry. I’ve only made that at school, oh well 57 years later and I still remember making it. It has pushed me to do many things I never had the time for xxx
Ellen says
Fast and fantastic hack! Thanks.
Rick says
Hi. I was looking for a Ruff-Puff and someone recommended your recipe.
I have a few questions, if I may, please?
1) What size of pie will this make and does it make top and bottom crust?
2) I’ve seen where the butter is pounded out into a single sheet then placed on the dough or, is that regular puff pastry?
3) If I used Unbleached AP Flour will I have to change the amount of Flour used?
Thank you so very much.
Dini says
Hi Rick
I’ll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability. 🙂
1) I’m not sure unfortunately. I did use 1 1/2 times this recipe for my bacon and egg pie which was a 1.5 qt casserole dish. This makes 1 1/2 lbs of puff pastry which is about two 9 x 9 inch sheets? But I’m not certain.
2) Classic puff pastry uses a beurrage (butter block), and then rolls it out inside the dough. This is a cheat’s version that skips that step.
3) I use unbleached AP flour in my baking. I haven’t seen a marked difference between using unbleached and bleached AP flour in recipes, so you can use them interchangeably. Changes to the moisture content should be made if you use bread flour instead of AP flour though.
I hope that helps.
Daniella says
I’d like to try the shortcrust method also. Do I incorporate all the butter at the start when making the dough in the food processor? Then proceed with the 5 folds? Thanks for your help
Dini says
Hi Daniella
The shortcrust method would be different from this version. It will be more like a flaky pie dough.
The amount of butter might also be less as it will be incorporated directly into the dough. I haven’t used this method to make puff pastry in years because it doesn’t give the same flaky results.
This is the first recipe available to shortcrust pastry on google. You could try to make it and maybe do two folds to create extra layers. I wouldn’t recommend too many folds as the layers would just incorporate together and the flakiness would be lost.
Grace MA says
This is the recipe I’m going to keep for puff pastry. I had tried a few recipes before but your recipe is very easy and produces great results. I have been using your other recipes and they all turned out perfectly. You have given me who is a beginner in baking great confidence to continue to bake. Thank you so very much.
Muhammad niaz says
I loved this recipe
Shivangi Vashistha says
I loved this recepie. Came out really good, made veg puffs. I wanted to ask if we can make danish pastry from this recepie?
Dini says
Hi Shivangi
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Puff pastry is a little different from classic danish pastry dough. They are both layered, but danish pastry is leavened with yeast. It is more similar to croissants.
You can make cheats danish pastry with puff pastry, but it will be more crispy/flaky and not have the same soft / flaky texture.
I hope that helps!
anip says
Hola me encanta esta receta .. pero la verdad me gustaría si Ud. me podría poner las cantidades en Gramos ya que en Onzas se me hace difícil calcular.
Dini says
Hi
This recipe alredy has metric weight measurements. If you toggle the US / metric button below the ingredient list, the ingredients will change to metric measurements. I have noted this in the recipe description as well.
I hope that helps!
Ash says
Hi Dini, I love your recipes, they are so detailed and reliable! You have such great recipes for rough puff and creme patissiere, so would it be possible for you to make a mille feuille? Also I really want to try chocolate souffle but I really need a detailed step by step recipe, and you would be really great at that. xxx
Thulile says
I really would like to make this but I only have cake flour can I use it??
Dini says
Hi Thulile,
Unfortunately I don’t think that would work. You can give it a try, but cake flour might not have enough gluten to form proper structure in this recipe.
Chloe says
Tried this technique and my puff pastry turned out to be so good and buttery!
It was hard to do it where I live though because it’s so warm. I had to chill it in the fridge every time I rolled it out.
Other than that, I’ll keep doing this!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jacky says
Hi. Can I use 1st class flour instead of AP Flour? Thanks
Dini says
Hi Jacky
I haven’t made this recipe with bread flour (1st class flour), but it’s possible. However, due to the higher gluten content, there is a risk of the dough having more spring back while rolling it out. If there is this resistance, then you will need to let the dough rest until the gluten is relaxed.
I hope that helps!
Subashini Aravind says
Hi dini
I loved ur demo on quick and easy puff pastry. Never knew making puff pastry ws so easy. Thanks fr making my dream come true dini!!!
Ir
Mai says
oh no! looks like i didnt knead it enough the butter aare melting and leaking
Dini says
Hi Mai!
Is the butter leaking while you’re baking the pastry? If so, that’s normal! Some butter will melt as it bakes, but will mostly be reabsorbed at the end.
I hope that helps!
Eileen says
Can this be used for croissants?
Dini says
Hi Eileen, rough puff pastry will NOT work for croissants since there is no yeast in this recipe. However, I have just published my detailed croissant post! 🙂 I hope that helps.
Grace says
I can hardly believe how well this recipe works! I am very impressed with it.
Viv says
Best rough puff pastry recipe I’ve tried – & I’ve tried a few! Skeptical at first with the grating & freezing but well worth it & no problem at all. Quick, easy & most of all delicious, flaky perfect pastry.
Sara Koubashii says
You mentioned that we can use less butter. What would you suggest for the minimum amount of butter for this recipe?
Sara Koubashii says
I just tried this recipe today and it blew my mind!!! Thank you so so much for the amazing recipe and instructions!!! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the flaky layers in my egg tart. It was beautiful. The taste was simply amazing, for some reasons it was not too greasy and not plain compared to the other rough pastry recipes I tried last week. I messed up the temperature a bit and had the layers closest to the custard uncooked, but I ate all the outer layers and they were perfect, couldn’t stop eating them haha.
Duleesha says
Hi Dini, I tried this today and although the pastry itself turned out super yummy, it didn’t puff up as much as I liked it to. There was a lot of butter melting out while the pastries baked. Would that be because the oven wasn’t hot enough? (I baked it at 350F). Also would be layers be “crushed” if I rolled out the dough too thin in the end? Thanks in advance!
Duleesha says
Hi again! I made it again & baked at 375 and it was perfect!! So yummy & beautiful layers!! I’m definitely making this again soon.
Vicki says
Hi, I made this to use for portuguese egg tarts. Delicious! Flaky, buttery goodness. Loved your explanations too. Thank you!
Sharon says
Hi Dini! This is a great recipe. Out of all the blogs and recipe sites out there, I find yours to be the absolute best- your posts are informative and well written, and your recipes never fail. I’m a professional cook and I find myself learning a lot from you.
Thanks!!!
Dini says
Hi Sharon, Thank you so much for your lovely words, that makes me so happy! 🙂 I’m really glad the posts are helpful too!
Lauren says
Hi, I’ve just made the dough, but still have small bits of butter visible in the dough after all the folds. Is that right or should all the butter have been incorporated through the dough already.
Thank you .
Dini says
Hi Lauren!
The butter should not be incorporated into the dough actually. As you can see in my photos, if you cut through the dough, you should see layers of the dough separated by butter. It’s this layering that creates the flaky layers in puff pastry.
If it has incorporated, that means the butter would have been too soft, and it mixed in with the dough. It can still be flaky like pie dough, but may not produce the same level of flakes, similar to puff pastry.
Kate says
Hi! You mentioned using citric acid instead of lemon juice to cut back on changing the flavor. Any idea how much citric acid this would require? Would it still be 1/2 tsp? Thanks!
Dini says
Hi Kate!
Citric acid is stronger than lemon. I would add a scant 1/4 tsp to replace the lemon juice. Hope that helps!
MAUREEN says
I’m looking forward to making your recipe.
I would like to suggest you standardize your measurements. You’ve listed butter in the ingredient list in oz but the instructions refer to the butter in gm. (Simply put one or the other in parentheses in the ingredient list).
Otherwise, the instructions are quite clear and look easy to follow. Thanks!
Dini says
Hi Maureen
The measurements are standardized. If you check just under the ingredients list, there is a button for metric and US measurements. So the g measurements in the instructions are according to the metric measurements already provided in the recipe card. I hope that helps! 🙂
MB says
Could I use this dough to make chocolate croissants?
Dini says
Hi MB
Unfortunately, that won’t work. Puff pasty dough is different to croissant dough. Croissant dough has yeast in it, whereas puff pastry dough has no yeast.
You can make chocolate pastries with this dough, but it would be different from chocolate croissants.
Hope that helps!
Kari Kjøniksen says
Perfect for my puff pastry mushroom pie, thank you for the recipe.