Rough Puff Pastry Recipe
There’s something magical about homemade puff pastry. The flaky layers, buttery flavor, and versatility make it perfect for both sweet and savory recipes. If you’ve been intimidated by making puff pastry dough from scratch, this rough puff pastry recipe is a simpler, faster alternative that still delivers an impressive end result.
What Is Rough Puff Pastry?
Rough puff pastry is a shortcut version of classic puff pastry. It’s made by layering cold butter with a flour mixture through a series of folds, or lamination, but it doesn’t require hours of chilling.
Puff pastry, or pâté feuilletée in French (“leaf-like pastry”), traditionally requires extensive dough chilling, and a process of laminating with butter, folding then rolling that’s similar to croissant dough, taking ~3 days to complete.
That’s fine for a full-blown pastry project, but what if you just want a simple appetizer? That’s when a quick puff pastry recipe is a lifesaver.
The result is a dough that tastes buttery and bakes into beautifully flaky layers, perfect for palmiers, napoleons, croissants, or savory dishes like brie en croute.
How Is This Different From Pie Crust and Yeasted Pastry Dough?
While pie crust is tender and crumbly, and yeasted pastry dough is soft and airy, rough puff pastry creates distinct flakes that puff dramatically in the oven.
Pie crust is meant to hold fillings without much lift, and yeasted dough relies on fermentation for rise.
Rough puff combines the best of both worlds: the buttery crispiness of homemade puff pastry with a surprisingly quick preparation time, similar to how professionals make quick easy-puff pastry.
Just 4 Ingredients in the Rough Puff Dough
One of the best things about rough puff pastry is its simplicity. You only need:
- All purpose flour
- Cold unsalted butter
- Kosher salt
- Cold water
You can mix the ingredients by hand using a pastry cutter in a bowl, or with a stand mixer or food processor. With just these ingredients, you’ll get a puff pastry dough that rises in the oven to golden perfection, creating layers that flake beautifully.
Rolling & Folding
The magic of rough puff comes from rolling and folding the dough. Start by incorporating chunks of cold butter into the flour mixture, leaving some small pieces visible.
Roll the dough into a rectangle using a rolling pin, fold it into thirds, rotate, and repeat a few times. These folds create layers of dough and butter that puff up when baked. Even a few folds will give you impressive flaky layers, so don’t worry if it’s not perfect.
For sweet recipes, you can sprinkle brown sugar over the dough or add fillings like apple slices or jam, or create an elaborate braid like this chocolate one. For savory recipes, try ham and cheese tucked into the layers.
Storage and Freezing Tips
Rough puff pastry freezes beautifully. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap for storage in the freezer or fridge, and thaw before baking.
Freezing tips: keep the dough in sheets (rather than a compact, folded shape) for quick use. Once baked, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container, though the end result is always best fresh.
How to Use It
Rough puff pastry is incredibly versatile. Use it to make:
- Savory recipes like brie en croute, ham and cheese braid, little savory tarts, or savory palmiers
- Sweet recipes such as palmiers, napoleons, or fruit-filled croissants
Just roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, cut with a very sharp knife (for any particular shape or recipe), fill as desired, and set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Brush with an egg wash or top with sugar, honey, or a buttered piece for extra flavor before being baked in a hot oven (400°F).
While store-bought puff pastry usually bakes up in 15 to 18 minutes, don’t be surprised if your homemade pastry takes just a few minutes longer.
Rough puff pastry proves that you don’t need store-bought puff pastry to enjoy buttery, flaky layers at home. With just a handful of ingredients, simple folding, and chilling, you can create a pastry that looks and tastes like it came from a French bakery.
Whether you’re making sweet recipes or savory recipes, it’s a favorite recipe to have in your culinary repertoire.
Rough Puff Pastry Recipe
A quick and easy recipe for making flaky puff pastry at home!
Ingredients
- 125 grams all-purpose flour, approx. 1 cup, plus more for dusting counter with
- 140 grams cold unsalted butter, approx. 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp, cubed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 - 4 tbsp cold water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt for the puff pastry. Drop in the cubes of butter and use a pastry blender (or two knives, or your hands, or a food processor), to cut the butter into the flour and create pea-size clumps of dough.
- Stream in a tablespoon of water at a time and stir the dough with a wooden spoon. Once the dough is no longer shaggy, and instead forms a large mass, turn out the dough onto a floured counter/board.
- Sprinkle a little flour on the dough before rolling the dough out into a rectangular strip. Fold the dough into thirds before turning the dough so that the open end faces you. Again, roll out into a strip and fold into thirds. Repeat this step two mores times so that you've rolled and folded your dough 4 times in total. Place the puff pastry dough on a plate and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. After 30 minutes, turn out the dough onto your floured surface and roll into a 1/8” to 1/4” thick square. Assemble and bake per your desired recipe.
