Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Pie & Tarts Recipes Puff Pastry 4.0 (133) Homemade puff is impossibly flaky—and well worth the effort. Prep Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 0 mins Total Time: 7 hrs 15 mins Servings: 25 Yield: Makes 2 pounds, 11 ounces Jump to recipe Our homemade puff pastry recipe results in 729 tender, golden, flaky layers in each bite. Making it is a time commitment, but most of the time is hands off as the dough requires near-constant refrigeration to keep the butter firm and the layers intact. And while it may seem intimidating, the actual process is quite simple: You'll make two mixtures—one mostly butter with a bit of flour worked in and the other a mixture of flour, salt, and heavy cream—then encase the buttery mixture inside of the other through a series of folds. Called laminating, this process creates hundreds of flaky layers which puff up in the oven to create the pastry’s signature lightness and crunch. You'll only need four ingredients—flour, butter, salt, and heavy cream—plus a few hours of chilling time to make this fun challenge, your own puff pastry. Do You Want Puff Pastry or Phyllo Dough for That Recipe? Here's How to Choose Credit: Jacob Fox There Are Just 4 Ingredients in our Homemade Puff Pastry Flour: Our puff pastry uses standard all-purpose flour. Unlike most of our recipes, it is crucial to weigh the flour to ensure you're incorporating the exact amount into your dough. Using too much flour will result in a dry, overly stiff dough while too little will not lend enough structure to hold up during folding and baking. Butter: It wouldn't be puff pastry without the butter—four whole sticks of it. Be sure to use unsalted butter to keep the dough from becoming overly salty. Salt: A touch of salt boosts the flavor of the dough but isn't enough to take it in an overly savory direction, so you can still use this puff pastry in sweet recipes. Heavy cream: Many puff pastry recipes call for water, but we prefer to use heavy cream for a richer flavor. Tips for Making Puff Pastry Keep it cold: If there's one thing that matters above all when making your own puff pastry, it's temperature. Work carefully but quickly through the steps, then cover and refrigerate dough to ensure the butter stays firm. If the dough becomes too warm while you're making puff pastry, you'll lose all those flaky layers and end up with a greasy, limp dough. If you're worried the puff pastry is becoming too elastic or warm to work with at any point during the process, wrap it in plastic and return it to the refrigerator until it firms up. Trim your edges: Throughout the rolling and folding process, it's important to maintain straight, squared off edges. This will ensure you have an equal number of layers across the whole sheet of puff pastry, resulting in the best, most even rise. Count your turns: When forming this dough, you'll make a series of six "turns" which create 729 layers within the finished puff pastry. It's crucial to keep track of how many turns you've done to avoid the risk of overworking or underworking your dough. An easy trick for this is to make small indentations in the dough at the end of each turn so you won't lose track of how many rotations you've finished. Use minimal flour: To make the lightest, flakiest puff pastry, use as little flour as possible for the rolling steps. And, we strongly recommend using a dry pastry brush to wipe off any excess before folding the dough. Directions Credit: Jacob Fox Beat butter; add 1/2 cup flour and mix: Weigh the flour accurately. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add 1/2 cup flour. Mix until smooth. Credit: Jacob Fox Form dough into square, wrap and chill: Scrape this dough into a flat square about 1 inch thick. The square should measure about 5 inches by 5 inches. Wrap well in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes. Credit: Jacob Fox Credit: Jacob Fox Mix remaining flour with salt; add cream and mix until dough forms: In a large bowl, combine remaining flour with the salt. Gradually add the cream and mix until a rough dough is formed (you may not need all of the cream); it should not be sticky. Do not overmix. Credit: Jacob Fox Roll into rectangle: Roll the dough into a rectangle, about 12 inches by 7 inches, wrap in plastic, and chill, at least 30 minutes. Credit: Jacob Fox Add butter square and fold dough to encase it: Remove the flour dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Place the butter square at the bottom edge of the rectangle, and fold the flour dough over to completely encase the butter, sealing the edges by pinching them together and forming tight hospital corners at the edges. Wrap well in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes. Credit: Jacob Fox Credit: Jacob Fox Credit: Jacob Fox Pound, then roll dough into a rectangle: Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured board, gently pound the dough all over in regular intervals with a rolling pin. Working in only one direction (lengthwise), gently roll the dough into a 20-by-9-inch rectangle, squaring corners with a bench scraper and your hands as you go. Using a dry pastry brush, sweep off excess flour. Credit: Jacob Fox Credit: Jacob Fox Fold into thirds and turn: With a short side facing you, fold the rectangle in thirds like a business letter, aligning the edges carefully and keeping each edge square. Turn the dough a quarter-turn clockwise, so the flap opening faces right, like a book. This completes the first turn. Credit: Jacob Fox Credit: Jacob Fox Make second turn, wrap and refrigerate: Pound across the dough, again in regular intervals, and roll out again to a 20-by-9-inch rectangle, rolling in the same lengthwise direction. Fold dough again into thirds. This completes the second turn. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour. Credit: Jacob Fox Repeat rolling, turning, and turning: Repeat the rolling, turning, and chilling process for a total of six turns; always start each turn with the opening of the dough to the right, and always make your tri-fold in the same manner, that is, by starting from either the top of the dough or the bottom each time. By the sixth and final turn, the dough should be very smooth, with no lumps of butter visible. Credit: Jacob Fox Use as little flour as possible for the rolling, and brush off any excess before folding the dough. If the dough becomes too elastic or too warm to work with, return it to the refrigerator until firm. Wrap and refrigerate: Wrap the finished dough in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use, at least 2 hours after your final turn, or freeze for future use. Credit: Jacob Fox How to Store Puff Pastry THe finished dough can be refrigerated for up to three days. Be sure to wrap it tightly and thoroughly in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. For longer storage, you can freeze puff pastry for up to one month. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight for best results. If you need it more quickly, you can let it defrost on the counter for about an hour, just keep an eye on it to ensure pastry doesn't become too warm at any point. How to Use Homemade Puff Pastry There are endless ways to put your homemade puff pastry to use, whether you're working it into a sweet or savory application. Breakfast: How about making these bakery-worthy toaster pastries with a sweet-tangy blueberry filling? On the more savory side, we've also got a cheesy, bacon-studded egg casserole or these sausage puffs. Appetizers: The delicate crunch and flaky layers of puff pastry make it perfect for entertaining. Consider kicking off a party with these irresistible gouda bites, elegant cheese straws, or deliciously retro pigs in a blanket. For a large format appetizer, there's also this harissa-goat cheese tart or the Provençal onion tart, pissaladière. Entrees: When it comes to the main course, you can't steer your guests wrong with a Wellington, whether it's our classic beef version or this creative pork Wellington made with pork, prosciutto, and spinach. We've also got individual salmon coulibiacs and this hearty Alsatian potato pie to check out. Dessert: Many would say this is where puff pastry does its best work. There's our apple jalousie, this stunning cannoli cake, or these sunny upside-down mango tartlets. Puff pastry is also a key element for making napoleons, like these coffee-flavored numbers or these springy strawberry towers. 5 More Dough Recipes to Master Pâte brisée (all-butter pie dough) Pâte à choux Rough puff pastry Basic pastry dough Danish dough Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.