This is a traditional puff pastry recipe, but in smaller portions! Learn how to make puff pastry with just one stick (a quarter of a pound) of butter and one cup of flour. You can perfect your skills and then double or quadruple (or more!) the recipe.
Prepare: 4 hourshrs45 minutesmins
Total Time: 4 hourshrs45 minutesmins
Servings: 6
Ingredients
1cup(150g) flour
½cup(113g) unsalted butter
⅓cup(80mL) water
2tsp(10mL) white vinegar or lemon juice
⅛tsp(0.625g) salt
Instructions
Flatten one stick of cold butter between two pieces of parchment paper and soften by pounding with a rolling pin. Cut the butter in half if needed and continue to shape the butter into a 5" square. Wrap in the parchment and chill the butter for 20 - 30 minutes.
In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir in water until a shaggy somewhat dry dough forms. Turn out onto a clean work surface and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Cover tightly and rest in the fridge for 20 - 30 minutes.
Flour your work surface. Roll the dough out to a long rectangle roughly 5.5" x 16" (14 x 41cm) and place the chilled butter in the center. Fold dough sides in to cover the butter. Brush off any excess flour. Seal the edges of the dough by pressing down with your rolling pin. Give the dough a quarter turn.
Roll the dough out to another rectangle and mark into thirds. Fold the bottom third up to cover the middle third and the top third down. Seal the dough gently by pressing down on the edges with your rolling pin. Give the dough a quarter turn. The first fold is now done. Make a mark in the dough by sticking 1 fingers in. This means the dough has been folded once. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or longer. Puff pastry needs to be folded 6 times.
Flour your work surface, roll the dough into a long rectangle, brush off any excess flour. Fold the dough into three parts. Start by folding the right third over toward the center, then the left side then toward the center. Seal the edges by pressing down. Make a mark in the dough by sticking 2 fingers in. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or longer. You now have two folds.
Flour your work surface, roll the dough into a long rectangle, brush off any excess flour. Fold the dough into three parts. Start by folding the right third over toward the center, then the left side then toward the center. Seal the edges by pressing down. Make a mark in the dough by sticking 3 fingers in. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or longer. You now have three folds.
Repeat this process until you have a total of six folds. Wrap the dough a final time and let chill for at least 30 minutes before using. Puff pastry can be stored for up 4 days in the fridge or for several weeks in the freezer. Wrap it tightly before storing.
Notes
This is make approximately 3/4 of a pound or 353 grams of puff pastry dough. When rolled out, you should end up with a 10" (25cm) square of puff pastry or four 5" squares of dough.You can do two folds at once once you learn how to make puff pastry and speed up the process by 1/2 the amount of time. If you are new to making puff pastry, we highly recommend only one turn with a rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. It will take longer, but you are going to have better layers and less chance of melting the butter and ruining the puff pastry.If you only have salted butter, omit the salt from the pastry dough. You can add 1 tbs (12.5g) of sugar to enhance browning and help keep the dough more soft and pliable.