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Home-made Puff Pastry

Home-made Puff Pastry

Step-by-step instructions to make Puff Pastry at home and freeze it!

Course Dough
Cuisine French
Author Recipe adapted from chef Luca Montersino

Ingredients

Detrampe

  • 705 gms – 25 oz. flour
  • 20 gms – 4 tsp salt
  • 440 gms – 15.5 oz. cold water

Beurrage

  • 1 kg – 2.2 lbs. butter
  • 295 gms – 10.5 oz. flour

Instructions

Detrampe

  1. Put the flour and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Put the machine on and slowly add the water.
  2. Knead the dough only until all the ingredients are just combined (do not overwork it as you do not want to develop the gluten in the flour).
  3. When ready, make it into a ball, then put it between two sheets of baking paper and flatten it into a rectangle.
  4. Let the dough rest in the fridge for 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Beurrage

  1. Put the cold butter between two sheets of baking paper and gently hit it with the rolling pin to make it more elastic.
  2. Put the butter and flour in the electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and knead until combined.
  3. Put this mixture between two sheets of baking paper and gently shape it into a rectangle about 1.25 cm – ½ inch thick.
  4. Put it in the fridge for 1 hour.

Layering

  1. Roll the detrampe dough in a long rectangular shape so that the length of the shaped butter mixture (beurrage) is equal to the width of the detrampe, and the width of the shaped butter mixture (beurrage) is half the length of the detrampe. (see the images)
  2. Position the beurrage in the middle of the detrampe as shown. Now give it a simple fold turn (which means folding the bottom half up on the butter and then folding the top half of the dough on top of the butter too). Press it down with your hands to seal the middle.
  3. Turn the dough so that the closed sides of the dough are on the left and right with the join vertical. Roll until you get a 1.25 cm – ½ inch thick rectangle. Make sure to roll mostly upwards and downwards (and only a little bit sidewards).
  4. Give the dough a simple 3 fold turn i.e. fold 1/3 on top of the central 1/3 and then the other 1/3 on top of it.
  5. Cover the dough with baking paper and put it in the fridge for 1 to 1.5 hours.
  6. Roll out the dough into a long rectangle again, making sure to keep the folded ends on your left and right. Make a 4 fold turn by folding the lower ¼ of dough on the lower middle ¼ of dough, the top ¼ of dough on the upper middle ¼ of dough and then by folding this one on top of the other to form ¼ of the rolled length, like in the photo.
  7. Cover it with baking paper and put the dough in the fridge for 1 to 1.5 hours.
  8. Now roll out the dough again into a long rectangle approximately the same size as before (always keeping the folded sides to your left and right), and make a simple 3 fold turn.
  9. Cover it with baking paper and put the dough in the fridge for 1 to 1.5 hours.
  10. Now roll out the dough again into a long rectangle approximately the same size as before (always keeping the folded sides to your left and right), and make a 4 fold turn like before.
  11. Flatten it to compact and refrigerate for at least 1 to 2 hours before using.
  12. Your puff pastry is now ready.
  13. The image below shows what your dough would look like if you cut it.

Recipe Notes

I usually cut the puff pastry into pieces, wrap them in cling wrap and freeze them for later use.