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Shortcut Puff Pastry

Makes enough pastry for typical recipes- about 1 pound, or the equivalent of two sheets of store-bought pastry. 

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups butter, frozen
  • 2 1/2 cups flour (plus more for rolling)
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup ice cold water
  • 1 tsp. white vinegar

Instructions

  1. Start by grating your frozen butter on a box grater or in a food processor grater. Once you have 1 cup of butter grated, place it in a bowl and into the freezer. Grate the remaining 1/4 cup of butter, and set aside. 

  2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add the 1/4 cup of frozen butter, and toss it to coat in the flour mixture. Add in the cold water and white vinegar, and stir until a dough forms. Knead it together gently until it forms a cohesive ball. Then, wrap in plastic and place in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. 

  3. Remove the dough from the fridge, and on a floured surface, roll it out to a large, long, rectangle that is about 18 inches long and 6-8 inches tall. You don't have to measure- we're just going for a rectangle that will be large enough to fold into thirds easily. 

  4. Remove the remaining grated butter from the freezer. Sprinkle it onto the rolled out dough, leaving 1/3 of the dough un-buttered. Fold the un-buttered third into the middle, and then fold the other side in as well. This will create two separated layers of butter to start. Pinch the ends closed to seal the butter inside. The dough will be fairly bumpy and rough at this point- that's okay! 

  5. Working quickly, and beating the dough with the rolling pin as needed, roll the dough into another large rectangle, and fold into thirds again. Be sure to dust off any excess flour as you go. Repeat this process 5-6 times. As you continue, the dough will become more smooth. 

  6. If the butter starts to break through as you are working, you can place the dough in the fridge for a few minutes and continue. However, if your butter was completely frozen, and you are able to work quickly, you shouldn't need to do this. 

  7. Once you've folded the dough 5-6 times, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and chill for at least one hour, or up to 1 week. Roll and use for your recipe of choice!