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Puff pastry.
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5 from 6 votes

How to make Traditional French Puff Pastry

If you have ever wondered how to make traditional French puff pastry from scratch, this will be your ultimate baking guide! Home made puff pastry (Pâte Feuilletée in French) might seem like a challenge, but the buttery taste and crisp texture are well worth the effort!
Prep Time1 hour
Waiting Time18 hours
Total Time19 hours
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Servings: 6
Calories: 425kcal
Author: Katalin Nagy

Ingredients

For the Puff pastry

Instructions

DAY 1

    Prepare the puff pastry dough

    • Measure water and vinegar, mix them in a small bowl, and place them into the freezer
    • Prepare your Stand mixer with the hook attachment and mix high protein content flour with salt
    • Melt butter (the smaller amount) and once the butter is not too hot mix it into the flour
    • Start adding the water-vinegar mixture to the dough while your mixer is at the lowest speed. Be mindful of the water, you might not need all of it, stop adding water as soon as the dough is moist enough but you do not want to make it wet. Once water is added, knead the dough in the Stand mixer for another minute at low speed just until it comes together.
    • Then, using your hand, gently knead the dough for another minute just until it becomes smooth. Do not overwork the dough
    • Wrap the dough into a plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight

    Prepare the butter block

    • Prepare a 20cm / 8 inch square butter block and refrigerate it

    Day 2

      Lamination process

      • Take the butter block out of the fridge. We want to wait for the perfect moment to seal the butter into the dough; when you can slightly bend the butter block without breaking it. This is called when the butter is pliable.
      • Use Silicone baking mat to make the rolling and folding easier. Start rolling the dough into 25x45cm / 10x18inch, which is 2x bigger (plus some extra) than the size of the butter. When the butter reaches the perfect temperature, place it onto the bottom part of the dough, fold the dough over the butter block and carefully seal all 4 sides.
      • If the dough is still cold enough start the folding process as per below, if not, place it into the fridge for 15 minutes.
      • Prepare a 6-fold puff pastry; Roll dough into 25x45cm / 10x18inch, fold the top third into the middle, then fold the bottom third into the middle. Now you will get an envelope shape that has an "open edge" on the top and a "closed edge" on the bottom. Rotate by 90 degrees to the right so you will get the "open edge" on the right and the "closed edge" on left.
      • Your first fold is done, repeat it 6x. Rest the dough for 1-2 hours either in between each fold (if your kitchen is warm) or in between 2 folds. Do not make more than 2 folds at once without resting the dough.
      • After the 6th fold, refrigerate the puff pastry dough for a minimum of 4 hours before using

      Baking

      • Bake the pastry accoridng to the recipe.

      Video

      Notes

      1. Make sure to measure the ingredients using a digital scale
      2. Use a silicon baking mat to turn and fold the puff pastry dough. The mat not only prevents the dough from sticking but also acts as a ruler while rolling
      3. Try to work in a cold kitchen environment under 18C / 64F. If at any point the pastry is too sticky, pop it back to the fridge to chill before proceeding with the next step in the recipe
      4. Try to use a minimum amount of dusting flour and use a pastry brush to brush off any excess before folding.

      Nutrition

      Calories: 425kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 959IU | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.4mg