Homemade puff pastry sheets are made plain flour and butter to create a beautiful laminated dough. The dough is enriched with butter and laminated with butter to create the flaky layers. In this blog post, I have shared two ways of making puff pastry sheets at home using butter and shortening. Though I prefer the shortening for making veg puffs and chicken puffs, all butter puff pastry can be used in making sweet pastry. Learn how to make puff pastry with stepwise pictures and video.
Cream butter, salt till creamy. Add in flour and mix well into the butter. Add in cold water and knead to a soft dough. Set aside covered for 15 mins.
Now take the dough and roll it into a sheet. Spread shortening all over it evenly.
Fold it as shown in the pictures. Repeat this 4 to 5 times.
Roll it into a rectangle and trim off the sides to get clean edges. Cut it into required shapes. Use as needed.
Puff Pastry with Butter
First make the dough. Take flour in a large mixing bowl. Add in salt and powdered sugar and mix well. Now add in 100 grams of cold butter and crumble it with your hands. Now add in ice cold water slowly and make into a soft dough. Shape the dough into a rectangle and cover it with plastic wrap. Place it in a steel plate and put in the fridge for 30 mins.
Now take the 300 gram of cold butter and place it over a plastic wrap. Put another plastic wrap over the top of the butter and use a rolling pin to bash the butter into a little thin rectangle.
Spread a plastic wrap and place the dough over it. Cover with another plastic wrap and roll it into thin sheets. Now fold them from both ends and invert them and roll it again into thin rectangle. Fold them from both ends. Cover this with plastic wrap and put them into fridge for 30 mins. (REFER IMAGE FOR UNDERSTANDING)
Now repeat the step 3 for 3 more times. So you are totally doing it for 4 times. Each time you are doing it for 2 times. So totally you are doing it for 8 times. Each time you have to put in the fridge for 30 mins.
Now take the dough out of fridge. Roll it into a thin rectangle sheet. Cut it into the squares of your liking.
Place the dough squares in fridge for about 1 hour or 30 mins in freezer. Now you can use it to make any puffs you like.
Video
Notes
The first thing you should remember is always keep the dough cold while making the entire process. If you feel like the dough and butter is getting warm, put that in fridge till it gets firm and cold.
Make sure the puff sheet is cold before putting it in the oven. This will make it rise better and make it flaky.
Ensure you do the folding and rolling at least 4 to 5 times to create the layers and flaky texture.
Use good quality butter and shortening for making puff pastry.
Storage
Puff pastry dough can be stored in fridge for at least 3 to 4 days wrapped in plastic wrap.Puff Pastry Baking TemperatureOnce the puff pastry is made. Roll it into rectangle. Cut it into squares. Fill with your favorite filling, fold it and brush with an egg wash. Now Bake at 220 degree C for 20 to 25 mins.