Best Quick Puff Pastry Recipes

QUICK PUFF PASTRY APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Combine apples, 3/4 cup sugar, raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon in a large bowl for the filling.
• Dust a flat work surface lightly with flour. Unroll puff pastry and sprinkle lightly with flour. Roll out slightly and mark into 3 equal sections. Spoon filling into the central section then fold over the section on the left and brush with egg. Fold the right section on top, just like a letter. Make shallow diagonal cuts in the top layer of the apple strudel. Brush with egg and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until apple studel is puffed up and golden, 25 to 30 minutes.

QUICK AND EASY PERFECT PUFF PASTRY SQUARES WITH DULCE DE LECHE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll puff pastry over a floured surface; cut into 1.5-inch squares. Place on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden and crispy, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Transfer baked squares to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 5 minutes. Slice each square in half.
• Spread 2 tablespoons dulce de leche on half of the puff pastry squares; top with the other half of puff pastry square. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

FOOD PROCESSOR QUICK PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Cut 1 cup (2 sticks) butter into 1/4-inch cubes. Place in an even layer on a plate and transfer to refrigerator to chill.
• Place flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Cut remaining 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter into thin slices and add to food processor; pulse to combine. Add 1 cup chilled butter; pulse 3 times, 1 second each pulse. Add half of the water and pulse once; add remaining water and pulse twice. Dough will not form a ball.
• Remove blade from processor by lifting up with the handle. Scrape dough from bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Lightly flour dough and, using your hands, squeeze and shape dough into a cylinder. Press down to flatten into a rectangle.
• Starting at the narrow end furthest away from you, use a rolling pin to press the dough firmly in parallel strokes close to one another. If there are sticky pieces of butter on the surface, cover with a large pinch of flour and press with the rolling pin to combine. Clean off the rolling pin as you go to make sure nothing sticks to the dough. Continue pressing with the rolling pin, working towards the narrow end closest to you.
• Roll dough into a 10-by 20-inch rectangle. Fold the 10-inch ends over the middle (like a letter) to make three layers. Position one of the (about) 6-inch ends to face you and roll up dough like a jelly roll. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface, seam-side down. Sprinkle top of dough lightly with flour and press down using your hand to form a rectangle.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days before using.

"BLITZ" - (QUICK METHOD) HOMEMADE PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• 1. Place the all purpose flour in a 2 qt. mixing bowl and sift the cake flour over it. Thoroughly combine the flours either by stirring with a spoon or whisking.
• 2. Slice 1 ounce of the butter into thin pieces and add it to the bowl. Rub in the butter by hand, squeezing and tossing in the butter until no visible pieces remain.
• 3. Cut the remaining butter into 1/2 inch cubes. Add the butter cubes to the flour mixture and toss with a rubber spatula just enough to separate and distribute the butter. DO NOT RUB THIS BUTTER INTO THE FLOUR (you want these butter cubes visible).
• 4. Dissolve the salt in the water. Make a well in the flour & butter mixture and add the water. Using a rubber spatula or your fingers gently draw the flour into the water until all flour is incorporated and the dough is evenly moistened. If needed, add drops of additional water to make sure it is completely moistened. Press and squeeze the dough in the bowl to form a rough ball shape.
• 5. To turn the dough, first lightly flour the table or surface that you will be working on as well as the dough. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and using the palm of your hand, press down on the dough 3 or 4 times to shape it into a rough rectangle.
• 6. Press and pound the dough with a rolling pin to form an even rectangle that's about 1/2 inch thick. Roll the dough back and forth along its length once or twice until it is an even rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. At this stage, I found that pieces of the butter started to stick to the work surface. If the dough does start to stick, loosen it with a long spatula or dough scraper. Then clean off the surface to minimize any further sticking.
• 7. You should now have an even rectangle. Fold both ends of the dough in towards the center, then fold them in toward the center again to make 4 layers. This is called the double book fold. Position the dough so that the "spine" is on the left.
• 8. Lightly flour the work surface and the dough and repeat the pressing as before (Step 6). Roll the dough along its length as before, then roll it several times along its width to form a rectangle, approximately 6" x 18". Fold the dough into the double book fold just like before (Step 7). Repeat this whole process once more so that the dough ends up having 3 double turns.
• 9. Wrap the dough well in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour before using. * This dough may be refrigerated for about 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost frozen dough in the refrigerator overnight before using it. NOTE: It's not necessary to work with the entire block of dough when you begin to make pastries out of it. Cut the block into thirds or quarters and work with one portion at a time, while keeping the rest chilled until you're ready to use it.
• 10. HERE'S A PICTURE OF A FEW OF THE DESSERT PASTRIES THAT I'VE MADE USING PUFF PASTRY. Clockwise from the top: 1) Pinwheel (with raspberry jam center) 2) Vol-au-vent (round shaped filled with pastry cream & fresh sliced strawberries) 3) Butterfly (with cinnamon sugar) 4) Feuilletee (diamond shaped filled with pastry cream)

QUICK PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• 1. Sift together the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment.
• 2. Add chilled, diced butter and pulse three to five times, until the butter pieces are about the size of lima beans. Add water to the mixture and pulse again about three times. Invert the crumbly mass onto a lightly floured work surface.
• 3. Using a rolling pin and bench scraper, shape the mass into a long rectangle. Use the bench scraper and carefully flip one third of the rectangle toward the center. Then, flip the other end to the center, like folding a business letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees.
• 4. Reshape and roll the dough into a rectangle. Repeat the folding and rotating process three more times for a total of four turns. If the dough becomes soft or sticky during this process, immediately refrigerate until firm.
• 5. After four turns, wrap the dough in plastic wrap. With your finger, make four indentations in the dough - one for each time the dough has been turned. This is a reference point for how many times the dough has been turned. Refrigerate the dough at least 45 minutes or until firm.
• 6. After the dough has been refrigerated for 45 minutes, unwrap it and discard the plastic. Keep your work surface and rolling pin well floured. Press down on each of the four sides of dough to seal its shape.
• 7. Start with the rolling pin at the center. Roll away from you. Return to the center and roll toward you. Repeat the folding and rotating process of the dough two more times for a total a total of six times.
• 8. After the sixth turn, wrap the finished dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate to make sure it is well-chilled before baking. Quick Puff Pastry keeps refrigerated up to three days or frozen for several months.

QUICK PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Mix flour and salt in a large, chilled stainless-steel bowl. Cut the butter into very thin pieces. Using a pastry blender, or working with your fingertips, cut butter into the flour until the butter is in small lumps, about 1/2 inch in diameter. (A food processor will not work for this pastry because it cuts the butter too finely.)
• Stir in the water, a little at a time, pressing the dough together. Turn dough out onto a well-floured board and roll it into a rough rectangle. The dough will be very crumbly. Fold into thirds and rotate it a quarter turn to the right. Roll into a large rectangle and fold into thirds again. This completes the first double turn. Remove excess flour with a wide brush. Wrap dough in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• Repeat this rolling and turning process twice more, chilling well between double turns. With each turn the dough will become smoother and easier to handle. This puff pastry, like the classic version, requires 6 turns (accomplished as 3 double turns) before it is complete.
• Store the dough, wrapped well in plastic, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for future use.

QUICK PUFF PASTRY FOR FIG AND RASPBERRY CROUSTADES

Steps:

• Cut 1 cup (2 sticks) butter into 1/4-inch cubes. Place in an even layer on a plate and transfer to refrigerator to chill.
• Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut remaining 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter into thin slices and add to bowl. Rub in the butter, squeezing it with your fingertips, rubbing the butter and flour mixture between the palms of your hands and reaching down to the bottom of the bowl. Repeat process until flour and butter are evenly mixed; this should only take a couple of minutes and the mixture should remain cool and powdery. Alternatively, pulse flour, salt, and 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter in the bowl of a food processor until no visible pieces of butter remain; transfer to a large bowl.
• Add chilled butter cubes to bowl and, using a rubber spatula, fold them into flour mixture.
• Reserving 2 tablespoons of the cold water, pour remaining water into bowl. Using a spatula, fold water into flour mixture, scraping from the bottom of the bowl upward. If the mixture still has a lot of dry, unmoistened flour, add reserved water, 1 tablespoon at a time, repeating folding process.
• Scrape dough from bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Lightly flour dough and, using your hands, squeeze and shape dough into a cylinder. Press down to flatten into a rectangle.
• Starting at the narrow end furthest away from you, use a rolling pin to press the dough firmly in parallel strokes close to one another. If there are sticky pieces of butter on the surface, cover with a large pinch of flour and press with the rolling pin to combine. Clean off the rolling pin as you go to make sure nothing sticks to the dough. Continue pressing with the rolling pin, working toward the narrow end closest to you.
• Press the dough once along the width; it should now be a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Flour under and on top of the dough and roll dough away and back toward you in the length and once in the width, without rolling over the ends, to make a rectangle about 18 inches long and 8 inches wide.
• Fold the two 8-inch ends in toward the middle of the rectangle, leaving a 1-inch space in the middle. Fold the bottom up to the top to form 4 layers of dough. Turn the dough so that the folded edge, which should resemble the spine on a book, is on your left.
• Repeat rolling and folding process (steps 6, 7, and 8) two more times. Wrap dough and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, and up to 3 days, before using.

QUICK AND EASY PUFF PASTRY OR BLADERDEEG

Steps:

• Cut butter into flour until it resembles crumbs. Stir in sour cream. Turn onto a floured board and knead until it just holds together. Form into a ball, flatten slightly and wrap airtight. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Work with half of the dough at a time and keep other half in the refrigerator until ready to use. Pound the dough with a heavy rolling pin to make it pliable. Use in any recipe calling for puff pastry.