At Long Last - An Easy Puff Pastry Recipe

This recipe by French Cooking Academy is by far the easiest puff pastry recipe you will find anywhere.  It takes less than an hour to be ready and can be used in all sorts of savoury puff pastry recipes.  Once you try it you will never buy pre-made puff pastry again. 

Lisa, one of our Au Bon Goût Boutique managers, used this recipe when making a creamy chicken vol au vent recipe for a number of us that had us all going back for seconds.  We'll be sure and add her comments and images later!

But you can bake any number of dishes using this recipe with Pillivuyt tarts and baking dishes!

INGREDIENTS  

  • 75 ml / 2.53 fl oz water 
  • 250 grams / 0.55 pound all purpose flour. 
  • 200 grams / 8.8 oz plain unsalted butter – has to have at least 82% fat content. 
  • A pinch of salt. 

For the dough folding:  3 turns is the norm – do more if you like. 

Dimensions for the folding of the dough: a rectangle of 45cm / 17.7 inches long by 15cm / 5.9 inches wide. 

Lisa, our store manager, using this French Cooking Academy's recipe recently made this puff pastry, and here is her image of the dough while resting before baking:

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Cut the butter into small cubes and ensure it is kept cold.   

  • Sieve the flour into a suitably sized bowl and add the salt to it. 
  • Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and then rub butter into the flour until it is well incorporated, but do not do it to the extent that it resembles bread crumbs – it should be roughly incorporated so that the butter is in flakes and little balls. 

  • Add a little water bit by bit to the mixture and blend it in by hand until a ball of dough is formed that does not stick to the bowl (depending on the flour used, a little more water than the quantity set out in the ingredients description may be required). 

  • Form the dough into a rectangular shape, wrap it in cling wrap and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes or longer. 

  • Dust the work bench lightly with flour. 

  • Roll out the rectangle of flour lengthwise until it measures 45cm (18 inches) by 15cm (6 inches). (Use a tape measure or ruler). 
  • Brush off any excess flour and fold 15cm of the dough back towards yourself and then fold the remaining 15cm over the top so that the piece of dough will be 15cm square. 

  • Flatten the parcel a little by hand and then turn it 90 degrees (a quarter turn).
     
  • Again roll the parcel out (if necessary, dusting with flour) until the parcel is 45cm by 15cm. (in the process it may be necessary to push in the sides of the strip of dough so as  to maintain the 15cm width). 

  • Again, brush off any excess flour, fold 1/3 of the dough back towards yourself and fold the remaining 1/3 over the top to form a 15cm square. 

  • Again flatten the parcel a little, lightly dust with flour and turn it 90 degrees, ensuring that the direction of the turn is the same as before, and roll out to a 45cm by 15cm rectangle. 
  • Fold as before into a parcel one last time. 

  • The pastry should then be rested in the fridge for 15 minutes and is then ready to be rolled out into any desired shape. 
Here is Lisa's finished product, made into chicken shapes...they "rose to the occasion..."  

This were our table settings, both indoors and later outdoors using Garnier-Thiebaut's Eugenie Jaune French Jacquard Tablecloth and Napkins...

We recommend this tutorial video by French Cooking Academy demonstrating this recipe.  Bon Appétit!