How to Make Rough Puff Pastry (Foolproof Method)

Making rough puff pastry is easier than it sounds and tastes way better than store-bought. In this post, I’ll walk you through a foolproof method for how to make rough puff pastry that tastes delicious.

I use this recipe to make my Indian Chicken Curry Puffs, but the ratio can easily be adjusted to meet the needs of whatever you are baking.

Table of Contents:

• Why you should make homemade pastry dough
• What is rough puff pastry?
• Pastry terminology
• Things to know before you make rough puff pastry
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Recipe

Why You Should Make Homemade Pastry Dough

1. You control the ingredients. By making pastry at home, you know what goes into the dough. This recipe includes all-purpose flour, butter, salt, and water. Store-bought pastry typically contains palm and soybean oil and monocalcium phosphate (a synthetic rising agent and preservative).
2. Make in bulk. Pastry dough stores well in the freezer so you can make a double or triple batch and easily have it ready for your next bake.

What is Rough Puff Pastry?

Rough puff, or flaky, pastry is a simple method of creating those buttery pastry layers we love in puff pastry. It involves cubed butter instead of sheets of butter and cuts the prep time generally in half, while still getting the flaky layers.

If you’re new to pastry and want to learn more, I’ve created this ultimate guide to pastry that walks through what each type of pastry is, how it’s made, and when to use it.

Pastry Terminology

Making pastry can have a lot of new terms if this is your first time. Here’s a helpful little glossary so there’s no confusion.

Turn: Each time you roll out, turn, and fold the pastry is called one “turn”.

Book fold: A way of folding the pastry dough so you get the most layers in one turn. Roll out the dough into a rectangle, take one end, and fold it 1/3 of the way to the middle. Do the same with the other edge. Then fold the dough in half, to look like a book.

Lamination: The process of rolling and folding the dough over and over again to create layers of dough and butter.

Things to Know Before You Make Ruff Puff Pastry

Keep all ingredients cold at all times. This is crucial or you will not get the layers you’re expecting. Use ice cold water. Keep your butter in the fridge until it’s time to use it. Put your bowl of flour in the fridge for 10 minutes before combining the butter. It seems like overkill, but if your butter starts to melt during the process, you will not get the flaky layers.

Weigh your ingredients. I highly recommend using a scale and weighing out your ingredients. It will give you the most accurate measurement so that your pastry texture is light and not tough.

Keep surface, equipment, and hands floured. Everything we do is to keep the butter from melting. When rolling out your dough, make sure your surface is lightly floured to prevent sticking.

Try to touch the dough as little as possible. By overworking the dough, we remove the light and airiness from the dough. Plus, our hands are warm and by overworking the dough we can unintentionally melt the butter in the process.

The dough will be smoother after every turn. When you first start, the inclination is to roll the dough until it is smooth on the first roll. It will get softer as you go, so for your first “turn” simply roll it out enough to be able to fold the dough and then place it into the fridge.

How to Make Rough Puff Pastry – Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Prepare your ingredients.

Grab all-purpose flour, butter, salt, and icy cold water. The ratio of ingredients is 1:1 flour to butter in terms of weight. Use a little over half the amount of water in mL compared to the flour and butter. For example, this recipe uses 225g of butter and 125 mL of water.

As mentioned earlier, keep your ingredients cold. Weigh out the flour first and place the bowl of flour in the fridge while you’re getting out the other ingredients. Put ice cubes in your water and place it in the fridge. Cube butter into pea-sized pieces.

Step 2: Combine ingredients and first turn.

In your bowl with the flour, add the cubed butter and salt. With a knife or fork, mix together, coating the butter cubes with flour. Add the icy water a little at a time. Bring the dough together with your hands (it’s okay if it’s a little dry, it will come together when you roll it). You should still see large pieces of butter in the dough.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and press it into a rectangle. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes

Step 3: Turning and folding the pastry dough.

Remove the dough from the freezer, unwrap it, and place on a lightly floured surface. Flour your rolling pin and hands. Roll the dough out into an 8×10 rectangle (doesn’t have to be exact). Pressing a dough scraper along the edges can help keep the dough keep its shape. Using the book fold method, fold the dough over itself. Wrap in plastic wrap and stick into the freezer for 10 minutes. Repeat this process 2 more times.

Step 4: Storing or using your dough

If you use the rough puff pastry that day, place the dough in the refrigerator after your last turn. It will be ready to use when needed. If you are making ahead, double-wrap your dough with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer until ready to use. It will keep for up to 1 month.