Fast French Puff Pastry
A quick method for making flaky puff pastry at home — rough-cut butter chunks folded into flour with ice water using four turns, yielding a laminated dough in under 2 hours.
Ingredients
- 3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup plain bleached cake flour
- 6 0.5 stick chilled unsalted butter
- 1 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 cup ice water
Instructions
- 1
Place flours in mixing bowl. Rapidly cut chilled butter into quarters lengthwise, then into 1/2-inch dice. Add to flour with salt. Blend rapidly — butter should be in lumps the size of large lima beans.
- 2
Blend in ice water, mixing just enough so dough masses together but butter pieces remain about the same size.
- 3
Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Pat, push, and roll into a 12x18-inch rectangle. It will look messy. Fold into thirds like a business letter (1st turn). Repeat to make 4 turns total, lightly flouring between each.
- 4
Make 4 depressions with fingers to mark 4 turns. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 40 minutes to firm the butter.
- 5
Give dough 2 more turns. Rest another 30 minutes if dough seems rubbery. Dough is now ready for forming and baking.