Making puff pastry at home, recipes for puff pastry pies

Puff pastry means countless layers of butter, ease of preparation, fluffiness and endless versatility. You can make cheese pie, lemon cream puffs, peach pie, cheese and spinach scones, apricot puffs and many other wonderful dishes.

In this article:

How to work with puff pastry?
How to roll out puff pastry correctly?
What's the best way to cut puff pastry?
How to glue the edges of puff pastries?
How to coat puff pastry before baking?
Why doesn't puff pastry rise?
What to make from ready-made puff pastry?

However, you should know the secrets of cooking so that baked goods made from puff pastry always turn out flaky and taste wonderful. Our tips, tricks, and frequently asked questions will help you make delicious puff pastry recipes with ease.

Puff pastries “Pigtail” with chocolate bars (RECIPE)

Secrets of making puff pastry at home

In Europe, it is believed that puff pastry was invented in the 17th century by the French, and although they hid the subtleties of the recipe, the whole world soon learned about the new culinary invention.
However, the first recipe for making puff pastry came to Russia at about the same time from Central Asia and the Volga region, so it is not known who should be considered the author of this culinary know-how. Multilayer dough is prepared from flour, eggs, water or milk, and a large amount of butter or margarine.
Puff pastry can be bought in a store, but it is best to make it yourself, since artificial additives and margarine instead of butter are often added to factory-made products. Preparing puff pastry at home takes time, but when your loved ones enjoy crispy pies, delicious pizza and Napoleon melting in your mouth, you will understand that homemade dough is much tastier and healthier.

How to roll out puff pastry

All movements are carried out only in one direction and with a uniform load on the rolling pin. Only then will the layer be smooth and complete.
First, softened butter or margarine is placed on a sheet of yeast-free dough, the edges are folded into an envelope and carefully rolled into an equilateral rectangle.
The next step is to connect the opposite sides of the layer in the center, pinch it, fold it in half with a seam and send it to a cold place for half an hour.
Then the procedure is repeated again and the semi-finished product is sent to the cold again.
At the third stage, the dough is rolled out into an even layer, folded into four and once again left in the refrigerator for half an hour. Only after all these procedures can you begin to form the baked goods and fill them with filling.

How to roll out puff pastry

Tip: Before kneading the puff pastry, all the necessary ingredients must be removed from the refrigerator and left on the kitchen counter for 1 hour. During this time, they will reach the same room temperature and the dough will turn out soft, elastic and tender.

Types of puff pastry

There are different dough recipes. For example, classic puff pastry is made only from flour, butter and salt, without eggs or milk. It can be yeasty or unleavened. Unleavened dough is more flaky, thinner and lighter - it is usually used to make sweet pies, pastries, cake layers, buns, cookies, rolls, vol-au-vents and strudel. The absence of sugar in puff pastry makes confectionery products less sugary and harmful to the figure. Interestingly, puff pastries rise in the oven due to the melting of butter, which separates the layers of baked goods from each other and prevents them from sticking together.

Yeast baked goods are less layered, but very fluffy and airy, and their taste has a slight sourness. Typically, savory pies, buns, pizzas and tongues are made from yeast dough, although it is suitable for sweet products.

The dough is kneaded not only with water or milk - there are recipes with beer, kefir, cream, sour cream or cottage cheese. You will soon see that making puff pastry is a creative and very interesting process!

Quality Ingredients

The products must be of high quality and fresh - this is one of the most important secrets of delicious puff pastry. Use only the highest grade flour and be sure to sift it to saturate it with oxygen - in this case, the baked goods will turn out very light and airy. It is very important to be careful when adding salt to the dough - the fact is that if there is not enough salt, the dough will lose its elasticity and the layers will spread out, and if you oversalt, the baked goods will not be very tasty. Some recipes contain citric acid or vinegar - they improve the quality of gluten in flour, which increases its baking properties, because flour protein swells better in an acidic environment.

Whether to use water or milk to prepare the dough is a personal decision for each housewife, but it should be remembered that with water the dough is more elastic, and with milk it is more tasty. The ideal option is to add these products to the dough in equal proportions, monitoring the temperature of the liquid - it should be cold enough, like the butter.

The fat content of the butter affects the volume of the baked goods - the higher the percentage of fat, the fluffier the pies will be. If you decide to use margarine rather than butter, take special margarine for baking; it makes the products especially fluffy and soft.

In some recipes for puff pastry pies and buns you can find eggs or yolks, which give the dough tenderness and softness. During the mixing process, strong alcohol is sometimes added to the products to enrich the taste and pleasant aroma; in this case, part of the liquid in the recipe is replaced with cognac or rum.

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All the most important things you need to know about puff pastry: how it is beneficial and how to cook it correctly! Puff pastry is a must-have product for those who cannot live without aromatic pastries. Puff pastry has many advantages: you can cook any dish from it, handling the dough is very easy and quick, it is inexpensive. Would you like something for tea? 20 minutes, and lush cookies are already on your table! Working with puff pastry is easy, but there are a few secrets that will make the process of preparing any dish even easier! We will be happy to share these secrets with you. Read and memorize.

Any puff pastry, regardless of its variety, is prepared from water, flour, butter and salt . It is kneaded in a special way, laid out in layers, which is why it got its name. All cooking technology requires a certain temperature. The more layers in the dough, the more airy it is.

Usually puff pastry is divided into yeast and yeast-free. They rise differently. For example, dough without the use of yeast rises due to water vapor. Yeast puff pastry - thanks to fermenting yeast. The elasticity, taste, volume, and smell of the dough depend on the quality of the yeast.

Yeast dough often consists of more than 100 layers. For it, take flour with good gluten properties. Preparing the dough is a very labor-intensive and expensive process. If you want to make it at home yourself, it is better to buy ready-made ones. This way you will save time, money, nerves and effort.

Yeast-free puff pastry holds the record for the number of layers. Their number can often reach up to 280 . Although it is prepared faster and easier than yeast.

To make baked goods fluffy and fragrant from yeast-free dough, the oven must be heated to 220 degrees and the dough must be kept there for no longer than 30 minutes. An ideal option if you have a modern oven with a steam humidifier.

Yeast-free dough does not spoil much longer, so you can safely store it for some time in the refrigerator or for a long time in the freezer, not forgetting to wrap it in plastic so that it does not crack and does not absorb other odors.

However, in addition to yeast and yeast-free dough, there are several other types of puff pastry , which can rarely be found on store shelves, but you can try baking from it in cafes and restaurants almost anywhere.

The first type is classic puff pastry . To prepare it, use water and flour in equal proportions. It is used to make cheese sticks, a variety of pies and cakes.

There is also curd puff pastry . To prepare it, as the name implies, cottage cheese is also used. All ingredients are mixed in equal proportions. This dough is used to make sweet cookies with filling. Cottage cheese puff pastries are sold in any bakery store.

In addition to this, there is also a creamy puff pastry. It contains cream, which is used in equal proportions to the other ingredients. This dough cooks faster than all other types.

- Any type of puff pastry is always prepared without sugar, so if you plan to make sweet pastries, do not forget to sprinkle the puff pastry with sugar or add sugar to the filling. — You need to work with the dough quickly. The dough melts very easily and quickly even at room temperature. If you set it to defrost, be sure to check the puff paste after 15-20 minutes. There is no need to use additional means and methods for defrosting (for example, keeping the dough in hot water or choosing the defrosting mode in the microwave). — The dough defrosts very easily, just remove the film from it and unfold it (if you have the dough rolled into a roll). — To make the dough airy and have a pleasant aroma, it is better to add a little strong alcoholic drink to it. — If you add a little vinegar to the dough, it will be more elastic, but it is important not to overdo it, as this will affect the taste and smell. — If you still decide to make the dough yourself, use only premium flour for it. — The water for preparing the dough must be clean and cold. — To give the baked goods a golden crust, brush them with egg, but try not to touch the sides of the products. — To prevent bubbles from forming on the baked goods during baking, make several punctures with a fork in advance on the bottom and on the surface. — To ensure baked goods rise and remain tender, do not open the oven for the first 10 minutes of baking. Cold air will prevent the dough from rising. — You only need to place baked goods in a preheated oven, otherwise the dough will simply melt and flow. — Before placing the baked goods on the baking sheet, brush it with cold water. — It is best to bake puff pastry at a temperature of at least 220 degrees. Otherwise, the dough will melt and will not be as fluffy. — When you prepare the dough, do not overdo it with flour. This applies even if you buy ready-made dough and roll it out using flour. A large amount of flour will not allow the dough to rise. - If you want to decorate your baked goods beautifully, do it after it has cooled. — If you bake with sugar, try to press it into the dough, as the sugar will spread out and burn, forming a tasteless, bitter crust. These are all the basic rules on how to make puff pastry pastries tasty, fluffy and successful. Good luck with your puff pastry dishes and a pleasant aroma in the kitchen!

Source: https://jenskiymir.com/kulinariya/vypechka-testo/4080-vse-sekrety-sloenogo-testa.html

Perfect mixing

The technology for preparing puff pastry is to beat eggs into flour and pour in liquid with salt and acid dissolved in it. If you are preparing yeast dough, then the yeast is dissolved in a small amount of warm milk, then mixed with the remaining milk, egg and salt, and only then flour is poured into the mixture. Sometimes the dough includes melted butter or vegetable oil. Some of the flour should be left for rolling with butter.

Another secret to making puff pastry is that the air temperature in the room should be about 15–17 °C, but if the kitchen is very warm, then the dough will have to be periodically placed in the refrigerator for cooling. The kneaded dough is left for half an hour on the table under a wet towel, and at this time soft butter is mixed with flour, formed into a rectangular layer and placed in the refrigerator. The dough should be quite stiff, and the butter should be dense; as a result, at the time of rolling, the dough and butter should have approximately the same consistency.

Quick puff pastry with kefir

It is advisable to prepare puff pastry with kefir according to this recipe if you are short of time, which is enough within 35-40 minutes, and you want to freeze it for future use for a later preparation time. Baking from this dough turns out airy and soft.

Ingredients for quick puff pastry with kefir:

kefir - 250 milliliters;
chicken egg - 1 piece;
table salt - a pinch;
butter or margarine - 200 grams;
wheat flour, a handful for sprinkling - 450 grams.

Preparation of quick puff pastry with kefir:

In a suitable container, mix kefir, raw egg, salt, and then add the sifted flour in parts and, stirring, form a dough mass and knead it until elastic.
Roll out the resulting dough on a floured cutting board into a rectangular layer. In the middle of its surface, evenly spread a third of the butter cut into slices, having first rolled each of them in flour. Wrap the layer with oil in the middle in an envelope, firmly pinching the edges of the joints.
Place the resulting envelope with the pinched edges down on a floured cutting surface, roll it out into a layer and evenly spread the second third of the butter into the middle so that you can fold the envelope a second time, pinch the edges and roll it out again into a layer.
For the third time, place the last part of the layers of butter rolled in flour onto the rolled out envelope. Fold it into an envelope for the last time and, pinching the edges, roll out the layer.

The final manipulation of the dough is that the resulting layer must be folded into several layers, and the last time roll it out into a not very thin layer and cut into pieces, each of which, wrapped in cling film, placed in a common container or bag for storage in the refrigerator " until required,” that is, the need to bake something from them.

Correct rolling

Roll out the dough into a square twice the size of the stick of butter, making sure the dough is thinner at the edges than in the middle. Wrap the edges of the square with an envelope and roll out the dough into a rectangle with a layer of about 1 cm, then fold it in three or four, and then put it in the refrigerator for half an hour.

Roll out the chilled dough again, fold it into 3-4 layers and put it in the refrigerator again. This procedure should be repeated at least 4 times, and preferably 5–6. The more often you roll out the dough, the more flaky it will be. Move the rolling pin away from you, very slowly and carefully, to maintain the integrity of the layer. On the website “Eating at Home!” We have collected recipes for step-by-step preparation of puff pastry with photographs and videos, where you can clearly see how to roll it out correctly so that the baked goods are multi-layered and light.

Roll out the dough

The taste and appearance of the finished baked goods depends on how you roll out the dough. The general rules are:

you need to roll out the dough in one direction, away from you;
press the rolling pin evenly so that all the dough is the same thickness;
the butter or margarine should be cold, but not frozen, so that the dough does not tear.
in most recipes you need the same amount of butter as flour: if you knead the dough with 500 grams of flour, take 500 grams of butter or special margarine.

After you have rolled out the dough, cut a slice of margarine about 2 centimeters thick and roll it between cling film into a flat cake. Place the flatbread in the center of the dough and fold it into an envelope. Start rolling out the dough in one direction. Now you can fold the dough 3 or 4 times and put it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Then you need to repeat everything - the number of layers in the baked goods depends on how many times you roll out the dough.

In order not to disturb the layers, you need to cut the finished dough with a sharp knife.

To prevent the dough from swelling with bubbles during baking, prick it with a fork. This will allow steam to escape and the surface of the dough will remain smooth.

The baking tray can be lined with baking paper, but there is no need to grease it with oil - the baked goods will come out well without it.

You only need to brush the puff pastry with yolk on top. If you grease the sides of the baked goods, they will not rise.

Puff pastry is baked at 200-220 degrees. If the temperature is too low, the fat will render out and the dough will not rise, and the layers will be invisible.

Secrets of cutting and baking puff pastry

Cut the dough only with a sharp knife or sharp-edged cutters. If the edges are wrinkled on the cuts, the dough will not rise well and the products will not turn out fluffy. The same thing will happen if you smear not only the top of the baked goods with yolk, but also its side surfaces, so it’s better not to touch the sides of the product at all. Puff pastry is very pleasant to work with because it is incredibly flexible and you can sculpt funny figures and graceful roses from it.

Before baking, the baking tray should be rinsed with cold water and covered with baking paper, without greasing it with oil, because puff pastry contains a sufficient amount of fat, which is enough to prevent the products from sticking. Place the buns and cookies at some distance from each other, as they will increase in size during baking. If you are making a large puff pastry pie, pierce it with a knife or fork in several places before baking to allow steam to escape. This is necessary to obtain an even and smooth surface of the cake, otherwise it will begin to bubble and will not look very aesthetically pleasing.

Bake puff pastries at a temperature of 220–250 °C. At a lower temperature, the baked goods will be dry and not very flaky, and in a too hot oven they will quickly brown, remaining raw inside. It is important not to shake the pan or slam the oven door, otherwise the puff pastries will settle and some layers will be soggy. If you want fluffy baked goods, do not open the oven for the first 7 minutes.

How to glue the edges of puff pastries?

You can securely seal the filling and join the edges of the puff pastry if you first coat the sides of the product with the egg mixture using a special brush, and then press the edges with your fingers.

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An even better idea is to use a fork: a metal fork will keep the dough cold and the tines will seal the edges of the dough well.

Recipe for puff pastry without yeast

According to this recipe, the dough is very flaky, and the baked goods are tender, airy and crispy. So, mix 1 egg, 180 ml of water, 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice, 1 tbsp. l. vodka and ½ tsp. salt, and pour vodka only after water so that the egg does not curdle. Gradually add 3 cups of flour sifted 2-3 times, kneading a stiff dough that should not stick to your hands. Wrap the dough in cling film and place it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours along with the rolling pin, which should also cool.

After 3 hours, roll out the dough into a rectangular layer 5 mm thick, spread a layer of soft butter on two-thirds of the rectangle so that it does not reach the edges of the dough by about 1 cm.

Cover the dough with butter with the empty part of the rectangle, while a third of the layer with butter will remain open, and it should cover the folded layer. Roll out the dough, fold it again into 3 layers and leave in the refrigerator for 40 minutes with a rolling pin. Repeat the rolling process 3 more times.

Puff pastry recipe

You will have to work a little longer with yeast dough, but you also need to roll it out less, because it is not very layered. Dissolve 80 g of sugar in half a glass of milk, add 1 tsp. salt and 500 g flour. Dissolve 11 g of pressed yeast in half a glass of warm milk, pour it into the milk-flour mixture, add 100 g of softened butter and knead into a stiff dough.

Leave the dough in cling film in the refrigerator for 4 hours with a rolling pin, during which time it will double in volume. Roll out the dough into a rectangular layer, place 250 g of butter on it and proceed in the same way as described in the previous recipe. In this case, 3 cycles of rolling and freezing will be sufficient.

Puff pastry recipe in 10 minutes

This recipe is for those who don’t have the patience for the long process of preparing classic puff pastry, but really want puff pastries faster. Despite the speed and simplicity of cooking and, it would seem, all the techniques for making ordinary puff pastry are trampled upon, the baked goods turn out flaky, crispy and impeccably tasty.

At the same time, you can store such dough, wrapped in cling film, for immediate baking in the refrigerator, and for a longer period - in the freezer. Its important advantage is the non-strict use of these ingredients. For example, from the range: kefir, yogurt, sour cream - you can choose what is at hand. From fats, margarine, butter, lard, and even a combination of margarine and butter are suitable.

The dough according to this recipe is soft and elastic, easy to roll out. From the volume of such a unique puff pastry, within the specified ingredients, you will get puff tongues with a beautiful caramel crust on four baking sheets. You can make an original chicken from it. We have no doubt that this original and quick dough will be included in your top favorite recipes at home.

Ingredients for puff pastry in 10 minutes:

wheat flour - 350 grams;
margarine - 200 grams;
sour cream (kefir, yogurt) - 100 milliliters;
fresh chicken egg yolk - 1 piece;
table salt - 1 pinch.

Making puff pastry in 10 minutes

Margarine at room temperature, or 100 grams of margarine and butter, in a bowl with flour, dividing into fragments and grinding them with flour, turn them into crumbs with your hands.

Pour sour cream, kefir, yogurt - your choice - and yolk into the resulting buttery-flour crumbs and, stirring evenly, knead into a soft and elastic dough. If it turns out to be hard, add a little sour cream or kefir. To avoid sticking to your hands, add flour little by little, keeping in mind that it will become harder when it sits in the refrigerator. It is enough to leave the finished dough in the refrigerator in cling film for half an hour.

Strawberry Layer Pie

The puff pastry recipes above are suitable for making strawberry pies, and this is especially true now as strawberry season begins. Try making such a fragrant, tender and crispy pie for your family, and you will see how simple and easy it is.

Prepare 400–500 g of puff pastry without yeast, roll it out to a size slightly larger than a baking sheet and grease the baking sheet with vegetable oil. Next, wrap the dough on a rolling pin, and then unwind it on a baking sheet so that it does not tear. Flatten the dough, form sides, pierce it in several places and place in the oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Sprinkle the cake with starch (3 tbsp), place 600 g of strawberries on it, lightly sprinkle with sugar. Starch is needed so that the berry juice does not soak the dough: it must remain crispy and dry. The top layer of the pie can be decorated with strips of dough, laid out crosswise in the form of a grid - such a pie holds its shape better and is always baked well. Place the pie in the oven and bake over low heat until the top layer of dough is ready, and cut the pie when it has cooled.

There is another way to make strawberry pie. Prepare approximately 400 g of puff pastry without yeast, divide it into 2 parts and roll out 2 sheets. Place the first sheet on a baking sheet, place strawberries mixed with cottage cheese and sugar on it, cover with a second layer of dough, seal the edges, make punctures in several places and place in the oven for half an hour, preheated to 180 °C.

Puff pastry can be frozen for future use and stored in the refrigerator, and then defrosted and used for baking as needed. Considering the complexity of preparing the dough, this is an excellent solution for a busy housewife who is ready to pamper her household with desserts every day. And in order not to think for a long time about what to cook, take a look at the website “Eating at Home!” — here are recipes for puff pastry pies with photographs and detailed instructions. Master the secrets of puff pastry and share unusual recipes with us!

Video: how to make yeast puff pastry

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The technology for making homemade puff pastry is quite complex and requires a lot of effort and a lot of free time. Therefore, many modern housewives choose a simpler option and knead puff pastry based on yeast. It turns out no less fluffy, tender and crispy, but it is made much faster and easier. We have selected for you the most successful recipes with photos, following which you will easily learn how to prepare fluffy and melting homemade cakes and will regularly pamper your family and friends with delicious delicacies.

What is the difference between yeast puff pastry and yeast-free dough?

Classic puff pastry contains a large amount of butter or margarine. To achieve a delicate structure and numerous thin layers, you have to repeatedly roll out the dough mass, which usually takes a lot of time and physical effort.

Puff pastry is made from a sweet dough made from dry or raw yeast. It layers much less (from 20 to 100 layers), but is baked more fluently and has a light, unobtrusive sourness and a bright, memorable aroma.

For those who do not know at what temperature to bake puff pastry, here is a useful reminder:

Small products made from yeast-free puff pastry are kept in the oven, preheated to 210-250 °C for 20 minutes to half an hour. Large baked goods require the same temperature, but slightly longer - from 30 to 60 minutes.
Professional confectioners, revealing the secrets of preparing delicious, airy and fluffy puff pastry, recommend cooking cookies and portioned puff pastries at a temperature of 240-260°C for 10 to 20 minutes, and for rolls and cakes weighing about a kilogram, setting the heating level to approximately 230-250° C and bake the products for 20-25 minutes.

Yeast-free puff pastry