Classic French Puff Pastry Recipe

Because I went to French Pastry school so you don't have too...

It’s been a while since I tackled the flaky pastries of French pastry school past, so this year we’re going to tackle some classic pastries and techniques.

This is a recipe and step by step walkthrough of how to make a classic puff pastry. This super buttery dough is a basis to many classic French desserts such as mille feuille, palmiers, turnovers/hand pies, and galettes (my personal favorite). These techniques are also used to make

A completely free version of the recipe can be found on my website. More detailed instructions below!

Traditional French Puff Pastry

Ingredients

• 285 g flour (2 1/4 cup)

• 140 g water (2/3 cup cold water)

• 1/4 tsp vinegar (optional)

• 1 tsp salt

• 227 g butter (2 sticks)

Notes on ingredients:

• Vinegar helps prevent the dough from oxidizing in the fridge and turning gray in color. The flavor of the final product won’t be

• Butter is a star ingredient (because there are so few), so I recommend trying to find a high quality European style butter which will have a richer flavor than traditional butter. European style butter also has a higher fat content which will.

• Salt is important for this recipe! It really helps to bring out the flavor of the dough so DO NOT FORGET IT.

Step 1: The dough (détrempe)

Unlike other flaky pastry doughs, we aren’t concerned about overworking at this stage. We want to develop and activate the gluten in the flour so that way it has enough structure to hold all the butter once baked.

1. Combine flour, water, vinegar, and salt in a bowl or stand mixer until a tight dough forms.

   1. I recommend using a stand mixer as the dough is quite firm, although you can also replace you’re arm workout with the by hand method.

2. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least twenty minutes.

   1. After resting the dough will become much softer since the gluten has had a chance to rest

Step 2: The butter block