Fast and Easy Puff Pastry

This recipe is so easy to make that I highly recommend it over either the lesser quality of a Pepridge Farm frozen puff pastry (which has the annoying fold to deal with as well), or spending the earth for a butter-based version of higher quality.  This is inexpensive and delicious, as well as easy to make. One morning I made 12 batched--it is a bit of a mess to assemble, so make as much as you think you will need for several months and freeze.

I reccommend watching Alton Brown's tutorial on 'Good Eats' about working with puff pastry, because it is easy to follo, accessible to the less experienced cook, and very helpful.

Here is the puff pastry recipe (from the King Arthur web site):

2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour


1/2 teaspoon salt*

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup cold unsalted butter,* cut in pats

1/2 cup sour cream

*If you use salted butter, reduce the amount of salt to 1/4 teaspoon


1) Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

2) Add the butter, working it in to make a coarse/crumbly mixture. Leave most of the butter in large, pea-sized pieces.

3) Stir in the sour cream; the dough won't be cohesive. Turn it out onto a floured work surface, and bring it together with a few quick kneads.

4) Pat the dough into a rough log, and roll it into an 8" x 10" rectangle.

5) Dust both sides of the dough with flour, and starting with a shorter end, fold it in three like a business letter.

6) Flip the dough over, give it a 90° turn on your work surface, and roll it into an 8" x 10" rectangle. Fold it in three again.

7) Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before using. To make pastry, roll into desired size.
8) Freeze dough for prolonged storage, up to 2 months. To use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight.