25 Savory Puff Pastry Recipes You Haven’t Tried Before (2024)

FAQs

25 Savory Puff Pastry Recipes You Haven’t Tried Before? ›

Heat is the enemy of Puff Pastry—it handles best when cold. So avoid working with it on hot, humid days, in a stifling hot kitchen or next to your oven.

Heat is the enemy of Puff Pastry—it handles best when cold. So avoid working with it on hot, humid days, in a stifling hot kitchen or next to your oven.

Puff pastry does need some gluten development but, because of the amount of rolling out that will happen during lamination, it is very easy to overwork a dough which makes it incredibly hard to use and can cause a lot of shrinkage.

Flaky pastry, also known as quick pastry, blitz pastry or rough puff, is a light and thin unleavened pastry that is similar to, but distinct from, puff pastry. It is often called quick pastry or blitz pastry in reference to the short time its preparation requires.

If you're a daredevil that made their own puff pastry, first, good for you; second, you can store homemade, unbaked puff pastry wrapped tightly in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to three days.

The trick is to work large pieces of cold butter into dry ingredients and hydrate it all with ice cold water (as if you were making pie crust). Sometimes bakers grate butter into the mix or use a food processor. There's lots of ways to make rough puff pastry.

About a third of puff and shortcrust pastry is fat, and if it's made with butter or palm oil, it contains more saturated fat than if it's made with unsaturated fats such as sunflower spread. These are our most commonly used pastries, but it's worth trying to keep them for a treat. Not all pastry is high in fat.

The terms full, three-quarter and half are used when describing the amount of fat in the pastry. Full has equal weight of fat and flour, three-quarter has three-quarters of the weight of fat to flour, and half has half the weight of fat to flour. More fat makes the pastry softer to eat but reduces its height.

Always preheat your oven for a minimum of 15-20 minutes before baking, because Puff Pastry depends on even heat to rise and puff. Place pastries 1 inch apart. If you want a flaky thin and crispy pastry that's not very puffy, prick the unbaked Puff Pastry all over with a fork, which lets steam escape while baking.

Puff pastry is mainly made by 3 important ingredients, flour, water, and fat (butter or oil). Unfortunately, I learned that butter and oil, consist of 100% fat. I've successfully created puff pastry using oil in a pan before. It works!

What temperature do you bake puff pastry at? ›

About halfway through baking, peek into the oven to see how the pastry is baking. Always bake Puff Pastry Shells in a preheated 425° F oven. Bake Puff Pastry Cups in a preheated 400° F oven for 20 minutes. Do not bake either Shells or Cups in a microwave or toaster oven.

You can cut it into desired shapes, then store in the fridge until you're ready for the next step. Puff Pastry works best when cold. So chill your tools-knife, pastry/pizza cutter, cookie cutters, even pastry board and baking pans in the fridge while thawing your pastry.

You can brush an egg-wash glaze (1 egg plus 1 tsp. water) over the Puff Pastry to create a rich, golden sheen when baked. Use an egg wash to help seal filled pastries and connect Puff Pastry pieces: mix 1 egg plus 1 tsp. water, brush between layers, then pinch or press together.

When cutting Puff Pastry, the sharper the knife or pastry cutter, the better. A dull edge can cement layers together and prevent pastry from rising. Always cut Puff Pastry straight down, never on an angle, to prevent layers from sticking together and inhibiting the rise. Cut up and down, and don't drag the knife.

If the dough is overworked, it can become tough and difficult to roll out. This can happen if the dough is kneaded too much or if too much flour is added during the rolling process. Shortcrust pastry can shrink during baking if it's not properly chilled beforehand or if it's rolled too thin.

Pastry being soggy in the middle is a result of the pastry being undercooked. Don't place the pastry on too high a shelf in the oven. One way to prevent soggy bottom pastry is to blind bake the pastry – This means partially or completely bake the pastry before adding the filling. Also, avoid over-filling your pastry.