Puff pastry is quite different to other pastries, such as delicate filo and crumbly shortcrust, thanks to the way it is made. Puff pastry uses a process called lamination which involves the pastry being repeatedly folded with butter in many layers, and it is this that gives it its distinctive layered rise and pillowness when baked. 

Puff pastry is made by mixing butter and cold water or milk into flour and salt, rubbing it together until it forms flakes. This mixture then is brought together into a ball and shaped into a block called a détrempe which is chilled. The pastry block is then rolled out and folded over a flattened rectangle of butter, encasing it completely. This is then is rolled and folded again twice before chilling, followed by two more fold and rolls. 

Puff pastry should be kept chilled until you need it. Tightly wrapped in clingfilm it can keep in the fridge for up to three days. But if chilled for more than three hours you will need to leave it to come to room temperature for about 5 minutes before attempting to roll it out. You can also freeze wrapped puff pastry for up to six months. But be sure to defrost it in the fridge, rather than at room temperature, in order to stop the butter layers from melting.

Make sure you don’t overwork the dough, as this will activate the gluten in the flour and make it tough. And always use a long, sharp knife to cut down through the pastry in one downwards movement. Using a serrated knife or dragging a knife through the pastry will cause it to tear and it will not rise properly.
For more top tips on how to handle and cook your puff pastry check out our guide.

You can use a food processor to bring the initial dough together. Using a blade to whizz your flour, butter, salt and water or milk until the dough just starts to clump together. Then stop whizzing, remove from the processor and press into a rectangular block. Wrap and chill as above, then proceed with the process above from step 2 onwards.

Rough puff is a kind of cheat’s version of puff pastry that is quicker and less involved to make, hence the name. Instead of a single layer of folded butter it uses cold diced or grated butter, or leaves the extra butter out completely, before folding and rolling fewer times than with classic puff. Try Galton Blackiston’s recipe for rough puff cased filled with honeyed figs and ice cream.

Puff pastry makes a great base or shell for canapes such as vol-au-vents – serve these retro-cool bites at your next gathering with Helen Graves’ recipe.
It is, of course, also classically used for sausage rolls and Beef Wellington, as well as a topping for pies such as Food Urchin’s. It forms an easy base for tarts, such as classic French pithiviers and pissaladieres, as with Pierre Koffmans’s version. The most famous puff pastry dessert is probably tarte tatin – for a sensational spin on the traditional recipe try chef Woongchul Park’s daikon version, with radishes cooked until soft and buttery with a barley glaze.

Gently roll any leftover pastry into a ball and wrap in clingfilm and chill for 1-2 days or freeze for up to 6 months. You can roll this out (defrost if frozen following the advice above) and cut into strips to make cheese twists, or spread with mincemeat roll and slice to make these delicious palmiers by Adam Byatt.