Quick light puff pastry. Puff pastry recipe

Puff pastry is well known to every housewife. Light and airy, crumbly and tender, this dough allows you to easily prepare hundreds delicious dishes. Cakes and pies, buns and croissants, charming puff pastry products never get boring and can please both unpretentious students and sophisticated gourmets. But at the same time, puff pastry can easily be called the most difficult to prepare. Of course, you can always take the path of least resistance and buy ready-made dough in the store; fortunately, given our abundance today, the choice is very large. And still no store-bought dough will never be able to compare in taste with real homemade puff pastry, carefully prepared with your own hands. And even more so, you should not be afraid of the hassle associated with preparing our dough, because these efforts are extremely pleasant, and the smell of fresh baked goods and the satisfied faces of your loved ones will definitely repay any expenditure of time and effort associated with preparing puff pastry and delicious homemade products from it. Today “Culinary Eden” invites you to learn and remember with us how to prepare puff pastry.

The enormous popularity of puff pastry can be judged by the innumerable variety of recipes for its preparation. To prepare the simplest puff pastry, you only need flour, water, butter, and a pinch of salt. Nevertheless, products made from such simple test, turn out very tasty, light and airy. But there is also lush yeast and tender curd puff pastry, kefir pleasing with a slight sourness and spicy puff pastry mixed with orange juice. Even the cooking technology differs various types puff pastry There is a German method of preparation, when the butter is wrapped in dough before rolling, and a slightly rarer French method today, in which the dough is wrapped in butter mixed with a small amount of flour.

Despite the fact that preparing puff pastry seems to many housewives to be an unnecessarily complicated and troublesome task, requiring excessive time and effort, knowledge of some secrets and subtleties of preparation can significantly simplify the task.

Today the Culinary Eden website has collected and recorded for you the most important tips and cooking secrets that will definitely help even the most inexperienced housewives and will always tell you how to prepare puff pastry.

1. The most important step in preparing to make puff pastry is choosing flour. The best flour Wheat flour is rightfully considered for our dough premium. Only from such flour, maximally purified from impurities, can truly tasty and high-quality puff pastry be obtained. When buying flour, try not to save money and buy the product as much as possible. good quality from those presented. The whole point is that poorly refined, wet, low-quality flour will give you a weak, non-plastic dough when kneading, the layers of which will easily tear when rolled out, and finished product It will be dry and may burn easily. It’s not difficult to check the quality of purchased flour at home. Just dampen a small pinch of flour with water. Good, high-quality flour will retain its white, while a low-quality product will change its color. A reddish tint of flour will tell you about poor bran removal, and a blue tint of flour will tell you about unripe grains and foreign plant impurities.

2. The main secret to making puff pastry is to keep the temperature of the room and tools cool, or keep the tools and dough constantly cool. Be sure to cool the rolling board and rolling pin in the refrigerator, and place a few luda cubes in the water intended for kneading the dough. Now in stores you can find wonderful rolling pins that are hollow from the inside and can be filled with cold water with ice, which will save you from having to cool such a rolling pin once again. Don’t forget that after rolling out each layer of your dough, the dough layer must be put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This will save you from the worst of times when overheated oil starts to spread and tear apart the layers of your dough.

3. Are all instruments cooled and ready? Let's get started making our first puff pastry! First, knead the dough ball. To do this, mix 200 gr. flour, 100 ml. water and a pinch of salt. Knead the dough thoroughly, wrap it in cling film and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a food processor fitted with the standard blade attachment, combine 200 grams. good butter and 50 gr. flour. If you don't have a food processor yet, you can mix the butter and flour by hand. But in this case, do not forget to wear gloves and regularly wet your hands with cold water. Flatten the finished butter dough between two layers of cling film and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. You have successfully completed the first stage of preparation. Not difficult at all, right?

4. Once both doughs are well chilled, remove them from the refrigerator and place them on a chilled, lightly floured rolling board. To begin, roll out the dough ball into a rectangle measuring approximately 40 by 25 centimeters. Place the butter and flour on two-thirds of the length of the surface of this rectangle so that there is an edge about a centimeter thick free of butter. Cover the buttered part of the dough rectangle with the remaining part free of butter. Fold the remaining butter edge over the previous part. Carefully pinch the edges, cover the dough with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Chilled dough transfer to a cooled board with the short side facing you, Roll out lengthwise and fold in thirds again. Then turn the piece of dough 90⁰, roll it out again and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. This method of rolling out and folding puff pastry is called turning. Repeat the entire procedure of rolling, folding and turning 90⁰ six to eight times, each time chilling the dough in the refrigerator. In order not to get confused about how many times you have already rolled out your dough, make indentations in it with your finger. After the final rolling, wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for one hour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator immediately before making your pastries, cakes or pies. Do not let the finished dough sit at room temperature for too long!

6. Curd puff pastry is prepared in a similar way. This dough turns out much more tender, aromatic and very tasty. Mix 200 g in a bowl. well sifted flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt. Place 50 grams on top. chilled butter, cut into small pieces. Place 200 g on top of the oil. cottage cheese that has been previously squeezed out of excess moisture and rubbed through a sieve. As quickly but thoroughly as possible, mix everything together into a homogeneous dough, wrap the dough ball in cling film and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Separately prepare the butter dough by mixing 200 g. butter and 50 gr. flour. Flatten the butter dough between two layers of cling film and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Turn the dough in the same way as in the previous recipe, remembering to cool it after each rolling.

7. It’s a little easier to prepare creamy puff pastry mixed with thick cream or sour cream. This dough rises due to the evaporation of cream, not just butter, which makes it possible to reduce the number of sheets when turning. Mix 250 gr. flour, ½ teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Add 125 grams to the flour in small pieces. chilled butter, mixing everything thoroughly each time. Without stopping kneading the dough, gradually add 125 grams into it. sour cream or heavy cream. Wrap the finished dough ball in cling film and cool for 30 minutes. Turn the chilled dough once or twice, layering with a few pieces of chilled butter. Ready dough Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

8. Pies made from yeast puff pastry are fluffy, aromatic and very beautiful. Of course, such a dough will require more time and effort to prepare, but it is worth it. Pour one glass of warm milk into a deep bowl, dissolve 10 grams in it. fresh yeast, add 250 gr. flour and knead thoroughly with a whisk so that no lumps remain. Cover the bowl with the dough with a towel and leave in a warm, draft-free place for 60 minutes. Add 300 g to the suitable dough. flour, two egg yolks, one tablespoon of softened butter, one tablespoon of sugar and a pinch of salt. Knead the dough thoroughly, cover with a towel and let rise twice in a warm place for an hour, kneading the dough every half hour. Place the finished dough in a bowl, cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight. Overnight in the cold, the dough will rise again, become more plastic, stronger, and at the same time acquire a light, pleasant sourness. Roll out the finished dough into a rectangle, place 200 grams on it. chilled butter, cut into small pieces, and turn as usual four to six times, allowing the dough to rise in the cold for 30 minutes after each rolling.

9. Products made from puff pastry prepared with the addition of rum and cognac are incredibly tasty and aromatic. Sift 250 grams onto a chilled rolling board. flour, make a well in the center and add a pinch of salt. Then pour in 10 tbsp. spoons of cold water, 2 tbsp. spoons of chilled cognac and 1 tbsp. a spoonful of dark rum. Knead the dough thoroughly, adding a little flour as needed, wrap the dough ball in cling film and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Separately prepare the butter dough by mixing 250 gr. butter and 100 gr. flour. Roll out the dough ball into a rectangle, spread the butter dough over it, fold into thirds, pinch the edges and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Turn the dough as usual by rolling, turning and folding it six times.

10. If you have absolutely no extra time, and delicious buns I really want to make homemade puff pastry, try making chopped puff pastry instant cooking. Cool 200 gr. butter and quickly chop it with a knife, along with two glasses of flour. You should end up with something grainy, crumbly dough. Collect it into a mound, make a depression in the center, pour in half a glass of water mixed with 1 tbsp. a spoonful of vinegar and a pinch of salt. Chop the dough again with a knife until you get large crumbs, and then quickly knead it with your hands moistened with cold water. Wrap the dough ball in cling film and refrigerate for one hour. Roll out the chilled dough into a rectangle, fold into thirds and roll out again. Repeat folding and rolling three to four times. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes and begin cutting.

And on the pages of the site you can always find even more important advice and proven recipes that will definitely tell you how to prepare puff pastry and what products you can bake from it.

Zhalnin Dmitry

Before starting to master complex baking, a novice housewife should learn 5 simple recipes with ready-made puff pastry, including puff pastries, cookies, pies and buns. The easiest way to learn how to cook different dishes, based on photo or video recipes. In addition, you can experiment with the types of fillings and spices to make the dish special.

What can be made from puff pastry

This type of dough, such as puff pastry, is the basis for dishes different nations thanks to its fine structure and pleasant crunch. Store-bought product is more often used for sweet pastries, although it is also suitable for making pies with salty filling. The following types of confectionery products are prepared from it:

• cakes;
• pies;
• cookie;
• tubes;
• croissants;
• buns;
• rolls.

From yeast

The finished dough using yeast has a characteristic sour taste. After cooking, products made from it turn out more fluffy and tasty. They make good buns and savory meat and fish pies. Unlike the fresh version, there are several times fewer layers; they do not turn out as light and crispy, but the number of calories is slightly less.

From yeast-free

Unleavened or yeast-free product is more often used to make sweet confectionery products. The tongues, corners and puffs are crispier and more delicious due to the thin layers. However, for those who try to adhere proper nutrition, it is better to refrain from eating such delicacies - the product turns out to be higher in calories due to the fact that it contains more oil.

Recipes with ready-made puff pastry

When you urgently need to cook something, they become a real lifesaver. different recipes from ready-made puff pastry. Recommendations for beginners experienced chefs:

1. Pre-defrost the dough in the microwave or leave it on the table 2-3 hours before starting cooking.
2. After thawing, yeast dough should be kept warm for at least 1 hour.
3. Before you cook anything, you need to carefully roll out the dough into a thin layer.
4. Baking from ready-made puff pastry turns out better if you put it on a sheet of parchment paper soaked in oil. Puff pastries often burn on a baking sheet.
5. Products can be filled with any ingredients, both sweet and salty.
6. During the final stage, the filling is added and the product is placed in hot oven. The average baking temperature is 180-220 degrees.
7. If used meat filling, then the cooking time increases.

Puff pastry with filling

• Time: 45 minutes.
• Number of servings: 8 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 180 kcal/100 g.
• Purpose: for dessert.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: easy.

You can prepare a dish with any salty or sweet filling- vegetable, curd, fruit, meat, egg, as long as it does not spread after the dish cools. The simplest option confectionery product from this dough - apple roll with cinnamon. Despite its simplicity, the dish can decorate any table. It uses a yeast type of product.

Ingredients:

• plastic bag ready dough per roll – 500 g;
• apples – 400 g;
• butter – 50 ml;
• powdered sugar – 100 g;
• vanilla sugar – 1 sachet.

Cooking method:

1. Unroll the roll and flatten it slightly with a rolling pin.
2. Peel the apples and chop.
3. Mix with half the powdered sugar and cinnamon.
4. Place the apples in the middle of the layer, carefully roll them into a roll, pinch the edges.
5. Cut into portions and place on a baking sheet.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.

Pie

• Time: 40 minutes.
• Number of servings: 6 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 250 kcal/100 g.
• Purpose: for dinner.
• Cuisine: Azerbaijani.
• Difficulty: easy.

For this type of baking, such as a pie made from ready-made puff pastry, you can also choose different fillings. Meat samsa, shaped like a pie, is very tasty. This dish is from Azerbaijani cuisine. It is prepared very simply, even a housewife with minimal culinary skills can handle it, and it looks festive. Main secret success - exact adherence to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• dough – 500 g;
• minced pork and beef – 500 g;
• onions– 4 pcs.;
• hard cheese– 200 g;
• spice mixture (coriander, pepper) – 3 g;
• butter – 50 g;
• salt – 2 g;
• green onions, dill – 1 bunch.

Cooking method:

1. Roll out the dough (yeast or non-yeast) into a layer 5 mm thick.
2. Finely chop the greens and onions, mix with minced meat and spices.
3. Place the dough in round shape, form the sides.
4. Place the minced meat on top, sprinkle with grated cheese.
5. Cover with a second layer on top, carefully pinch the edges.
6. Allow the oven to warm up to 180-200 degrees.
7. Place the pan with samsa in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Buns

• Time: 35 minutes.
• Number of servings: 7 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 150 kcal/100 g.
• Purpose: for dessert.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: easy.

A collection that includes recipes for ready-made puff pastry dough would be incomplete without mentioning buns. This option will help out in a situation when you urgently need to bake something for tea. The dish is prepared very quickly, it turns out tasty and aromatic. Before preparing buns from yeast dough, you need to remove the bag from the freezer in advance, and then put it in a cup, placing it in a warm place so that the product doubles in size.

Ingredients:

• powdered sugar – 50 g;
• yolk – 1 pc.;
• butter – 50 g;
• dough – 500 g.

Cooking method:

1. Roll out the dough to 3 mm.
2. Melt the butter, grease the layer.
3. Roll the dough into a tight roll, pinch the edge.
4. Cut into portioned pieces, 8-10 cm long.
5. Make a slit in the middle of each piece with a knife so that it does not reach the edge.
6. Unfold the slit to make a “heart”.
7. Place the buns on parchment paper.
8. Grease with yolk, sprinkle with powder.
9. Bake for 25 minutes.

Puff tongues

• Time: 25 minutes.
• Number of servings: 12 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 120 kcal/100 g.
• Purpose: for dessert.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: easy.

In the 5 simplest recipes with ready-made puff pastry, you must include the preparation of tongues. This view quick baking received this name due to its similarity to the real language. Puff pastries are prepared simply – all you need is store-bought puff pastry without yeast, sugar, an oven and a few minutes. Some gourmets prefer to sprinkle ready-made cakes salt, then they can be used as a beer snack.

Ingredients:

• dough in a roll - 700 g;
• sugar - 400 g.

Cooking method:

1. Unfold the roll, roll the layer with a rolling pin to a thickness of 5 mm.
2. Cut with a knife into small pieces, round the edges of the dough strips.
3. Sprinkle sugar on top.
4. Place on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Cookie

• Time: 35 minutes.
• Number of servings: 10 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 130 kcal/100 g.
• Purpose: for afternoon tea.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: easy.

Ear cookies from this type yeast-free dough are an option classic baking. The treat is suitable for baby food, because it does not contain products that cause allergies. Children enjoy eating crispy cookies with cocoa or warm milk. Before making puff pastry from ready-made puff pastry, you need to wait until all the ingredients have warmed up to room temperature and only then start baking.

Ingredients:

• dough – 500 g;
• sugar – 500 g;
• water – 100 g;
• cocoa – 1 tbsp. l.

Cooking method:

1. Boil water, add sugar.
2. Cook until the liquid has reduced in volume by half.
3. Add cocoa and cool to room temperature.
4. Roll out the layer into a rectangle 3 mm thick, 15 cm wide.
5. Roll the layers of dough from the edges to the middle, cut into pieces 1 cm wide.
6. Place on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 15 minutes.
7. Remove and pour glaze over while the homemade puff pastries are still warm.

Video

Previously, I always thought that there was too much fuss with puff pastry, and it was difficult and time-consuming to prepare. Therefore, until recently, I used ready-made puff pastry, which is sold in stores. I didn’t even wonder how my grandmother manages to bake puff pastry pies made with her own hands so quickly... And now I finally figured out that it’s worth asking her for the recipe! It turns out that grandma has a secret, thanks to which the puff pastry doesn’t even have to be rolled out many times, and the entire process of preparing the dough takes no more than 15 minutes.
Puff pastry composition:

• Premium wheat flour - 3 cups,
• butter - about 150 g, or vegetable oil - 1/4 cup, or vegetable margarine. Attention! You can use more butter or margarine!
• Water - about 1 glass,
• baking powder or quenched lemon juice baking soda- 1 teaspoon,
• salt or sugar - depending on the purpose of the dough.

How to make quick puff pastry

Mix flour with salt or sugar and add baking powder.

Add water.

Knead tightly elastic dough so that it does not stick to your hands.

Place the dough on a floured table and roll out very thin.

The thickness of the dough should be about 2 mm.

Generously grease the entire surface of the dough with vegetable oil or soft butter. If you are using butter, remove it from the refrigerator in advance to soften it.

Cut the dough in half. Place one half on top of the other so that the edges match, and iron with your hands. After this, take the dough from both edges and roll it into a roll. This is the secret of making quick puff pastry - many layers are formed in the roll. Wrap the roll in cling film or plastic bag.

Place the finished roll in the freezer for 15 minutes. Or for as long as you like until you want to cook something from this dough (but then you will have to defrost it).

It’s good that you can buy puff pastry at any store on your way home from work and quickly bake something delicious for dinner.

But sometimes you want to pamper yourself with homemade baked goods, putting in your hard work and soul. After all, food prepared with your own hands always tastes better because it is prepared with love. For puff pastry you need a few ingredients; it is based on flour, butter and salt. But it takes much more time to prepare it.

True, there are a lot of recipes for puff pastry quick hand, therefore, if you do not have free time, you can choose more quick way preparations. Fortunately, there are many options available - kneading with beer, yeast, water, with the addition of sour cream or cottage cheese.

Puff pastry— preparation of products

Puff pastries always turn out very tender. And to make it even tastier, before kneading the mixture, the flour must be sifted so that it is enriched with oxygen. If the dough is made according to classic recipe, first you need to knead the water with flour, and then roll out the layers, oiling them with margarine or butter.

Recipe 1: Puff pastry

If you make puff pastry according to all the rules, you won’t be able to finish it in five minutes. This process cannot be rushed. But the result justifies the effort and time spent. The secret to good puff pastry is rolling it out correctly. The layers should absorb the oil; the dough should not be allowed to tear when rolling, otherwise the baked goods will not turn out airy, but sticky and hard. Therefore, you do not need to press hard on the rolling pin; you need to move it smoothly so that pieces of butter do not break out.

Ingredients: wheat flour - 500-600g, glass of water (0.25l), salt ¼ teaspoon, butter - 350g.

Cooking method

Mix salt with flour (500g), and leave 100g for dusting. Pour in water and 50g of melted butter. Knead the dough and knead for about a minute. Then put it in a bag or wrap it in film and place it in the refrigerator for an hour. Spread the remaining butter until it is about a centimeter thick.

Cut the top of the dough ball deeply with a knife crosswise. Open the dough quarters like a flower and roll into layers without touching the middle. You need to put butter on it and cover it with rolled out petal layers, wrapping it on all sides. If there is not enough dough to cover the butter, you can stretch it slightly. Sprinkle flour on top, beat lightly with a rolling pin and begin to gently roll into a rectangle of equal thickness. Roll it out in one direction. Fold the resulting rectangular layer in three, wrap it in film and put it in a cool place for an hour. Then do 3-4 more rolls, only in a different direction. Don't forget to put the dough in the refrigerator after each rolling.

Recipe 2: Puff pastry

The main secret of cooking good test lies in the cottage cheese: it should be without lumps, soft, tender, but not wet. Then the products will turn out more layered and crumbly.

Ingredients: 300g wheat flour, homemade soft cottage cheese- 250g, butter - 150g, salt - on the tip of a teaspoon.

Cooking method

Mix cottage cheese with butter, salt and flour. To make the butter easier to knead, you need to keep it in a warm place so that it becomes pliable and plastic. Next, wrap the dough in film or a bag and place it in the refrigerator to mature overnight or overnight. Now you can bake bagels, ears, and puff pastries from it. In its raw form, the dough can be stored for 6-7 days in the refrigerator. Or put it in the freezer. And when you need to bake something, all you have to do is take it out and defrost it.

This was a quick-ripening dough recipe. If you want to make your baked goods more layered, then you need to roll out the dough differently, layering it with flour rather than butter. Mix the ingredients with less flour. Roll out a thin layer, sprinkle it generously with flour, fold it three times and place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Then roll it out again, sprinkle with flour, roll it up and put it in the freezer. In total, you need to do this 3 times. If not freezer, you can put it in the refrigerator for half an hour. The main thing is that the butter hardens and the dough does not stick and rolls out well.

Recipe 3: Puff yeast dough-precocious

Despite the fact that the dough is yeast, it is made quite quickly. Instead of fresh yeast, you can use regular dry yeast. On required quantity For 70g of fresh yeast you need to take approximately 23-25g of dry yeast.

Ingredients: wheat flour - 500g, cream margarine - 400g, sour cream - 100g, 2 yolks, granulated sugar - 1 tbsp, fresh yeast stick - 70g, ½ tsp. salt, half a glass of milk.

Cooking method

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm milk, adding 1 tbsp. l flour. Leave the starter in a warm place so that the yeast revives.

At this time, mix flour with salt. Chop the margarine with a knife, adding flour until crumbs form. Transfer the mixture into a wide bowl. In a plate, mix the yolks with sour cream, pour into the crumbs, continuing to chop with a knife. Add yeast starter and knead the dough. It should be soft enough, but at the same time not stick to your hands. You can add a little more flour if necessary. Then chop the dough with a knife and you can immediately begin to shape the products and bake cake layers, bagels, and cookies. Or roll it into a ball and wrap it in film and put it in the refrigerator.

Recipe 4: Beer puff pastry

Products made from such dough are tender and fragile. They themselves melt in your mouth. You can make sticks, cookies, cakes, bagels. The highlight of the recipe is the moment at which the flour is mixed not with cold margarine, but with hot melted margarine, the dough is, as it were, brewed.

Ingredients: 250g margarine, 4 cups wheat flour, half a glass of light beer.

Cooking method

Melt the margarine until hot and pour into the flour. Stir, add beer. First, you can mix with a spoon, and then thoroughly knead the mass with your hands. Roll it into a bun, flatten it and place it in the freezer, wrapping it in a bag or film.

Thaw the frozen dough, roll it out thinly, trying to get a rectangle. Then fold it in three - put one end over, going beyond the middle and cover with the other end. Fold the resulting folded strip again to form a square, roll it out thinly and cut out the desired shape, bake until light golden brown.

Puff pastry - useful tips experienced chefs

To make the puff pastry easier to roll out, you can use a wine bottle filled with cold water instead of a rolling pin.

Before baking, the baking tray is not greased with oil, but moistened with cold water. The dough is always placed only in a well-heated oven.

ABOUT The main ingredients of puff pastry are flour, salt, water and butter. This kind of dough, from which crispy, crispy puff pastries are baked, requires a lot of attention and great precision when preparing. Depending on the ingredients, a distinction is made between classic and simplified puff pastry. To prepare a classic puff pastry, first knead soft dough from flour and water and then roll cold butter into it (butter and flour are taken at a ratio of 1:1). Preparing classic puff pastry requires a lot of time and effort. The main ingredients - dough and butter - are rolled up in thin layers. The more layers, the higher the quality of the dough. The best puff pastry should have more than 140 layers, sometimes their number reaches 240. Of course, the thinnest layers cannot be distinguished with the naked eye. To achieve this result, you need to roll out the main dough of flour and water in an even layer and place a flat piece of chilled butter in the center of the layer. Then cover the butter on all sides with the edges of the dough and roll out a rectangle with a rolling pin. Fold the rectangle in three:
First, cover the middle of the layer with the left third, then with the right, then fold it in half again. Place the dough in the cold for a while. After this, turn the dough so that it open edges were to your right and left. Roll out the dough away from you, turn 90° and roll out into a long rectangle. Fold the dough again as described above. Experts call this process “turning.” It needs to be repeated 4 or 5 times. However, the dough must be refrigerated each time to prevent the layers from sticking together.
The dough is rolled out to the desired thickness immediately before baking. Preparing the dough takes a total of several hours, so it is not surprising that housewives prefer to buy ready-made frozen puff pastry. But when you want to make pies from simplified puff pastry, do not use ready-made frozen semi-finished products. This dough also requires a long processing time, although all its components are kneaded at the same time (except for the yeast puff pastry). Based on the composition of ingredients, the following types of simplified dough are distinguished:

A) Puff pastry instant cooking.
Flour and butter are taken at a ratio of 1:1. 250 g of flour, sifted through a sieve, should be mixed with a teaspoon of salt, poured onto the table and pieces of chilled butter should be placed in it. Chop flour and butter into fine grains. Gradually pour into the dough 8 tbsp. l. cold water, knead it and, when it is ready, put it in the refrigerator, covering it with foil or film. Then roll out the dough into a rectangle and “turn” in the same way as regular dough. So its name - instant dough - is unjustified. This type of dough can be used for baking cakes, salty sticks with cheese or cumin, as well as meat pies.

B) Yeast puff pastry is also called “torn dough”.
To prepare it, flour and butter are taken in a ratio of 2:1. First, yeast dough is kneaded from 50 g of flour and left in a cold place to ferment. The finished dough is rolled out into a rectangle about 7.5 mm thick. On one half of the rectangle, lay out cold butter, cut into thin slices. Cover with the other half and press the open edges tightly together. Then the dough is "turned". This dough is especially suitable for baking puff pastry "braid" or "walnut wreaths". Yeast puff pastry made without added sugar is ideal for baking quiches and salty sticks with cheese or cumin.

C) Curd puff pastry.
To prepare it, take flour, butter and cottage cheese in a 1:1:1 ratio. Sometimes baking powder is added at the rate of 1/2 tsp. for 250 g flour. Flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt are mixed on the kitchen table, pieces of chilled butter are placed on top. The cottage cheese is allowed to settle and rubbed through a sieve over oil. Then everything is mixed into a homogeneous dough. Roll the dough into a ball, cover with foil and place in the refrigerator. The dough is then rolled out on a cutting board, previously sprinkled with flour, and “turned” like regular puff pastry. Curd puff pastry is used for baking cookies with sweet or spicy filling, baskets for quiche cookies, sausages or apples in puff pastry.

D) Creamy puff pastry.
To prepare this type of dough, take flour, butter and cream (sour cream) in a ratio of 2:1:0.8. Accordingly, for 250 g of flour you need to take 125 g of butter and 100 ml of well-chilled cream or sour cream, in addition, 1/2 tsp. baking powder. Mix flour and baking powder with 1/4 tsp. salt, gradually adding pieces of chilled butter, sour cream, and knead the dough. Roll the dough into a ball and cover with foil or film and place in the refrigerator. Then the dough is “turned” once or twice. This dough is used to bake cakes, salty sticks and breakfast cookies. Making such a test requires the least amount of time and effort. Regardless of the type of puff pastry, when baking, general provisions can be noted: the layers of dough rise with the help of air between them; The butter dissolves and the moisture evaporates, causing the layers of dough to rise and separate from each other. This way the baked goods are crispy and flaky. Especially delicate taste Butter adds flavor to puff pastry products. Therefore, when purchasing oil, pay attention to the date of its manufacture. You can use sweet or sour oil - it depends on your taste. When baking puff pastry products, it is important to ensure that the oven is tightly closed. It is better not to grease the edges of the dough egg yolk, since in this case the dough decreases in volume, and its layers become rough and puffy. If the edges of the dough need to be tightly joined, they should be moistened with cold water or pressed down with a fork. Since large layers of dough must be well baked from below, they are baked in the oven on the lower level. Cookies are baked at medium level. Optimal temperature for baking puff pastry products - 190-200° C. The baking time must be strictly observed. Heavily baked dough has a bitter taste.

If you are using ready-made ice cream puff pastry, you should consider general rules. First the dough must thaw. If it is frozen in layers, they need to be separated from each other. The dough layers must be thawed individually for 20 minutes. Then each layer of dough should be moistened with cold water, placed in a stack and rolled out on a cutting board into one layer to the desired size and thickness. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin first from right to left, then in the opposite direction, then from top to bottom and bottom to top. Puff pastry always shrinks in size when baked, so the layers must be rolled out larger than in finished form. To prevent the dough from deforming, the products prepared for baking should be placed in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. Puff pastry is always baked on a baking sheet that is not greased, but moistened with cold water. The water evaporates during the baking process and adds additional volume to the dough. For the same purpose, you can spray the bottom of the oven with water. During baking, margarine or butter added to the dough expands in volume and releases the liquid dissolved in the dough. It turns into steam, lifting the layers, separating them from each other and causing the dough to flake. If these layers were incorrectly processed or kneaded too quickly, the flour gluten prevents the liquid from evaporating and the dough does not flake. Therefore, to form puff pastry, use sharp knives, notches or dough cutters that do not compress the layers. It is best to immediately roll out the remaining dough after molding and prepare small pastries from it. If there are too many leftovers, wrap them in foil and put them in the refrigerator.

Puff pastry (1.2 kg)

1. Sift flour into a bowl. Add soft butter.
3. Meanwhile, cut the cold butter into slices. Place them next to each other and roll them into a rectangle between two layers of transparent film.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface, also in the shape of a rectangle, only 2 times larger than the butter one. Place butter on the dough.

I I myself, when I have time, prepare puff pastry according to the same recipe that we were given in college when I was studying. We had a very cool teacher who taught me a lot, including how to make puff pastry. The only thing is, I don’t have exact product standards. But I can give you my norm:
flour 500 gr
cold water 1 1/3 cups
eggs 2 pcs
butter 500 gr
salt 1/2 tsp
citric acid on the tip of a knife
I want to say right away that kneading any dough is a creative process. Therefore, never take on this task if you are in a bad mood. This has been tested and proven that you only need to bake in a good mood and always with a smile on your face. So, if everything is in order with your mood, we move on to the first stage. This is kneading dough. I want to say right away that the flour should have strong gluten. So:
Stage 1 - kneading the dough.
Knead unleavened dough: take the sifted flour, put it on the board in a heap. Make a hole in it, pour in water, eggs, salt and citric acid. Knead the dough well, then leave under a wet cloth for 30-40 minutes.
Stage 2 - preparing the oil.
It’s better to grate the butter onto coarse grater, mix it (without gluing) with flour (15% of flour from the total amount according to the recipe). Then we put the butter on a tray and shape it into a square and put it in the refrigerator until the butter holds its shape but is not frozen.
Stage 3 - rolling out the dough in layers.
After the dough has stood for about 40 minutes, roll it into a square, 2 cm thick. Place a square of butter on this square, at an angle so that it looks like a rhombus, that is, the corners of the dough should be open. Then these corners are folded inwards like an “envelope”. Then roll out the dough, pressing lightly, so that you get a rectangle approximately 1 1/2 cm thick, fold it in three or four, cover with a damp cloth and place in a cool place for half an hour. The cooled dough is rolled out again, folded and kept for 15 minutes in a cold place. This procedure is repeated 3-4 times. When rolling, use as little flour as possible, just so that the dough does not stick to the board. If there is too much flour, the dough becomes too stiff, products made from it rise poorly and lose their taste. The finished dough is stored in the refrigerator or cool place or bake immediately. The most important thing, as our teacher said, is not to rush and not to get upset ahead of time. This type of test is very labor intensive and time consuming, but trust me when you see ready dish cooked with your own hands, you will forget about everything in the world, enjoying the crispy and golden brown crust.

And for those who are sorely short of time, I have a recipe for instant puff pastry.
flour 250 g
creamy margarine (only very good quality!) 200 g
cold water 1/2-2/3 cup
sugar 1 tsp
Flour is sifted onto a board, small pieces of butter are placed on it and finely chopped with a knife. Dissolve salt in cold water, and, if desired, also sugar, combine with flour and butter and quickly knead into a smooth dough. cover the dough with a napkin and keep for several hours or until the next day in a cold place. Products made from chopped puff pastry are less crumbly and tender than those made from rolled out dough. Before baking, it is recommended to roll out this dough 2-3 times and fold it into three or four layers.

I have several more recipes for making sl. test. Maybe they will interest you too:
Puff pastry for cakes.
2 1/2 cups wheat flour
1 glass of cold water
1 yolk
1 tbsp. l salt
200-400 g butter
Stir the yolk in cold water, add flour and knead into a loose dough, add salt. Mix again and refrigerate for 20 minutes under a towel. Roll out the chilled dough into a layer 1 cm thick, place pieces of chilled (not frozen!) butter on top. Fold the edges of the dough into an envelope, pinch, smooth out the butter and roll out to the previous size. then fold it three or four times each time and roll out at least 5-7 times; before each rolling, the dough must be cooled, since the oil should not penetrate into the dough.

Puff pastry. (1.2 kg)
Flour 500 gr.
Butter (soft) 50 gr.
Salt 1 tsp.
Water 375 ml.
Vinegar 2 tbsp. l.
Butter (chilled) 500 gr.
Baking paper
1. Sift flour into a bowl. Add soft butter.
2. Add salt, water and vinegar. Mix everything and knead into a thick dough. Shape it into a ball, wrap it in transparent film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cut the cold butter into slices. Place them next to each other and roll them into a rectangle between two layers of transparent film. Roll out the dough on a floured surface, also in the shape of a rectangle, only 2 times larger than the butter one. Place butter on the dough.
4. Cover the butter with the dough and roll everything into a thin rectangle. After that, fold it into 3 layers and roll it out into a rectangle again.
5. Fold the dough into 3 layers a second time and chill for 10 minutes. Then sprinkle with a little flour and roll out. Fold again and last time roll.
6. Preheat the oven to 220. Shape the puff pastry into the desired shape. Bake on a baking tray lined with baking paper for 15 minutes.

Ingredients for a successful puff pastry:
- to prepare puff pastry you need to use premium flour, cold water, salt and citric acid, which can be replaced with vinegar.
- adding acid to the dough improves the quality of flour gluten, since in an acidic environment it swells the flour protein better.
- salt gives the dough elasticity, improves taste qualities. With a lack of salt and acid, the layers become blurry, and too much spoils the taste.
- We use cold water to prepare the dough. Some people replace it with milk (this improves the taste of the dough), but in this case the elasticity of the dough decreases. That's why ideal option use a mixture of water and milk.
- when laminating, each time before folding the dough, you must carefully sweep away the flour so that the layer does not spray, the product does not crumble and does not turn out dry and hard.
- when cooling and resting the dough, it should be covered with a damp cloth so that the surface of the dough does not dry out.
- when cutting puff pastry, you need to use sharp knives or notches, as blunt equipment creases the edges of the dough, and this prevents it from rising.
- Do not crush the edges of the prepared products with your fingers.
- if according to the recipe the surface of the dough needs to be greased with an egg, you need to do this carefully, making sure that the egg does not get on the edges of the dough - the dough will not rise.
- pour a little cold water onto the baking sheet.
- before baking, the surface of the product must be pricked with a fork or a sharp knife so that steam escapes during baking, the dough does not bubble and has a smooth surface.
- baking should be done at a temperature of 220-250 degrees.
- and definitely a good mood

So, if you followed the instructions, then in the end you should have a good puff pastry, which will increase in volume by 6-8 times during baking, and the products from it will be moderately ruddy, tender and crumbly.

You can make a lot of puff pastry delicious baked goods. I can't list all the recipes, but here are some of them...
Puff pastry cake with jam.
Puff pastry, 200 g jam, egg.

Prepare puff pastry. Place the prepared jam on a sieve and let the syrup drain. Roll out the puff pastry into half a finger for the seventh time, cut out a circle of a suitable size, take out the middle, leave an even welt around it, fold it onto a sheet and put it in a cold place. Then crumple the puff pastry, divide into two halves, roll out the first thinly and cut into strips, and roll out the second and cut out a circle like a welt from it, place it on the lampshade, brush around with egg, put jam in the middle without syrup, intertwine the strips prepared from the dough on top , grease the edges again, apply a welt, crimp, trim around, brush the top with egg and put in a hot oven. When half ready, sprinkle with fine sugar and let it brown, remove, carefully remove, place on a plate and serve hot.

Cake Napoleon
First option:
200 g margarine, 1 egg, 350 g flour, 1/2 cup water, a pinch of salt. For cream: 1 cup granulated sugar, salt, 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, 200 g butter.
Mix margarine, flour, egg, a little salt with water. Bake 12 cakes on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cool and spread with cream. For the cream, grind the sugar with the egg and add the remaining ingredients.

Second option:
5 stacks flour, 500 gr. chop the margarine until homogeneous mass, add 1 tbsp water and chop until you get a dough.
Divide the dough into several parts and refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll out onto a sheet and bake.
Cream: 250 g plums. butter, 1 tbsp. Mash sugar, add 1/2 can of condensed sugar. milk, 1 egg, 6 tbsp. spoons of milk. Ready cake put in the cold, coat all the cakes with cream, sprinkle with crumbs

Third option:
450 g margarine, 4 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup water, 5 tbsp. l vinegar, butter cream, 3 tbsp. l crushed walnuts.
Melt margarine, combine it with water and vinegar. Stirring continuously, gradually add flour, put the resulting dough in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Roll out 8-10 cakes and bake until golden brown on a baking sheet sprinkled with flour. Coat with cream, sprinkle nuts on top.

Fourth option:
250 g margarine, 3-4 cups flour, 1/2 cup warm water. For the cream: 1 glass of milk, 180 g of sugar, 200 g of butter, 4 tbsp. l flour.
Knead the dough as for dumplings. Divide it into 9-10 parts and roll out thin slices. Bake on a baking sheet greased with oil. The cream is prepared as follows: combine 1/2 cup of milk with flour. Heat the remaining 1/2 cup of milk, pour in the resulting mixture and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cool. Heat and cool the butter and sugar. Mix these two mixtures and layer them with juice. Sprinkle crumbs on top.

Puff pastry with apples.
Any puff pastry, 12 apples, egg for greasing. Filling for apples: 2 tbsp. l sugar, 1/2-1 tsp cinnamon or 2 tbsp. l sugar, 1 tbsp. l chopped almonds.
Roll out the dough into a thin layer and cut it into square pieces. Core the apples, peel them, place them on dough squares, pour a mixture of sugar and cinnamon or sugar and almonds inside the apple. Apples can also be stuffed with raisins. Raise the corners of the squares up and press them with almonds or pieces of dough. Cut out leaves from the dough and attach to the almonds. Brush with egg wash and bake in the oven until the apples are soft and the pastry is lightly browned.

Windmills.
Puff pastry. For filling: 3/4-1 cup thick jam or marmalade. Egg.
Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/2 cm, cut into squares measuring 8x8 cm, cut out the corners. Place jam or jam in the middle of the square, raise the corners like the wings of a windmill to the center and press. Place the windmills on a sheet sprinkled with water, brush with egg and bake.

Layered cheese sticks.
Puff pastry. Egg for lubrication. For sprinkling cheese and salt.
Roll out the dough into a rectangular layer 1/2 cm thick, cut it with a sharp knife into cubes 6-8 cm long and 1 1/2 cm wide, place on a sheet sprinkled with cold water, brush with egg, sprinkle with grated cheese, herbs and bake until golden brown. . Can this dish be made more beautiful? To do this, cut the rolled out dough into thin strips 12-15 cm long. Intertwine two strips like a rope, brush with egg, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake.

Puff snails with ham.
Puff pastry 450 g, 5 slices cooked ham, 125 g full fat sour cream, spices, salt, pepper
Defrost puff pastry. Cut the ham slices to the size of the pastry sheets, and then cut them in half. Mix sour cream thoroughly with spices. Spread the dough with a fairly thin layer of sour cream; season with salt and pepper if desired. Top with 1/2 slices of ham. Preheat the oven to 200. Roll the dough sheets into rolls and cut into circles 2 cm thick. Line a baking tray parchment paper for baking. Place the ham snails on top of the paper and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden yellow color. When served hot or warm, puff snails are excellent snack with a glass of white wine.

Tubes with cream and rhubarb.
Puff pastry 550 g, 1 yolk, 3 tbsp. l milk, 4 tbsp. l sugar. FOR the filling: 250 g rhubarb, 50 g sugar, 4 g gelatin, 250 ml cream, 1 sachet vanilla sugar, 4 tbsp. l egg liqueur. And also tubes for baking.
Thaw the dough if it is frozen. Cut into strips 3 cm wide. Rinse the molds with cold water and wrap them with strips of dough, starting from the tip. Heat the oven to 200. Beat the yolk with milk, brush the dough and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake on a baking sheet covered with paper for 15 minutes. Soak the gelatin. Cut the rhubarb into cubes. Sprinkle with sugar, let it brew and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool. Add squeezed gelatin. Whip cream and sprinkle vanilla sugar. Stir in cream, liqueur and rhubarb. Fill the tubes with cream.

Apple braid with nuts.
Puff pastry 200 g, 4 apples, 1 tbsp. l hazelnut kernels, 1 tbsp. l honey, 1 tbsp. l chopped candied fruits orange zest, 1 egg white, 2 tbsp. l apricot jam, 3 tbsp. l powdered sugar, 1 tbsp. l orange liqueur.
Cover a baking sheet with paper. Roll out the dough into 2 rectangles (22x30 cm). Peel the apples and cut into cubes. Stir with nuts, honey and candied fruits. Place on a sheet of dough, leaving the edges free. Cover with another layer. Make transverse cuts along the entire length at a distance of 1 cm from each other. Brush the edges with egg white, wrap and press. Bake for 30 minutes at 22. 10 minutes before readiness, reduce the oven temperature to 160. Heat the confiture, rub through a sieve and grease the wicker. Mix powdered sugar and liqueur and spread on the surface.

Layered berry pie.
Puff pastry 450 g, 1 egg. FOR filling: 300 g mixed berries, 150 ml fruit juice, 1 tbsp. l food starch, 125 ml cream, 1-2 tbsp. l sand, 6 g gelatin, 2 tsp pistachios.
Roll out the dough into a rectangle. Cut off some dough. Transfer the rest to a baking tray lined with paper and pierce with a fork. From the remaining dough, cut strips 1 cm wide and twist them into ropes. Preheat the oven to 200. Place the dough ropes across the rectangle and lengthwise in the middle - you should have 8 compartments. Lubricate egg white. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Wash and sort the berries. Boil the juice. Add berries. Mix starch with cold water, pour it into the berries, boil and cool. Whip cream with sugar. Dissolve gelatin and mix with cream. Mix them with berries and put them in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Place on the dough and decorate with berries and pistachios.