Butter Boys' Original Puff Pastry: How To, Tips & Tricks

Butter Boys' Original Puff Pastry was created to make baking buttery, flaky, incredible pastry at home a cinch. Follow your favourite recipe's instructions for baking your puff pastry dough, and use these pointers to get everything just right. If you're having any trouble, drop us a line and we'll help you through your pastry dilemma.

Our dough comes vacuum packed and freshly frozen to make sure it's as fresh as possible. It can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months- though the sooner you use it, the better.

How To:

When you're ready to bake, take your block out of the freezer and thaw it in the fridge overnight, or leave it out on the counter for 3-4 hours. Resist the urge to microwave the dough or put it in a warm spot to speed things up! It'll make a mess of everything.
One block of pastry weighs roughly 500g, and we find that's usually enough to make two dishes/recipes. Unused dough can be kept in the fridge and should be used within a week.
*Lightly* flour your board before rolling out your dough, otherwise it's prone to sticking.
Make sure to roll your dough out nice and thin- that way it'll crisp up nicely in the oven!

Troubleshooting:

If your dough is very stiff and difficult to roll out, it's probably still a little chilly- just give it a few more minutes to warm up and you'll be good to go.
On the opposite end of things, if your dough is very soft, sticking everywhere, or making a buttery mess, it's probably too hot and 5-10 minutes in the fridge will help it cool its jets.

One of the biggest turn-offs when cooking with puff pastry is when it doesn't cook all the way through. You end up with something that's half crispy and delicious, half doughy, squidgy, unappetizing mess. To avoid this, there's as few things to check and adjust:

Make sure to roll your dough out nice and thin. Our blocks of pastry dough usually make enough for two separate recipes- a little should go a long way.
Second, check that whatever you're filling or topping your puff pastry with doesn't have too much moisture. A watery filling will release all that moisture as it bakes, seeping into your puff pastry and gumming things up.
Finally, and maybe most importantly, make sure you don't under-bake your puff pastry. It will start to turn a nice golden brown colour part-way through your bake, and you'll think 'Oh no- that's gunna burn soon, I better pull that out right away.' And you'll end up with half-cooked pastry dough, and maybe a few tears. Stay the course! Keep baking until everything is brown and crispy all over. If your pastry starts looking really dark on the edges, try turning down your oven by 50 degrees.

Pro Tips:

Beat an egg and brush the top of your puff pastry before baking for a glossy shine.
An egg wash will also help 'sprinkles', like herbs, rock salt, sugar etc. to stick to the puff pastry while it bakes.
Resist the urge to eat your puff pastry straight out of the oven. If you can stand it, let it sit and cool for 5-10 minutes, which will help it to be crisp and crackly.