How To Make Puff Pastry from Scratch

Make the lean dough: Mix the flour with the salt, then turn out onto your work surface in a pile. Run your fingers down the center to create a trough. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water into the trough. Quickly fluff the dough with your fingers, keeping your fingers loose and using a scooping motion. Gather the flour back in to a mound, create a trough, and add another tablespoon of water. Continue sprinkling and fluffing until the flour clumps together in large pieces and holds together when pressed.

Chill the dough: Press the dough into a square and wrap in plastic. It's fine if it looks a little shaggy and unkempt at this stage. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the butter block: Cut the butter into a few large pieces and sprinkle with a teaspoon of flour. Begin pounding the butter with a French rolling pin to soften it, sprinkling flour on your rolling pin as needed. Pound the butter flat, then use a pastry scraper to gather it up again. Sprinkle with another teaspoon of flour, pound flat, and repeat. Add one more teaspoon of flour, then continue pounding and gathering, pounding and gathering, until the butter is very pliable and does not break when you fold it over on itself.

Chill the butter block: Once the butter is pliable, shape it into a 4-inch x 4-inch square, wrap in plastic, and chill 10 minutes (no longer).

Roll out the lean dough: Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out to a roughly 7-inch square.

Wrap the butter in the dough: Place the square of butter on top of the dough at a 90-degree angle to the dough. Fold the corners of the dough over the butter so they meet in the middle. Pinch to seal.

First turn: Flour the work surface lightly and flip the butter package over so the seams are down. Roll it out to a rectangle roughly 12 inches long by 6 inches wide. Fold the top third over the bottom third, and the bottom over the top third, like a letter

Second turn: Rotate the folded dough so it looks like a book about to be opened. Roll it out again into a rectangle 12 inches by 6 inches. Fold it again.

Chill for 30 minutes. Mark 2 divots in the edge of the dough to remind yourself that you've done two turns. Wrap the puff dough in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Do two more turns: Repeat rolling out and folding the dough two more times. The dough should feel much more smooth and pliable at this point. If you notice any butter popping up through the dough, pat it with a little flour.

Chill for 30 minutes: Mark 4 divots in the edge of the dough to remind yourself that you've done 4 turns. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Perform two final turns: Repeat rolling and folding the dough two more times for a total of six turns. By this point, the dough should feel completely smooth and be easy to roll out.

Chill for 1 hour or overnight: Wrap in plastic and chill for a final 60 minutes, or overnight.

Roll and cut the dough: When ready to bake, begin the oven preheating to 425°F. Roll out the puff pastry dough to between 1/4 and 1/8 inches thick. Use the dough as is to make a large tart, or cut the dough into whatever shapes you need. Transfer them to tart pans or baking sheets. If the dough feels very soft and warm at this point, chill for another 30 minutes before baking.

Bake for 10 minutes at 425°F.

Lower the oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking until dry, crisp, and deep golden-brown.

Cool completely: Baked puff pastry is at its crispiest best the same day it's made, but will keep quite well in airtight containers for a few days.