Rough Puff Pastry
Cooking Skills: Pastry 2
Chapter 3 · Rough Puff Pastry
Skill goal
Fold butter into dough in a few turns to make flaky pastry in about an hour.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Rough puff gets its layers the same way as proper puff, but in a quicker, rougher way. Instead of wrapping a block of butter in dough, you leave lumps of butter in the flour, add water, and roll and fold the dough several times. Each roll squashes the butter lumps into flat sheets between thin layers of dough. In the oven, the water in the butter turns to steam and lifts the layers apart into flaky leaves.
The rule is keep it cold. If the butter melts into the dough, the layers vanish and you get a dense, greasy pastry. Chill between turns, work fast, and use a hot oven. It is a middle path between shortcrust (Cooking Skills: Pastry 1, chapter 1) and full puff (chapter 4 here), and perfect for pies, Eccles cakes and anything where you want flake without a day of work. Ready-made puff is in Cooking Skills: Pastry 1, chapter 6.
The method
- Cut cold butter into 2 cm cubes and stir them into the flour without breaking them down.
- Add ice-cold water until the dough just clumps; it will look lumpy and ragged, which is right.
- Roll into a rectangle about three times as long as it is wide, fold in three like a letter, and turn a quarter turn.
- Repeat four times, chilling for 20 minutes after every second turn, or whenever the butter softens.
- Rest for 30 minutes, then roll, cut and bake at 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7), the hotter oven helping the rise.
| Pastry | Butter | Turns | Time (approximate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shortcrust | Rubbed in | None | 15 minutes |
| Rough puff | Lumps left in | 4 | 1 hour (with chilling) |
| Ready-made puff | Laminated by a factory | None | 10 minutes |
| Full puff | A single block, locked in | 6 | 3 to 4 hours |
Raw dough, hot oven and raw chicken
Raw dough and raw flour: raw flour and raw egg can carry germs, so don't taste raw pastry or filling that contains raw egg or raw meat. Wash hands, bowls and the worktop afterwards, and keep tasting for the cooked result.Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.
Raw chicken and meat: keep raw meat on its own board and plate, wash hands, knives and boards in hot soapy water afterwards, and cook meat fillings right through (no pink, juices running clear) before they go under a pastry lid.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Rough puff dough
Make the dough once, wrap it well and use it for all the recipes in this chapter. Don't worry that it looks messy at first: after two turns the lumps flatten into streaks and after four it is smooth.
Ingredients (1 batch)
- 250 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 200 g cold unsalted butter, cut into 2 cm cubes
- 125 ml ice-cold water, plus a little more if needed
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Stir the flour and salt, then toss the butter cubes in so they are coated. Add the lemon juice and water and mix with a knife until it comes together in a ragged dough with visible butter lumps.
- Roll into a rectangle about 20 x 50 cm, fold in thirds like a letter, turn a quarter turn, roll again and fold. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
- Do 2 more turns, chill for 20 minutes, then use or freeze. The dough keeps 2 days in the fridge.
Raw dough and allergens
Raw dough and raw flour: raw flour and raw egg can carry germs, so don't taste raw pastry or filling that contains raw egg or raw meat. Wash hands, bowls and the worktop afterwards, and keep tasting for the cooked result.Allergens: pastry contains gluten (flour) and milk (butter); egg washes contain egg. Use a plant block fat for a dairy-free version, and note that gluten-free flour needs a different method.
Level 2 · Sweet
Eccles cakes
Currants, sugar, butter and spice wrapped in flaky pastry, flattened and scored. Press the cakes firmly so the filling is almost visible through the pastry. Serve with a slice of cheese.
Ingredients (8 cakes)
- ½ batch of rough puff dough (above)
- 100 g currants
- 25 g unsalted butter, melted
- 25 g light brown sugar
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- 1 orange or lemon, zest only
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7). Mix the currants, butter, brown sugar, spice and zest. Roll the pastry to 3 mm and cut 8 rounds of 10 cm.
- Put a heaped tablespoon of filling on each, gather the edges to the centre, pinch to seal, flip over and press flat with the rolling pin until the currants show through.
- Score 3 lines on top, brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until deep golden. Cool on a rack.
Hot oven, hot filling and allergens
Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.Hot syrup and sugar: syrup and jam fillings become hotter than boiling water and stick to skin. Let a tart cool for 15 minutes before cutting, and take care with hot jam when eating tarts straight from the tin.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk and egg.
Level 2 · Savoury
Vol-au-vent cases with a chicken filling
A round case with a hollow middle. Cut two rounds, cut a hole out of one to make a ring and stick it on top of the other. Press the cutter straight down; twisting it seals the edges and the pastry will not rise. Fill after baking.
Ingredients (8 vol-au-vents)
- ½ batch of rough puff dough (above)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tbsp butter
- 150 g mushrooms, finely chopped
- 200 g cooked chicken, diced
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 150 ml low-salt chicken stock
- 3 tbsp double cream
- 1 tsp chopped thyme
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7). Roll the pastry to 5 mm, cut 8 rounds of 7 cm and 8 rings by cutting a 4 cm hole in 8 more rounds. Brush the base round with egg and press the ring on top; brush the top only.
- Bake on a lined tray for 15 to 18 minutes until tall and golden. Press down the middle gently if it has risen.
- For the filling, fry the mushrooms in the butter, add the flour and stock to make a thick sauce, then the chicken, cream and thyme. Spoon into the warm cases.
Hot oven, cooked chicken and allergens
Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.Raw chicken and meat: keep raw meat on its own board and plate, wash hands, knives and boards in hot soapy water afterwards, and cook meat fillings right through (no pink, juices running clear) before they go under a pastry lid.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk, egg and cream; stock may contain celery.
Level 3 · Pie
A rough puff pie lid
Rough puff makes a lid that rises, flakes and crisps. Use it on the chicken and mushroom filling from Cooking Skills: Pastry 1, chapter 4. The lid should be 5 mm thick and the filling completely cold.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- ½ batch of rough puff dough (above)
- 1 cooled chicken and mushroom pie filling (Pastry 1, chapter 4)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tbsp plain flour, for rolling
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7). Fill a 20 cm pie dish with the cold filling and a pie funnel in the middle.
- Roll the dough 5 mm thick, cut a strip for the rim, wet the rim, and lay the lid over. Press, trim, cut a vent and brush the top (not the cut edge) with egg.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the lid has risen and is deep golden, lowering the oven to 190°C (170°C fan, gas 5) after 15 minutes if it darkens too fast.
Hot oven, steam and allergens
Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.Steam from a hot pie: a pie keeps hot steam and boiling filling inside the crust. Rest it for 10 minutes before cutting, cut from the side with the pie held steady, and keep your face back when you break the lid.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk and egg.
Experiments
Experiment
Butter cubes large or small
Layers.
- Make two small batches, one with 2 cm butter cubes and one with the butter rubbed in to pea size.
Look for: Larger lumps give more distinct flaky layers; smaller ones give a shorter, more crumbly texture. 2 cm is a good size.
Experiment
Number of turns
Rise.
- Bake pastry rolled after 2 turns and after 4 turns.
Look for: Two turns gives a rustic, uneven flake; four turns gives a taller, more even rise. More than six gets hard to manage.
Experiment
Chilled or not
Butter melting.
- Roll and cut half the dough straight away and chill the other half for 30 minutes before cutting.
Look for: The chilled dough rises evenly; the warm dough shrinks and leaks butter.
Experiment
Sharp or blunt cutter
Edges.
- Cut vol-au-vents with a sharp cutter pressed straight down and a blunt cutter twisted.
Look for: The sharp, straight cut rises tall. The twisted one seals the layers and rises crooked.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rough puff dough | ||||
| Eccles cakes | ||||
| Vol-au-vents | ||||
| Rough puff pie lid | ||||
| Butter cubes large or small | ||||
| Number of turns | ||||
| Chilled or not | ||||
| Sharp or blunt cutter |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Butter leaks out | Oven too cool or dough warm | Chill before baking; bake at 220°C |
| Pastry didn't rise | Butter melted into dough, or edges sealed | Keep cold, cut cleanly and press straight down |
| Tough pastry | Too much water or overworked | Use less water; roll gently |
| Uneven rise | Butter lumps uneven | Mix gently and fold carefully |
| Doughy inside | Underbaked | Bake until deep golden; lower the heat later |
| Dough cracks when rolling | Too cold or dry | Let it stand for 5 minutes |
Hot oven, raw dough and leftovers
Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.Raw dough and raw flour: raw flour and raw egg can carry germs, so don't taste raw pastry or filling that contains raw egg or raw meat. Wash hands, bowls and the worktop afterwards, and keep tasting for the cooked result.
Keeping and freezing: raw pastry keeps in the fridge for about 2 days wrapped tightly, and freezes for about 3 months (general guidance). Cooked pies and tarts keep for about 2 days chilled; reheat pies until steaming hot all the way through, and freeze cooked pies for no more than about 2 to 3 months.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can leave butter in lumps in the dough.
- I can roll and fold a letter turn.
- I know to chill between turns.
- I can cut cleanly so the pastry rises.
- I can use rough puff for pastries and pies.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Pastry 2, chapter 4 is Full Puff Pastry: classic lamination with a butter block locked in dough.