Rough Puff Pastry Dough

With all the shortages we're experiencing, one has to be creative .... so when I couldn't find any frozen puff pastry at the supermarket recently, I decided to see how hard it would be to make my own. (I wanted to make Ham and Leek Empanadas, and puff pastry wraps around that yummy ham and leek mixture perfectly.) Well lo and behold, it's really easy, and I'd even say fun. Only four ingredients, the same that I use for pie pastry, and a slightly different treatment.

Making Puff Pastry

I used my Cuisinart to grate the frozen butter, (first time I ever used that attachment!). Then tossed the butter with the flour mixture, returned it to a clean cuisinart bowl and added the water through the feed tube - just like I do with pie pastry.

What makes this dough "puff"? It's that folding and layering. According to bakingamoment.com, "Butter is layered within the dough, creating hundreds of flaky layers. This process is called “lamination.” When the cold butter goes into a hot oven, steam is released, causing all those layers to separate and the pastry to puff up sky high!"

Rough Puff Pastry Dough
(Makes the equivalent to a two-sheet frozen box of Puff Pastry / 8 empanadas)

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) PLUS 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
5 to 6 tablespoons ice water
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Mix together the flour and salt into a chilled metal bowl.
Set grater in the flour mixture and coarsely grate frozen butter into the flour, gently lifting flour and tossing to coat the butter OR use the grating blade in a food processor to quickly grate the frozen butter and then toss it in the flour mixture to coat the butter.
Drizzle 5 tablespoons ice water evenly over flour mixture and gently sift with a fork until incorporated OR change to the standard S-blade in the food processor, pour the flour butter mixture into the bowl and add the ice water through the feed tube while running on low until it just begins to come together.
Test the mixture by gently squeezing a small handful; it will hold together without crumbling when it is the right texture. If necessary, add another tablespoon of ice water, stir or process, and then test again. (If you over work the dough or add too much water, the pastry will be tough.)
Gather the mixture together and form into a 5-inch square, then chill, wrapped in wax paper, until it's firm, about 30 minutes. (Dough will be lumpy and streaky.)
Roll out the dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 15-by-8-inch rectangle.
Arrange dough with the short side nearest you, then fold dough into thirds like a letter, bottom third up, top third down over the dough.
Rewrap and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
Arrange dough on a floured surface once again with the short side nearest you and repeat rolling out, folding and chilling 2 more times (4 times total).
Brush off any excess flour, then wrap dough in wax paper and chill at least 1 hour.
Finally roll out for use.

Remember: for this to work, the pastry must be COLD and the oven must be HOT. Make sure the pastry feels cold and stiff and make sure your oven is preheated, so that the minute it goes in, the butter releases steam and lifts all those gorgeous layers.