Want to make elegant, beautiful and delicious pastries without all the fuss? This rough puff pastry dough recipe is the solution! With just five ingredients and 30 minutes, you can put together a quick puff pastry dough that works wonders for anything from flaky cheese straws to tender turnovers and more. YUM.

rough puff pastry dough on a surface

Rough Puff Pastry Dough

Hello, September! How did we get here already? I was still planning on a few more hot and sunny days at the lake with a cold beverage in hand getting that classic Midwestern sunburn. Alas, I think those days are over for this year — in which case, I am ready to embrace all the goodness that is fall.

Call me basic, but I am 100% an aficionado of cozy sweaters, big scarves, oversized mugs of warm drinks, all things pumpkin, color-changing leaves, and that classic crisp breeze that welcomes its way in with autumn. In my dream life, I would live in this shoulder season between summer and fall forever. It’s seriously the best.

Also in my dream life? Flaky, buttery, delicious pastries on hand at all times. While the reality is that the seasons are going to change whether I like it or not, it is actually true that with this rough puff pastry dough recipe, I can have pastries at the ready whenever I want — and I can make it happen in less than an hour (and so can you!).

Rough Puff Pastry Dough vs. Classic Puff Pastry Dough

Before I give you the full step-by-step (easy!) tutorial on how to make rough puff pastry dough, let’s talk about what it even is first (always a good idea).

There are two types of puff pastry: Classic puff pastry and rough/quick/blitz puff pastry. For classic puff pastry dough, there usually is a slab of butter that gets incorporated (or “laminated”) into the dough, which yields those showstopping flaky layers you know and love. Rough puff pastry dough, on the other hand, incorporates butter into the dough in coarse pieces and comes together in a fraction of the time — and also yields showstopping flaky layers.

While I completely understand the desire to go all out on making a French-style laminated puff pastry dough from scratch, it can also be a pain to make sure the ingredients are at the appropriate temperatures, that you remember which interval of fold-and-roll you’re on, etc. etc. So we have rough puff pastry dough to the rescue, giving us those tender, buttery pastries we crave without all the stress to get there.

How to Make Rough Puff Pastry Dough

So how do we do it? LEMMETELLYOU.

flour, baking powder and salt in bowls
flour mixture in a bowl with a whisk

First, combine the dry ingredients. When it comes to baking, I like to weigh my dry ingredients when I can (this is the baker’s scale I’ve used for years!). If you don’t have a scale, use the spoon-and-sweep method to measure out your flour — spoon flour into a measuring cup, then sweep any excess flour flat off the top of the cup with a knife. This ensures you aren’t adding any extra flour to the dough, which will weigh it down.

flour and butter in bowls
butter and flour in a bowl with a pastry blender

Next, cut in the cold butter. I use a pastry blender, but a fork or even your fingers work well, too. Be sure to cut in the butter until the butter pieces are the size of peas and the mixture resembles a coarse crumble. TIP: Use the highest-quality butter you can afford or find! Since we’re using only a few ingredients, having good-quality ingredients is a major plus.

butter and flour in a bowl with a bowl of sour cream off to the side
flour mixture in a bowl

Stir in the sour cream (again, use a high-quality sour cream for best results). The mixture at this point will still be very crumbly, but let’s turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it into a rough dough.

puff pastry dough on a surface

Once that’s done, shape the dough into a rough log.

rough puff pastry dough rolled out onto a surface

Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour, then use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into an 8×10-inch rectangle. Look at that marbled butter!

rough puff pastry dough folded like a business letter

Dust the top of the dough again, then fold in both shorter sides of the dough like a business letter.

rough puff pastry dough on a surface

Flip the dough over and give it a 90-degree turn. Dust the top with flour and roll out to an 8×10-rectangle. Fold in three again.

At this point, if the dough looks like it has come together pretty well, you can cover it tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes (or freeze up to 2 months for later use). If it’s still looking a little rough, feel free to do another round of flip, rotate, flour and roll. Then fold in three again, cover and chill/freeze.

rough puff pastry dough on a surface

And THAT’S IT.

How to Store Rough Puff Pastry Dough

If you’re using the dough right away, make sure it is chilled for at least 30 minutes and stays cold as long as possible when assembling your pastry. If you’ve frozen the dough, let it thaw covered in the fridge overnight before using.

You can use this dough for any recipe that calls for puff pastry, including an easy and tasty dessert recipe I’ll be sharing next week. Until then, happy baking (and happy fall!).

Check out this Homemade Pizza Dough or Fried Dough for another favorite dough recipe!

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If you enjoy this homemade puff pastry dough recipe, please leave a rating and review! You can find more great recipes on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Check out these Dessert Recipes for more recipes!

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rough puff pastry dough on a surface

Rough Puff Pastry Recipe

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  • Author: Stephanie
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 1 generous pound puff pastry (enough to roll out to 12×24-inch rectangle) 1x
  • Category: Pastry
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: French
Print Recipe

Description

A quick and easy rough puff pastry dough recipe that can be used for anything from Danishes to tarts and more! This simple dough yields perfectly flaky, buttery and tender pastries in a fraction of the time and effort.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups (241g) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pats
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
  2. Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingers to cut in butter gradually until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Butter should be left in large pea-sized pieces.
  3. Stir in sour cream (dough will still be crumbly). Turn mixture out onto a well-floured surface. Knead a few times to form a cohesive dough.
  4. Use hands to roughly pat dough into log shape; lightly dust with flour. Use a rolling pin to roll out dough into an 8×10-inch rectangle.
  5. Lightly dust top of dough with flour. Starting with a shorter end, fold dough in three like a business letter.
  6. Flip dough over and rotate 90 degrees. Dust lightly with flour and roll out t0 an 8×10-inch rectangle. Fold in three again.
  7. At this point, the dough should be fairly well incorporated and smooth (it doesn’t have to be perfect but it shouldn’t be shaggy/crumbly). If not, repeat the flip-rotate-flour-roll out process one more time.
  8. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes before using, then roll out pastry into desired size for recipe. If not using right away, freeze up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight before using.

Notes

Here are a few more step-by-step recipes for you: