Puff Pastry, also known as pâte feuilletée, is a flaky light pastry dough that “puff up” in the oven. Puff pastry creates beautiful layers and buttery yet airy texture for both sweet and savory dishes. However, making your own puff pastry dough requires a lot of time and effort. And sometimes, when you are short on time but still want to impress your loved ones or prepare for a party, store-bought frozen puff pastry dough will be the perfect answer!
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Easy Recipes Made With Puff Pastry:
- Fancy Danishes
Recipe – http://www.ntd.tv/2017/06/16/fancy-danishes/
- The Knitted Dog
Recipe – http://www.ntd.tv/2017/06/01/for-more-diy-ideas-to-serve-hot-dogs/
- Easy Egg Custard
Recipe – http://www.ntd.tv/2017/05/22/4-ingredient-egg-custard/
- Party Snacks
Recipe – http://admin.ntd.tv/assets/uploads/-000//1/Bacon-4way-16×9.jpg
- Pear in Puff Pastry
Recipe – http://www.ntd.tv/2017/05/16/pear-in-puff-pastry/
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Where to Buy Frozen Puff Pastry
So now the question is where can you get ready-to-bake puff pastry dough? If you live in the States, the chances are you can find them in the frozen aisle in supermarkets such as Walmart and Target.
1. Pepperidge Farm puff pastry (17.3 oz)
Price: Around $5
Packaging: Pepperidge Farm offers a variety of puff pastry products, from sheets, cups, to shells. The most common one being the puff pastry sheets. They comes in 2 rectangular sheets, each folded in thirds, with paper liners inside to prevent the dough from sticking together.
Quality: The sheets are thin and easy to work with. It puffs well in the oven especially with egg wash.
Retail: Walmart & Target
2. Dufour’s Classic All-Butter puff pastry (14 oz)
Price: Around $11
Packaging: It comes in one nearly-square sheet, folded twice, with liners inside to prevent the dough from sticking together.
Quality: The sheet is slightly thicker than the Pepperidge Farm one. It is made with real butter and therefore tastes more rich and buttery. It puffs very well in the oven especially with egg wash.
Retail: Whole Foods Market & Fairways & specialty markets
3. Dufour’s Good Wives puff pastry
Price: Around $11
Packaging: It comes in one rectangular sheet, folded once, without any liners to separate the dough. Once thawed, it sticks together immediately.
Quality: The sheet is very thick to begin with and thus harder to cut and shape. Compare to Pepperidge Farm and Dufour Classic, it puffed but not as much considering how thick the dough was before going into the oven. It might work better for those who roll out their puff pastry or prefer a chewier taste.
Retail: Whole Foods Market
4. White Toque puff pastry (16 oz)
Price: Around $11
Packaging: It comes in 2 round sheet, folded. It’s perfect for making pies, no trimming necessary!
Quality: The sheet is very thick to begin with and thus harder to cut and shape. Compare to Pepperidge Farm and Dufour Classic, it puffed but not as much considering how thick the dough was before going into the oven. It might work better for those who roll out their puff pastry or prefer a chewier taste.
Retail: Whole Foods Market
5. Geefree Gluten-Free puff pastry (18 oz)
Price: Around $9
Packaging: It comes in 2 rectangular sheets, folded.
Quality: It’s gluten free, all natural, no soy, no corn. It’s a nice alternative for those looking for gluten-free options. However, compare to the regular puff pastry dough, these ones are yellow in color and dense after thawing. It did not puff as much and it’s just a tad too salty for making sweet desserts in my opinion.
Retail: Whole Foods Market
6. Trader Joe’s Holiday puff pastry
Price: N/A
Packaging: It comes in whole un-folded sheets.
Quality: It’s only available around holiday season at Trader Joe’s, so I have not got a chance to try it. People love this puff pastry though. Grab yours while it lasts!
Retail: Trader Joe’s
7. local bakery home-made puff pastry
Price: Varies
Quality: Usually freshly made and high quality.
Retail: Hope you find one that makes them in your area. 😉
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How to Prepare Puff Pastry for Baking:
To Store:
Commercially made puff pastries are sold in the frozen aisle. It can be stored in the freezer in the original packaging for up to 6 months. Keep it frozen until you are ready to bake.
To Thaw:
Thaw in fridge overnight or in room-temperature 45 minutes prior to use. Freeze any unused pieces immediately.
To Bake:
On average puff pastry needs to be baked for 15-20 minutes at temperatures ranging from 325° F-375° F for convection ovens. Follow the recipe and do not under bake.
Puff pastry can puff up to 8 times its original thickness. So keep that in mind and leave room for it to puff especially when working with fillings.
To Re-use:
The dough scraps can be reused as long as you pile them up into a tower and then roll them out again. However, do not roll the scraps into a ball. They will lose their folds and not puff in oven.
