Quick Puff Pastry

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Toss in the butter and immediately stash the bowl in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Pull the bowl from the freezer and use your fingers to quickly separate the chunks of butter from one another. Use a table knife or pastry blender to briefly cut the butter into the flour, just enough to coat the butter with flour. Turn the contents of the bowl onto a clean work surface—preferably a marble board or metal counter. (A chilled rimmed baking sheet placed upside down on a damp kitchen towel works well, too. The cold surface will keep the butter from plummeting in temperature.)

Form a well in the middle of the pile of flour and butter and dribble in 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water. Quickly mix the water into the flour mixture with your fingertips (spread your fingers a bit apart, as if you were using your hand as a whisk). You can test the mixture by gently squeezing a small handful. The dough should hold together without crumbling. If it doesn’t, keep dribbling in water, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, until the dough starts to form. Remember to work quickly and to use your fingertips only.

Working quickly, knead the dough onto itself for about 15 seconds, just until it holds together.

Using a bench or dough scraper or your hands, form the dough into a roughly 4-by-4-inch (10-by-10-centimeter) square. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. 

Roll the dough out into a 15-by-8-inch (38-by-20-centimeter) rectangle. Fold the short ends over the middle, as if you were folding a letter, to create 3 layers. This is the first fold.

Rotate the entire rectangle of dough 90 degrees and flip it over so the seam side (or what was the top fold) is facing down. Roll the dough away from you (not side to side) into a 15-by-4-inch (38-by-10-centimeter) rectangle. Fold the short ends over the middle to create 3 layers again. This is the second fold.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. (If it isn’t hot and humid in your kitchen and you’re working quickly, you can skip this refrigeration step and immediately continue with the recipe.)

Repeat the process of folding and rotating the dough to create the third and fourth folds. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days before using it. (You can freeze the dough for up to 2 months. Just wrap it well in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-safe resealable plastic bag before tossing it in the freezer. Thaw it out in the refrigerator before using.) Originally published February 22, 2015.