Comments We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing. Store-bought frozen puff pastry is a lifesaver any time of year, but especially as we move into the busy holiday season. With a package or two stashed in the freezer, I know a quick baked brie for visiting guests or plate of mini-quiche appetizers for a potluck is only a few steps away — and the empty, crumb-filled plates at the end of the night speak for themselves. If you’ve never used frozen puff pastry before, let me assure you that it couldn’t be easier. This is definitely a time where taking some help from the freezer aisle is the smart move. Read More About Puff in The Kitchn’s Baking School!Store-Bought Puff vs. Homemade PuffIn all honesty, I think most of us would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between store-bought and homemade in this case. Homemade puff pastry will usually puff a little more impressively and have a more delicate texture — but the difference is surprisingly small. The one real advantage of homemade puff is that you can choose the butter; using a high-quality butter will make a world of difference in the flavor of the finished pastry. Seek Out All-Butter Puff PastryYou might not get to pick the exact kind of butter used in your store-bought puff, but you can — and should — seek out brands that use only butter in their ingredients. Puff made partially or entirely with shortening or any other fat will have a far inferior taste to those made with butter alone. Read the labels and ingredient lists carefully.
Let Puff Thaw Before UsingThe only potentially tricky moment when working with store-bought puff is that it needs to completely thaw before you use it. If you can, take the package of puff out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge overnight. If you’re baking at the last minute and don’t have time for this long thaw, set the pastry on the counter, but keep an eye on it — you want to catch it right at the moment when the pastry is pliable enough to be rolled and shaped, but isn’t so warm that the dough is too limp to shape or the butter starts melting. Using Your Puff PastryPuff pastry is yours to play with. You can use it as a crust for a free-form tart, fold it into breakfast turnovers, bake it into cups for easy appetizers, or cut it into bite-sized shapes for appetizers. Here are a few favorite recipes to try first. Our Best Recipes with Puff Pastryor more sheets store-bought frozen puff pastry Equipment
Instructions
Recipe NotesIf you don't want the pastry to puff so dramatically, prick the dough all over with a fork (just like docking a pie crust). After baking, the pastry will be cracker-thin and shatteringly crisp. To make a tart with a puffy outside crust, lightly score a border around the entire edge with a paring knife and then prick everything inside this border with a fork. The edges will puff up while the center stays down. Make only what will be eaten and make it as close to serving as possible. Puff pastry loses its lovely crispiness after a few hours. Should I Thaw puff pastry before baking?It needs to be thawed before it can be baked into something delicious, and doing so overnight in the fridge is the best approach. This allows the pastry to become pliable without softening too much.
Does frozen puff pastry need to thaw?Puff pastry must be defrosted. If you're in a hurry, you can quickly thaw puff pastry at room temperature. The process takes an hour or two, but it will be less likely to cause the inside of the bread to freeze. If you need to defrost puff pastry, place it in the refrigerator overnight.
Do you bake puff pastry before filling?To prevent the pastry crust from becoming soggy, bake it for a few minutes before adding the filling. Puff pastry takes about 20-25 minutes to bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Baking puff pastry at 350 degrees Fahrenheit is the best temperature.
How do you use ready made puff pastry?Using Your Puff Pastry
You can use it as a crust for a free-form tart, fold it into breakfast turnovers, bake it into cups for easy appetizers, or cut it into bite-sized shapes for appetizers.
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