Basic Puff Pastry

*You have to plan ahead when using this recipe.  It doesn’t require a whole lot of work, but puff pastry needs a lot of time in between rollings.  This, however, is worth it.  You can cut corners with the recipe by letting the dough sit in the freezer inbetween rollings at a shorter interval, but make sure the dough stays cold the entire time (otherwise, your pastry will be flat).  Decreasing the amount of time between rollings is okay, but you get a better puff if used as directed here.

Basic Puff Pastry

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup chilled butter
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2/3 cup chilled butter

1. Combine sifted flour and salt; rub 2 tbsp butter into the dough. Stir the lemon juice and water (a little at a time, you may not need all of it) into the flour mixture until cohesive and soft.  (Do not overmix). Roll out dough into a 3×7″ rectangle. Chill.
2. Next, roll the chilled butter into a rectangle about half the size as the dough.
3. Lay out the dough and lay the butter on top.  Fold the dough over the butter and seal the edges.
4. Roll the dough out to a 8×3″ rectangle; then fold the lower third of the pastry over, and then the top third. Roll out to an 8×3″ rectangle and chill for 30 minutes.
5. Repeat step 4 three times (you may speed up this process by freezing the dough, but remember to give it adequate time to rest). Chill for at least one hour.
6. Use as directed.