Vegan Puff Pastry (Video Included)

Making vegan pastry from scratch is easy using this fool-proof cheat method. Enjoy some crispy, flaky goodness in half the time it takes to make traditional puff pastry!

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 25

Resting Time 2 20

Total Time 2 45

Servings

Calories 190

Author Jhanelle Golding

Equipment

Grater
Mixing bowls
Rolling Pin

Ingredients

⅔ cup (150 g) vegan butter or margarine (not unsalted) (5 oz) stick form NOT spreadable, frozen
2 cups (250 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
3½ tablespoons (50 g) vegan butter softened
½ cup (130 ml) water plus more if needed, lukewarm

Instructions

Prepare the vegan butter:

Grab a box grater and using the largest side, shred the frozen vegan butter onto a plate. You can also use a food processor with a shredder attachment.
⅔ cup vegan butter or margarine (not unsalted)
Place margarine shreds in the freezer while you make the dough.

Make the basic dough (détrempe):

In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the softened vegan butter, mixing with a fork until it resembles breadcrumbs.
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 3½ tablespoons vegan butter
Gradually stir in the water and continue mixing until all the flour comes together.
½ cup water
Use your hands at this point to help form the dough. It will look dry at first but keep pressing the dough together until the bowl looks fairly clean. Only add more water if necessary.
Lightly flour a clean surface and knead the dough with your hands, for about 2 to 3 minutes or until it is soft and smooth. Shape into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Layer in the margarine shreds:

Roll out the dough into a rectangle about ¼ inch/6mm thick. Remove the vegan butter shreds from the freezer.
Lightly dust your fingertips with flour and add half the shreds to the left two-thirds of the dough. Add the remaining butter shreds back into the freezer.
Fold over one-third of the dough (the right side without any butter shreds). Next fold the left side, forming a wallet fold. Always brush away any excess flour while folding.
Make a quarter turn with the dough and roll lengthwise into the shape of a rectangle about a ¼ inch/6mm thick. Add the remaining vegan butter shreds to two-thirds of the dough and repeat the wallet folding step.
Seal the openings to keep the butter shreds from falling out of the dough then cover with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. It can also be left overnight.

Fold or Laminate the Dough:

Once rested, repeat the rolling and folding step twice to create more layers in the dough. Then wrap the dough with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
At this point, the dough the ready for use. But if you’d like to create even more flaky layers, you can repeat the rolling and folding step two more times. The dough must be refrigerated (not frozen) for at least 1 hour after rolling and folding to relax the gluten or it will be tough when baked.

Video

Notes

Recipe makes 1 lb/500g of dough.
The times in the written recipe will vary from the times in the video since this is a more updated post but the technique remains the same.
If the margarine or dough gets warm at any point during the process, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Wrap the puff pastry dough airtight in plastic wrap or place in a zip lock bag and store in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
When ready to use, thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes until it is pliable enough to roll out.
Check the post for Step-by-Step Photos and FAQs. Feel free to ask any other questions!

Nutrition