Quick Puff Pastry Dough

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 lb cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 1/4 cups cold water

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Preparation ---

2. 2

   In large bowl, toss flours and salt with butter cubes, making sure all surfaces of butter are covered with flour. Stir water into flour mixture until combined (will be a shaggy ball). Refrigerate dough in bowl, uncovered, 10 minutes.

3. 3

   On heavily floured surface, pat dough out to 6x10-inch rectangle, making sure top and bottom sides of dough are well floured. With floured rolling pin, roll dough out to 8x24-inch rectangle. Brush excess flour off dough with pastry brush. Bring top and bottom shorter edges to almost meet in center, leaving 1-inch gap. Bring top of dough down to bottom edge, letting dough lay loosely on top as folded. Rotate dough rectangle 90 degrees.

4. 4

   Scrape surface and rolling pin of any sticky dough. Heavily flour surface again. With floured rolling pin, roll dough out to 8x24-inch rectangle for second time. Brush excess flour off dough with pastry brush. Bring top and bottom shorter edges to almost meet in center, leaving 1-inch gap. Bring top of dough down to bottom edge, letting dough lay loosely on top as folded. Rotate dough rectangle 90 degrees.

5. 5

   Heavily flour surface again. With floured rolling pin, roll dough to 8x24-inch rectangle for third and final time. Bring top and bottom shorter edges to almost meet in center, leaving 1-inch gap. Bring top of dough down to bottom edge, letting dough lay loosely on top as folded. Rotate dough rectangle 90 degrees for final time.

6. 6

   Place folded dough on cooking parchment paper-lined cookie sheet; cover top lightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm before using.

7. 7

   Use puff pastry dough in your favorite recipe, or try one of ours: Flaky Apple Turnovers or Fresh Peach and Blueberry Tart.

8. 8

   --- Tips ---

9. 9

   Puff pastry has many layers of butter and dough. The process of making the flaky layers comes about through completing "book folds" -- a series of rolling the dough out three times, folding dough into a book fold three times, and rotating the dough 90 degrees each time.

10. 10

    Quick puff pastry will be shaggy and rough looking dough at first, but the more you roll the dough out, the better looking it will be.

11. 11

    Bread flour and all-purpose flour are both used in this recipe to ensure flaky layers.

12. 12

    Keep work surface and rolling pin well-floured to make sure dough does not stick.