This tender & flaky rough puff pastry is both versatile and reliable, making it a great fit for any recipe that calls for puff pastry. I often find making traditional puff pastry too time-consuming, but this rough puff is quicker to make and produces the tender texture you want in your pastries.

Two squares of layered puff pastry stacked on top of each other.

🌟Why You Should Master this Rough Puff Pastry Dough

  • Foolproof rough puff pastry with fewer turns: Most people don’t have time to make a full puff pastry from scratch, so my rough-puff pastry is an ideal recipe. This recipe is faster, easier, and more suitable for beginners. The dough comes together really easily.
  • Customize your folds: You can fold this pastry 4 times for a classic puff pastry layering like in these puff pastry flowers or only fold this dough twice for pastries like rough puff rugelach.
  • One type of flour used: Many rough puff recipes call for multiple types of flour, but I’ve kept it straightforward with just one type of flour, all-purpose flour.
  • Oh-so-tender texture: The added cornstarch (or arrowroot powder) helps make the dough extra flaky and tender.

🤔 Rough Puff Pastry vs Traditional Puff Pastry

Rough Puff Pastry

  • Uses small butter chunks, and irregular butter pieces incorporated throughout the dough
  • A simple, more foolproof method that’s more suitable for beginner bakers
  • Flaky in texture with less-defined layers that you can’t necessarily see

Traditional Puff Pastry

  • Uses a process called dough lamination, where you fold a cold butter block into the dough several times with rest periods in between
  • More time-consuming and requires precision to maintain the cold butter layers, so it’s a better fit for more experienced bakers
  • Even, continuous butter layers between the dough layers creating a crispier and lighter texture, with well-defined visible layers

🧾 Ingredients in This Recipe

Flour, butter, ice water, salt, and powder on a countertop.
  • All-purpose flour – This adds structure and stability to the rough-puff dough. I’m using one type of flour instead of the usual multiple flours to keep it simple.
  • Cornstarch or arrowroot powder – These starches replace some of the flour so the proportion of ‘toughening’ elements is lower. They absorb moisture and help reduce the gluten development in the all-purpose flour, which gives a more tender pastry dough. This compensates for not using any cake flour in this recipe.
  • Unsalted butter – Do not use salted butter, as you want to control the salt level yourself.
  • Sea salt – The measurements in the recipe accommodate for the use of sea salt specifically, rather than another type of salt like table salt.
  • Ice water – This helps bring the rough puff dough together. It needs to be ice-cold so that it doesn’t melt the butter in the pastry dough.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

👩‍🍳How to Make Rough Puff Pastry

You can make this pastry up to 2 days in advance, and see below for freezing instructions.

Flour and chunks of butter in the metal bowl of a stand mixer.
  • In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine flour, cornstarch (or arrowroot powder), salt, and cold butter. Mix on the stir setting for about 30 seconds—you’re just coating the flour with butter, not fully mixing it in. The butter should still be in chunks.
Hand holding a chunk of pastry dough that was squished in the hand over a metal bowl with the rest of the dough.
  • Slowly add ice water to the flour while still mixing. Once the dough starts to come together, test it by squeezing a handful. If it sticks, it’s ready. If it’s still crumbly, you can add a bit more ice water.
Chunky pastry square pile on a countertop.
  • Press the dough into a rough square using a bench scraper to avoid warming the butter. It should look rough, not perfect, and that’s totally okay.
Pastry folded into thirds like a letter.
  • Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll it out into a 10″x15″ rectangle. Brush off any excess flour and fold the 15″ side toward the center 1/3 of the way up. Fold the other 1/3 over the top like you would a piece of paper going into an envelope. If the dough is getting too soft, refrigerate for 20 minutes, then continue.
Pastry rectangle next to a clear ruler.
  • Turn the dough 90-degrees, lightly flour the top of the dough and again roll it out into a 10″x15″ rectangle. Brush off any excess flour and fold the 12″ side toward the center 1/3 of the way up. Fold the other 1/3 over the top like you would a piece of paper going into an envelope.
Pastry folded in thirds on a silicone baking mat in the refrigerator.
  • Turn the dough 90-degrees, lightly flour the top of the dough and again roll it out into a 10″x15″ rectangle. Brush off any excess flour and fold the 10″ side toward the center 1/3 of the way up. Fold the other 1/3 over the top like you would a piece of paper going into an envelope. If the dough is getting too soft, refrigerate for 20 minutes, then continue.
Top view of two squares of layered puff pastry next to each other.
  • You want to fold (turn) the dough 4 times total for each rectangle. After your final folding, split the dough into two rectangles. When ready to use, roll each out into 10″x15″ rectangles and use them for any of your favorite puff pastry recipes.

❄️ Freeze your rough puff to use it later ❄️

I love to get ahead on my baking for events or holidays by making a batch of rough puff and keeping it for use later. You can make it and store it in the fridge for 2 days, or freeze it for longer (several months) and thaw it before using.

Two squares of layered puff pastry stacked on top of each other.

🥮 More Pastry Recipes

Put those pastry and dough skills to work with these creative and tasty recipes.

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Two squares of layered puff pastry stacked on top of each other.
Author: Candice Walker

Extra Tender & Flaky Rough Puff Pastry

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This tender & flaky rough puff pastry is both versatile and reliable, making it a great fit for any recipe that calls for puff pastry.
Prep Time50 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Resting Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Diet: Kosher, Vegetarian
Servings: 2 Sheets
Calories: 1804kcal

Ingredients

  • 310 grams all-purpose flour 1-3/4 cups plus 1 tbsp
  • 10 grams cornstarch or arrowroot powder, 1 tbsp
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 1.5 cups unsalted butter cold, 339 grams, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces
  • ½ cup ice water less 1 tbsp, 100 mL

Instructions

  • Add the flour, cornstarch/arrowroot powder, salt, and cold butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Run on the stir setting for 30 seconds until the flour is coated with butter. You are not incorporating the butter, and it will still be in chunks at this point.
  • Slowly add in the ice water while the mixer is stirring. Once the flour is incorporated, test the dough by squeezing a handful. If it sticks together, it is ready. If it is crumbly and dry, add a little more water.
  • Press the dough into a square. You can use a bench scraper to help you so you don’t get the butter too warm. It will look rough, and that is OK.
  • Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll it out into a 10"x15" rectangle. Brush off any excess flour and fold the 15" side toward the center 1/3 of the way up. Fold the other 1/3 over the top like you would a piece of paper going into an envelope. If the dough is getting too soft, refrigerate for 20 minutes, then continue.
  • Turn the dough 90-degrees, lightly flour the top of the dough and again roll it out into a 10"x15" rectangle. Brush off any excess flour and fold the 12" side toward the center 1/3 of the way up. Fold the other 1/3 over the top like you would a piece of paper going into an envelope.
  • Turn the dough 90-degrees, lightly flour the top of the dough and again roll it out into a 10"x15" rectangle. Brush off any excess flour and fold the 10" side toward the center 1/3 of the way up. Fold the other 1/3 over the top like you would a piece of paper going into an envelope. If the dough is getting too soft, refrigerate for 20 minutes, then continue.
  • You want to fold (turn) the dough 4 times total for each rectangle. After your final folding, split the dough into two rectangles. When ready to use, roll each out into 10"x15" rectangles and use them for any of your favorite puff pastry recipes.

Notes

That added cornstarch (or arrowroot powder) in my rough puff recipe helps make the dough soft and tender. These don’t contribute to gluten formation in the dough, which is what can a dough tough or chewy, creating a softer and more delicate texture.
You can make it and store it in the fridge for 2 days, or freeze it for longer (several months) and thaw it before using. Freeze it in the final folded stage, and roll it out after thawing just before use.

Nutrition

Calories: 1804kcal | Carbohydrates: 123g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 140g | Saturated Fat: 88g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 36g | Trans Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 366mg | Sodium: 607mg | Potassium: 207mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 4255IU | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 7mg
Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.

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