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An easy recipe for homemade vegan rough puff pastry! Flour, butter, salt, and water, that’s all you need to make this rough puff pastry recipe! Suitable to use for savory or sweet recipes calling for puff pastry!
Say goodbye to store-bought puff pastry, we don’t need you anymore! This recipe is, in fact, so easy to make with only a few ingredients, and homemade dough always comes with better quality, taste, and freshness than the one from the supermarket.
What Is Roug Puff Pastry?
It’s the cheater version of classic puff pastry. Fun aside! Rough Puff Pastry is as delicious as its original but much easier to prepare. The downside is that it comes with fewer layers, but you most probably won’t even recognize this once baked.
A regular puff pastry is made with lots of different layers: Doug, butter, dough, butter, and so on. This is a somewhat difficult procedure which takes up lots of time and practice to manage.
If you aren’t a baking pro but still want to prepare a homemade puff pastry, go with this cheater version. You can use it the same way as the classic one for all your favorite vegan puff pastry recipes!
All you need is flour, butter, salt, and water. Plus, a stand mixer and a rolling pin. You can also use a food processor with the dough hook attached.
Vegan Puff Pastry
Besides the advantages I already mentioned, homemade puff pastry comes with another plus. You can make sure it’s 100% vegan! This is only applicable if you are following a plant-based diet with no dairy allowed (whether by choice or allergies).
Not all store-bought puff pastry sheets are vegan, as some are made with regular butter, which contains dairy. In case you still prefer to buy it (sometimes there is just no time to make it from scratch), please make sure to check the label of ingredients before adding it to your basket.
It’s totally ok if you prefer to make this recipe using regular butter if you aren’t following a vegan diet. The measurements listed in the recipes card are the same if using regular or plant-based butter.
Make sure you use a vegan butter which is hard when cold (same consistency than regular butter) and not the one which is soft like margarine. If you are unsure what to buy, go with Earth Balance Vegetable Oil Buttery Sticks!
Now, let me show you how to make this puff pastry from scratch!
Two Simple Rules To Stick To
- Always work with cold dough and cold butter (plant-based)!
- Don’t overwork/over-knead your dough!
Rough Puff Pastry Recipe
→ Check out the recipe video! You can see how to make this dough in less than a minute!
This step-by-step guide will help you along the way – definitely recommended if you’re a new cook!
The exact quantities and everything else you need to know for the recipe can be found in the recipe card below.
Ingredients you need:
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) (113 g) vegan butter, cold, in pieces → VEGETARIAN: use regular butter
- 3 tbsp ice water
Before we start, make sure to work with cold butter and ice water!
- Mix all-purpose flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cold butter in pieces and mix on low speed, with the flat beater attached, until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add ice water and mix at low speed until it comes together to a dough. DON’T KNEAD or overwork the dough!
- Use your hands to form it into a square (or rectangle). Warp with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Place the dough on a floured working surface and roll it into a long rectangle, using a rolling pin.
- First, fold the upper third into the middle, then fold the lower third into the middle on top of the other so that you have three layers. Use your hand to stretch and form into a nice square.
Fold the upper third into the middle. Fold the lower third into the middle on top of the other.
- Turn the dough 90° and repeat these steps three times until you have a smooth dough. → Use more flour if needed to prevent the dough from sticking. If the dough gets to warm and hard to work with, let it chill for a few minutes in the refrigerator before you proceed.
- Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes up to two days.
- If you are ready to make your recipe, place the puff pastry on a floured working surface and roll it out into a thin square or rectangle (as needed).
Recipe FAQ
How long can I store homemade puff pastry? For up to two days in the fridge.
Can I freeze it? Yes, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost overnight in the refrigerator or up to a few hours at room temperature.
Can I use frozen butter? Yes, but make sure to defrost for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Otherwise, you are going to break your stand mixer.
Recipes Using Puff Pastry
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Rough Puff Pastry
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) (113 g) vegan butter cold, in pieces → VEGETARIAN: use regular butter
- 3 tbsp ice water
Instructions
- Mix all-purpose flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cold butter in pieces and mix on low speed, with the flat beater attached, until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add ice water and mix at low speed until it comes together to a dough. DON'T KNEAD.
- Use your hands to form it into a square. Warp with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Place the dough on a floured working surface and roll it into a long rectangle, using a rolling pin. First, fold the upper third into the middle, then fold the lower third into the middle on top of the other so that you have 3 layers. Use your hand to stretch and form into a nice square. Turn the dough 90° and repeat these steps three times. Use more flour if needed to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes up to two days.
- If you are ready to make your recipe, place the puff pastry on a floured working surface and roll it out into a thin square or rectangle (as needed).
Notes
- How long can I store homemade puff pastry? For up to two days in the fridge.
- Can I freeze it? Yes, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost overnight in the refrigerator or up to a few hours at room temperature.
- Always work with cold dough and cold butter (plant-based)!
- Don’t overwork/over-knead your dough!
I don’t comment often but I must tell you that this recipe saved my tempeh bacon. You see I bought a vegan puff pastry to use for my vegan mushroom wellington but it was horrible to work with. The dough tore easily for it was too thin, it fell apart, it did not respond well to my oil/almond milk combo. I even took it out of the fridge thirty minutes before trying to work with it. Let’s just say after three tries I nearly gave up. My loaf was starting to resemble those inside out cats. The next day was Thanksgiving & I decided to try to find an easy puff pastry recipe that I can create quickly but all the recipes I found online were seemingly too complicated and or too time consuming. Some say to use hot water, some say to use cold water, others required it too much time in the fridge. Then I found your recipe. It was exactly what I was looking for. It was so much easier and so much faster. I whipped it up and placed it in the fridge for about forty-five minutes and it was so easy to work with. It allowed me to braid my wellington into a beautiful masterpiece of a loaf that was a huge hit for my vegan holiday spread. Thank you!
Thank you for your Feedback, Brian! 💕 Glad to hear it worked well with my recipe! 😉
I want to try this recipe for dinner tonight but I need a clarification about quantity in grams … I read 1 cup ( 226 grams ) of butter is 1 stick … is it correct ?! 1 stick looks to me less of 200 grams !
Maybe 2 sticks for 1 cup of butter ?!
Thank you 😊
Hi Maria, you can find all measurements in grams in the recipe. And yes you are right, 1 stick of butter is 1/2 cup or 113g! 😉
We need photo’s of the finished pastry to see what the flake structure is. Can you please add some? Thank you.
Hi Bevin, feel free to check out my Vegan Nectarine & Peach Puff Pastry Tarts Recipe to see how the baked puff pastry looks. 😉
Can I use gf flour instead of regular flour?
Hi Erin, I never made this puff pastry with gluten-free flour, therefore, I honestly can’t tell you if it works. Sorry!
would these be a good puff pastry for palmiers?
I never made palmiers with this puff pastry, but I don’t see why you can’t use it. 😁
Good to know that works too! I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
Thank you! I am so glad you like my recipes, Ghulam. 😉
At what temperature do I bake it for and for how long?
This widely depends on what you are going to bake with the puff pastry. 390°F/ 200°C for 15-20, but make sure to stick to the recipe you use the puff pastry for!
Flawless!!! I had never made puff pastry before and this was so easy and gratifying!!
Thank you so much for letting me know, Jen! So happy to hear that! ☺️
Aline
Thank you! The instructions are easy to follow. It was a beautiful dough!
I am happy to hear that, Any!
This puff pastry is amazing battery flaky absolutely beautiful thank you so much for sharing your recipe
I am so happy to hear that you love this puff pastry recipe! Thank you for your kind words and comment, Regina!
All the best,
Aline
Would I be able to freeze it after the last step until I needed it? Do you think it would turn out well/have you done it?
Hi Mary Ann, I have never frozen homemade puff pastry, but it shouldn’t be a problem. Make sure to thaw it entirely before using it.
0.2 cup means hiw many cups exactly pls..?
It’s about 3.5 tablespoons or 50g!
Can you make this by hand instead of using a kitchen machine? and how much longer will it take to do it? also how long can the pastry be stored for?
Hi Michelle. I don’t have experience in making the dough by hand, but I am sure it works. It will take you longer and it’s more demanding. You can store the puff pastry for up to one day in your fridge (before baking).
Please let me know how it turned out by hand. 🙂
Aline
Good quality puff pastry is the perfect base for tasty appetizers and party food. In fact, this pastry is so good, I find myself eating just the puff pastry and loving it every time I make this.
Dear Emma, I am delighted to hear that you like my puff pastry recipe so much. It’s indeed a perfect base for a lot of delicious things to eat.
Can you recommend a technique without using a stand mixer or food processor with a dough hook attachment, as I do not have access to these things, and also to not overwork the dough? Thank you kindly.
Hi Amy, you can pulse the ingredients a few times using a food processor and then finish it by hand. Or, mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl using a spoon, crumble the butter with your hands, and knead it into a dough using your hands. Let me know how it worked out! 😉