Puff pastry dough is a really fun ingredient to keep in your freezer. Whether you’re making something savory, like a wellington, or something sweet, like a turnover, puff pastry dough is the secret to a lot of great recipes. Most people buy their puff pastry dough at the grocery store, since that’s cheap and easy. But unfortunately, store-bought dough is full of gluten and dairy. That’s why I came up with this gluten-free vegan puff pastry recipe. This puff pastry recipe is just as flaky and buttery as the kind you might buy at the store, despite only using dairy-free butter. And gluten-free flour blend works perfectly as a substitute for the standard flour found in most puff pastry recipes. It’s a little bit of a labor of love to make puff pastry dough, but I think it’s totally worth it. It can be lots of fun, and you’re left with a pretty awesome product to cook with.
Notes on Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients you need to make this flaky puff pastry dough. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the article for the exact amounts of each ingredient.
Gluten-free 1-to-1 flour blendSaltSugarVegan butter – You’ll need to cube some of the butter, and shred the rest of it.Cold water – Ice water is preferable for this recipe.
What is Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend?
Gluten-free 1-to-1 flour blend is just a mixture of gluten-free flours that is designed to replicate all-purpose flour. The “1-to-1” means that it can be used as a direct substitute for all-purpose flour. You don’t need to make any conversions.
How to Make Gluten-Free Vegan Puff Pastry
Here’s how to make this buttery puff pastry dough.
Mix the dry ingredients. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl, and stir to combine.Add the butter cubes. Put the cold, cubed butter into the flour mixture, and toss to combine. Use a pastry cutter or a fork to break up the butter in the mixture until you’re left with coarse crumbs.
Add water. Pour half of the cold water into the butter and flour mixture, and mix until combined. Continue adding water until the dough is shaggy and mostly hydrated. The puff pastry dough should be able to hold together, but not feel wet to the touch.
Knead. Knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Shape and chill. Shape the dough into a square that’s about an inch thick. Cover it with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least an hour.
Grate the butter. Use a cheese grater to shred the butter, then place it in the freezer. Roll out the dough. Remove the dough from the fridge, and put it on a lightly-floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 6×12-inch rectangle. Add butter. Add half of the frozen butter onto the dough, spreading it out over ⅔ of the rectangle.
Fold the dough. Fold the third of the dough that doesn’t have butter on it over the center. Then fold the top third of the dough over, creating three layers.
Roll again. Rotate the pastry puff dough 90 degrees, and roll it out into a 6×12-inch rectangle again. Add the rest of the butter. Put the rest of the frozen butter on ⅔ of the rectangle.
Repeat the folding process. Go through the same steps to repeat the folding process.
Chill. Press the dough to seal the edges, then wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove the dough from the freezer when it’s cold enough to hold its shape, but not yet frozen. Roll the dough twice more. Once again roll the dough into a 6×12-inch rectangle, then do the letter fold again. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, and repeat the process one more time.
Chill a final time. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for another 15 minutes. Now it’s ready to use! Just be sure to cut off the edges of the dough to reveal the layers, which will make the puff pastry look professional when you bake it.
Tips for Success
Here are some of my best tricks and tips for making this gluten-free vegan puff pastry.
Keep it cold. In order to successfully make puff pastry dough, you have to be able to keep the dough very cold. If the dough becomes sticky or hard to roll at any point in the process, put it in the fridge or freezer until you’re able to work with it again.Patch any cracks. Sometimes when rolling out puff pastry dough, it will crack or tear. That’s okay! Just patch it up with some of the dough, and keep working. It will look just fine in the end.Know your butter. Different brands of vegan butter have different consistencies when frozen. You want to keep your butter cold when making this recipe, but some non-dairy butters are too hard when frozen, and become impossible to work with. Know what type of butter you’re using, and adjust as you go. Re-freeze the puff pastry. Once you use your puff pastry in a recipe, return it to the freezer before baking. Vegan butter melts really easily, so vegan puff pastry dough often becomes too soft very quickly. Place the recipe in the freezer until it’s ready to be baked, then place it straight in the oven.
How to Use
There are no shortage of fun and delicious recipes, both sweet and savory, that use puff pastry. I’m a big fan of puff pastry in dinner foods like my vegan wellington recipe, or my vegan pot pies. But this gluten-free puff pastry dough also works wonderfully with sweet recipes, like turnovers, Napoleons, and tarts.
How to Store Gluten-Free Vegan Puff Pastry
You can store the puff pastry in the fridge for up to 2 days. Just store the dough in an airtight container, or wrap it in plastic wrap, then roll out when you’re ready to use it.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
Puff pastry is normally stored in the freezer, and you can keep this gluten-free vegan puff pastry dough there for up to 3 months. Just wrap the dough in plastic wrap, then place it in an airtight container. Use the dough directly from the freezer. Enjoy friends! If you make this gluten-free vegan puff pastry, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
