How to Make Flaky or Puff Pastry Dough

How to Make Flaky or Puff Pastry Dough
Making flaky pastry is a much more involved process than making shortcrust pastry and takes considerably longer to produce but, essentially, it just requires a series of rollings repeated at intervals.

For 1 lb (454 g) of dough

2 cups (9 oz / 260 g) of flour
Pinch of salt
2½ sticks (10 oz 280 g) of butter
¾ cup (6 oz / 180 ml) of chilled water

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl.
Lightly cut in 2 tablespoons of the butter.
Add sufficient water, one tablespoon at a time, to make a firm dough.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Lightly beat the remaining butter into a 5 x 4” (12.5 x 10 cm) block.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 6 x 12” (15 x 30 cm) rectangle.
Place the butter in the middle of the dough along the long axis and fold each end of the dough over the butter to form a neat package.
Press the sides together and turn the package over.
Roll out the dough into an oblong shape, fold it over into three and turn the package 90° counter-clockwise.
Repeat again, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Repeat the rolling and folding process six more times, chilling the dough in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes between each repeat.
If the dough appears streaky after the final rotation, roll it out only once more: the pastry will not rise properly if over-processed.
The dough should be placed on a wet baking sheet and then baked in a hot oven at 425°F (190°C) so that the resultant steam helps the pastry to rise.