Gluten-Free Puff Pastry

Real puff pastry without wheat sounds like a dare, but a rough-puff method — grating cold butter into the dough and laminating with a few letter folds — delivers dramatic flaky layers from a gluten-free blend. Keep everything cold and the folds honest, and this dough will handle tarts, turnovers, and cheese straws.

Yield: About 1 1/4 lb dough · Time: 2 hr (mostly chilling)

Ingredients

• 2 cups (280 g) gluten-free all-purpose flour blend with xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup (225 g) very cold butter, coarsely grated
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) ice water
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Directions

1. Whisk the flour blend, salt, and sugar. Toss the grated butter through, keeping the pieces distinct.
2. Stir in the ice water and lemon juice until a shaggy dough just holds together.
3. Press into a rectangle on a floured sheet of parchment, roll to 1/2 inch, and do a letter fold. Rotate 90° and repeat.
4. Chill 30 minutes, then do two more letter folds. Chill again before using.
5. Roll to 1/8–1/4 inch for baking; bake at 400°F (200°C) until puffed and golden.

Pro tip: Gluten-free dough tears more easily than wheat dough — roll between parchment sheets and patch cracks with a damp fingertip; the folds hide everything.

Gluten-Free Notes

If you are cooking for someone with celiac disease, cross-contact matters as much as ingredients — clean surfaces, dedicated utensils, and certified or labeled gluten-free packaged goods are the safe path.

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Browse more in Baking Basics & Pantry, or explore our gluten-free breakfast recipe database and hot cereal guide.