When making croissants, Danish, and other flaky baked goods, there just isn't any substitute for puff pastry. Or is there one? As it turns out, vegans who can't enjoy the traditional dough have found a solution in vegan puff pastry, which is free of eggs and butter.
But what exactly is vegan puff pastry, and is it any good? Learn more about it below and decide for yourself whether you want to incorporate it into your next recipe.
Table of Contents
Is Puff Pastry Vegan?
Puff pastry isn't like the regular doughs you find in bread, donuts, and other baked goods. Unlike traditional doughs, which are homogenous all the way through, puff pastry is made using alternating layers of dough and butter. As the pastry bakes in the oven, these layers puff up and separate, giving the dough its characteristically flaky texture.
Because of this, traditional puff pastry is not vegan. In addition to the butter, many recipes also use eggs during baking to give it a glossy texture.
Even if you're not vegan, staying away from butter might be good for your health. Learn more about butter's nutritional value here.
What is Vegan Puff Pastry?
So if butter is so important to the recipe, how is vegan puff pastry possible? Well, after some experimenting, dedicated vegans have found that vegan butter or margarine works about as well as butter, lending a rich flavor as well as a flaky texture when baked. The result is a vegan puff pastry that's slightly different than the original but is every bit as tasty.
Top Vegan Puff Pastry Brands
While not all puff pastry is vegan, you might be surprised at which ones are entirely free of animal products. Take your pick from any of the top brands below.
Pepperidge Farm
Nutritional Info
| 160 | 140mg | 1g | 1g | 3g |
| Calories | Sodium | Dietary Fiber | Sugars | Protein |
Directions
Basic Instructions: 1. Thaw pastry sheets at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before gently unfolding. Wrap unused sheets in plastic wrap or foil and return to freezer. 2. Important: Preheat oven as directed in recipe prior to baking. 3. Roll and shape.
Did you know that one of the most common puff pastry brands at your local grocery store is actually vegan? Take a look at the ingredients for yourself. These are made with unbleached enriched wheat flour, water, vegetable oils, high fructose corn syrup, salt, mono- and diglycerides, soy lecithin, malted barley flour, and coloring.
It's easy to work with, with two sheets of dough packaged in separate bags. Simply thaw the dough for one hour, roll it out to the desired thickness, and use it for whatever baked goods you like.
Schär
- the sheets are frozen
- does not contain nuts or any nut products
- gluten-free, non-GMO, and dairy-free
- may contain soy
INGREDIENTS: water, margarine (palm oil, water, sunflower seeds oil, citric acid, sodium citrate, salt), non-GMO corn starch, rice starch, rice flour, chicory inulin, dextrose, modified cellulose, non-GMO soy protein, sunflower oil, guar gum, iodized salt (salt, potassium iodide), potato flakes, psyllium seed husk (vegetable fiber), rapeseed oil, ammonium bicarbonate, natural flavor.
If you're looking for an option that's gluten-free as well as vegan-friendly, you'll want to try this Schär puff pastry dough. It uses rice flour as a base and then follows a similar recipe as the Pepperidge Farm dough, using hydrogenated vegetable oils rather than butter. The end result is just as flaky and buttery as any dough, though it will have a slightly finer texture than dough made with wheat flour.
Simple Homemade Vegan Puff Pastry Recipe
Sometimes, baked goods made from scratch are just better. If you want to make your own vegan puff pastry, the process isn't more difficult than making the traditional kind. Just follow the steps below for the perfect pastry.
1. Prepare Your Butter
The key to good vegan puff pastry is butter that's as firm as possible. To get the right texture, grab a 5 oz. stick of vegan butter or margarine and shred it using a cheese grater. You can also use a food processor if you have a shredder attachment.
Then, place your shredded butter in a bowl, cover it, and place it in the freezer. It's important to freeze rather than just refrigerate, as this will ensure your butter is as firm as possible.
2. Make Your Dough
Puff pastry dough is very simple, consisting of just flour, salt, water, and butter. To start yours, mix 2 cups of all-purpose flour, half a teaspoon of salt, and 3 ½ tablespoons of softened butter (not the butter in the freezer). Mix them together using a fork until it has a coarse, breadcrumb-like texture. Then stir in half a cup of water, with a bit more in reserve if you need it.
Once everything is in the bowl, use your hands to bring it all together. Before the water is fully incorporated, it will have a dry texture, but as you knead it, it should come together. Once you're done, the bowl should be clean, and the dough should have formed a single large ball. If it's not, add a tablespoon or two of water until it comes together.
When the dough has formed a ball, knead it on a lightly floured surface for 3 minutes, until it's soft and smooth. Then form it into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and rest it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
3. Roll and Layer
After your dough has rested, clear a large workspace, dust it with flour, and roll your dough into a large rectangle. Make sure to roll it out evenly so it's a uniform thickness, ¼ inch all the way across.
When it's ready, coat your fingertips in flour and sprinkle half of your frozen butter shreds on the dough, coating the left two-thirds of its surface. Then return the remaining butter to the freezer.
Now, fold the remaining ⅓ of the dough without butter into the middle and brush off any excess flour. Then fold the remaining ⅓ over that, forming a wallet fold. Again, brush off any excess flour.
Turn your dough 90 degrees and roll it out again until it's ¼ inch thick. Then add the rest of the frozen butter in the same way as before, and finish by wallet folding again. Finally, pinch the tops and bottoms of your fingers to keep the butter inside, cover the entire thing in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Laminate
After the dough has rested for an hour, roll it out to ¼ thickness again, fold, and repeat once more, so you have rolled and folded a total of four times. It is this process of repeated rolling and folding that gives the dough its flaky texture. If you want it to be even flakier, repeat the process two more times, refrigerating for 1 hour after each step.
If you're looking for a way to use your vegan puff pastry, try our chicken mushroom and leek pie.
Recipe
Simple Homemade Vegan Puff Pastry Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 oz stick of vegan butter or margarine
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 ½ tbsp softened butter
- ½ cup water
- a handful of flour
Instructions
- Grab a 5 oz. stick of vegan butter or margarine and shred it using a cheese grater. Then, place your shredded butter in a bowl, cover it, and place it in the freezer. It's important to freeze rather than just refrigerate, as this will ensure your butter is as firm as possible.
- Mix 2 cups of all-purpose flour, half a teaspoon of salt, and 3 ½ tablespoons of softened butter (not the butter in the freezer) in a bowl. Mix them together using a fork until it has a coarse, breadcrumb-like texture. Then stir in half a cup of water, with a bit more in reserve if you need it.
- Once everything is in the bowl, use your hands to bring it all together. Before the water is fully incorporated, it will have a dry texture, but as you knead it, it should come together. Once you're done, the bowl should be clean, and the dough should have formed a single large ball. If it's not, add a tablespoon or two of water until it comes together.
- When the dough has formed a ball, knead it on a lightly floured surface for 3 minutes, until it's soft and smooth. Then form it into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and rest it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
- After your dough has rested, clear a large workspace, dust it with flour, and roll your dough into a large rectangle. Make sure to roll it out evenly so it's a uniform thickness, ¼ inch all the way across.
- When it's ready, coat your fingertips in flour and sprinkle half of your frozen butter shreds on the dough, coating the left two-thirds of its surface. Then return the remaining butter to the freezer.
- Now, fold the remaining ⅓ of the dough without butter into the middle and brush off any excess flour. Then fold the remaining ⅓ over that, forming a wallet fold. Again, brush off any excess flour.
- Turn your dough 90 degrees and roll it out again until it's ¼ inch thick. Then add the rest of the frozen butter in the same way as before, and finish by wallet folding again.
- Finally, pinch the tops and bottoms of your fingers to keep the butter inside, cover the entire thing in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- After the dough has rested for an hour, roll it out to ¼ inch thickness again, fold, and repeat once more, so you have rolled and folded a total of four times.
- It is this process of repeated rolling and folding that gives the dough its flaky texture. If you want it to be even flakier, repeat the process two more times, refrigerating for 1 hour after each step.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Even though pie crust has a totally different texture than puff pastry, its recipe is quite similar, using flour, salt, sugar, and, yes, butter. However, just like with vegan puff pastry, you can replace the butter with margarine or vegan butter to get a similar result. Just make sure to freeze your fat beforehand for the perfect texture.
Both of these flaky doughs are very similar, alternating sheets of thin pastry with fat to make a rich and flaky treat. However, they have a few differences. Phyllo dough uses oil, whereas puff pastry uses butter (or vegan butter) for a light and airy texture.
Puff pastry is also laminated, which is what holds the butter in the dough. Phyllo dough isn't laminated, which gives it a different texture.
Leave a Reply