Puff Pastry

Puff pastry is a laminated wheat dough that bakes into many thin, flaky layers. It tastes buttery and delicate, shattering into crisp shards when bitten; steam generated during baking creates dramatic lift. Cooks use it for tarts, turnovers, palmiers, sausage rolls, and pot pie lids, and it is sold as frozen sheets or blocks made with butter or vegetable fat.\n\nDeveloped in France as pâte feuilletée in the 17th century from earlier laminated doughs, it spread across Europe and into global bakery traditions. Modern production relies on mechanical lamination and freezing for consistent layers and wide distribution.