Easy Gluten Free Puff Pastry (Rough Puff)

Name: Easy Gluten Free Puff Pastry (Rough Puff)
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 2 cups (280g) Kim's gluten free all purpose flour blend; 1 tbsp (12g) granulated sugar; ½ tsp (3g) kosher salt; 1½ cups (3 sticks or 339g) unsalted European butter, cut into half-inch slices ((Kerrygold is my favorite)); ½ cup (120g) cold water; ½ tsp lemon juice

Modified: Nov 20, 2025 · Published: Jan 14, 2022 by Kim · This post may contain affiliate links · 87 Comments

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My Easy Gluten Free Puff Pastry can be made in under an hour. This rough puff is so flaky and buttery, no one will believe it's gluten free.

rough puff pastry side view with layers.

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I posted my recipe for gluten free quick puff back in May of 2019 and then a revised version in January of 2022 that I thought was great (and it still is). BUT, I find myself never being able to leave well enough alone. That's a good thing for y'all, though (and myself) because it often leads to bigger and better things. And in this case, the difference is staggering.

While that second recipe of mine was great, it used a total of 7 ingredients, not including all the ingredients within the flour blend. That's quite a lot for something that we already have to make ourselves, don'tcha think? And most, if not all, of the time it's often used in recipes as a base, meaning even more ingredients will be needed.

So I went about trying to make a slimmed down version of my gf rough puff with much less ingredients required. I went back to the drawing board, which for me means research. I researched every single rough puff recipe I could possibly find on the internet. Ones like this one with shredded frozen butter, ones with large (2 inch pieces!) of butter, and everything in between. What I finally settled on was a very simple one by the brilliant Sarah Kieffer of The Vanilla Bean Blog. After making it once and getting the best results I'd ever had, I knew it was the ONE. I hope this is my final version of gluten free rough puff pastry and will be yours, too.

What is Rough Puff Pastry?

Traditional puff pastry is a laminated pastry in which a butter block is rolled and folded in the pastry several times to make very flaky layers. While I'm sure traditional puff would work beautifully in the gluten free world (see my gf croissants recipe for proof), it would take a lot more time. Often, in order to bake gluten free, we have to first make a component of it, like a flour blend. We have to literally MAKE flour!!

So I decided to make things a whole lot easier by creating a "rough puff.' This is when the butter is in smaller (not too small) pieces within the dough, and the dough is folded and turned several times (laminated). All this means for us gluten free peeps is that we don't have to slave in the kitchen. And the results are spectacular (jazz hands and all!).

The Ingredients Needed

picture of all ingredients needed to make gf puff pastry

Kim's gluten free all purpose flour blend - I have not tested this with a store bought blend, although I feel confident that it would work fairly well. The problem is that there are so many variations of store bought blends that have such differences in ingredients that consistency can be difficult.
Butter - European style unsalted butter is absolutely necessary in this recipe (something with at least 82% butter fat). This means it won't chill too hard and shatter inside your dough, like American style butter will (due to the extra water content). Plus, it tastes amazing! More on this below.
Lemon juice - a tiny bit of lemon juice is added with the water to prevent oxidation of the dough (causing it turn gray).
Sugar - the sugar isn't there for sweetness. It helps with browning.

How to make rough puff pastry

Make the dough

sugar and salt on top of flour in white stand mixer.

Step 1: Mix flour blend with sugar and salt in stand mixer bowl.

adding a chunk of butter to flour in stand mixer.

Step 2: Add ½-inch slices of butter while mixing on low.

blending butter into flour in white stand mixer.

Step 3: When all butter slices have been added, continue mixing to break up slices.

large pieces of butter in flour in hand.

Step 4: You should be left with pieces of all different sizes and shapes.

pouring water into butter and flour mixture while stand mixer is running.

Step 5: Slowly stream in cold water mixed with ½ teaspoon of lemon juice.

Step 6: Stop mixer as soon as all water has been added.

pressing dough with hands on plastic wrap.

Step 7: Gently knead the dough on a sheet of plastic and flatten slightly.

dough made into rectangle in plastic wrap.

Step 8: Wrap dough in plastic and use rolling pin to roll it into the corners, making a flat rectangle. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Perform the first sets of folds and turns

folding dough up onto itself like a letter.

Step 1: Roll dough out to an 8 by 16-inch rectangle and fold the bottom third up. Brush off any excess flour.

folding the top of the dough down over the bottom.

Step 2: Fold the top third down.

dough turned vertically so the seam is to the right.

Step 3: Turn the pastry ¼ turn so that the open seam lies to the right.

Step 4: Roll pastry out again, this time into a 6 by 16-inch rectangle. Fold the top third down and brush off any excess flour.

folding bottom third of dough up over the top.

Step 5: Fold the bottom third up.

dough turned with seam to the right and wrapped in plastic wrap.

Step 6: Turn the pastry ¼ turn, wrap back in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Perform the second sets of folds and turns

folding dough down by two thirds from the top.

Step 1: Roll dough out to an 8 by 16-inch rectangle and fold the top third down. Brush off any excess flour.

folding bottom third of dough over top two thirds.

Step 2: Fold the bottom third up.

folded dough turned with seam to the right.

Step 3: Turn the pastry ¼ turn.

folding bottom one third up by two thirds.

Step 4: Roll out again to a 6 by 16-inch rectangle and fold the bottom third up. Brush off any excess flour.

folding top one third of dough over bottom two thirds.

Step 5: Fold the top third down.

folded dough wrapped in plastic and placed on parchment-lined baking sheet.

Step 6: Turn ¼ turn, wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour before using in any recipe calling for puff pastry.

Rough Puff Pastry FAQs

Can I use any butter in gluten free puff pastry?

I strongly suggest using butter that has a fat content of at least 82%. The water content in most American butters means that the butter will become solid when very cold and not have that same plasticity that is crucial in making laminated pastry. Solid butter can tear through dough, especially gluten free dough, much more easily. European butter is more expensive, but homemade puff pastry deserves the finest ingredients and you can find deals and freeze large quantities. I find a cheaper version of Kerrygold Irish butter (my favorite butter) at my local Lidl and freeze several pounds, where they're conveniently stored until I'm ready.

Will any gluten free flour blend work when making gluten free puff pastry?

While a store bought blend may be substituted, please note that this recipe has not been tested with any other blend than my own. Because there are so many that have varying types of components and levels of those, this recipe will work best with the one that it has been tested with (Kim's gluten free all purpose flour blend).

Why is butter leaking out when baking my gluten free puff pastry?

A little butter leaking out around the corners of your baked pastry is perfectly normal. However, a big pool of butter is not. Your butter could have been too warm when laminating. If your dough feels warm while laminating, stop immediately and put the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes before proceeding. Or your pastry wasn't cold enough before going into the oven. Always make sure to refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes or freeze it for 15 before putting it into the hot oven.

Can I make gluten free puff pastry with dairy-free butter?

While I haven't tried it, I do believe it will work just as well because dairy-free butter has enough fat content to make it softer than the average American butter.

How to use puff pastry

There are an endless amount of things we can make with gluten free puff pastry. Any recipe calling for traditional puff pastry will work, but here are just a few ideas to get you started:

Cheese Straws -- addictive as all get out.
Sausage rolls
Heavenly napoleon
Tarts (both sweet and savory)
Palmier -- these ones are sweet, but you can also make savory palmier by filling with pesto, for instance.
Pizza Hot Pockets -- irresistible is all I have to say. For once, these are NOTHING like what you remember (and that's a good thing)!
Baked Brie (Brie en Croute) -- talk about cheesy goodness wrapped in flaky pastry. You're missing out if you've never had this wonderful appetizer, but it's okay because now you can make it easily and revel in the glorious oozing cheese!
Apple Turnovers -- like handheld apple pies, but 10 times better!

cross section of gluten free puff pastry dough

You'll be amazed at how glorious this gluten free puff pastry is, as well as how easy it is to make. The possibilities are endless for what you can do with it!