Is puff paste hard to make?

I'm doing a genealogy study about the cultures of my ancestors. Of course that includes food and cooking! Normandy apple tart is one of the recipes I'd like to try, but they all call for puff paste. I've read that puff paste is difficult to get right, so I'm a little intimidated about the prospect. Is it really all that hard? Can anyone give a novice puff paste maker some tips for success?

I feel an apple tart could be made with your favorite pie crust recipe.

I hate recipes that call for puff pastry.

I also would suggest making puff pastry as it is only flour, salt, water and butter. As with pie crust, keep the ingredient cold is the key.

Anne Miller wrote:......As with pie crust, keep the ingredient cold is the key.

Color me intrigued, Anne!......  What is the main outcome difference between cold ingredients and warmer ingredients for pie crust.  I admit in my laziness to softening the 'fat'....butter, margarine,or coconut oil....before combining it with the all-purpose flour.  Thanks!.....

It's a while since I've made puff pastry, but I don't recall it being particularly difficult, there is just a lot of folding and rolling and chilling! I sometimes do a 'rough puff pastry, which involves rubbing in half the fat, then mixing the rest in as small cubes when you add the liquid. When you roll it out the butter is crushed into little enclosures which blister when cooking giving a less even puff pastry effect.

I'm with Anne on using your favourite pie crust recipe though - I looked up the recipe as a dish I'm not familiar with. Normandy apple tart appears to be an apple tart with integral custard (what a good idea!) but most of the recipes I found called for standard or sweet shortcrust pastry. Maybe they've been anglicised though.

I’ve been following a “rough puff” recipe from the River Cottage books that works well. This involves cutting cold butter into small cubes, mixing it into the flour, still leaving the butter in distinct pieces, adding a minimal amount of water and gathering it all together, and then rolling and folding it several times. I have minimal time for fussy food prep, but manage to find time to make this pastry so I can definitely recommend this method!

This is roughly what I follow. I use more water than this because I'm using 100% wholegrain flour rather than white flour. The recipe can be easily scaled up to fit whatever amount of pastry you want to make.

https://rivercottage.net/recipes/rough-puff-pastry/

I've actually had a hard time finding a relatively authentic recipe (which I'd really like to do because it's about cultural cuisine.) So many recipe sites have too many popups and block the content. So, to Nancy and Anne's point, puff paste may not be how a traditional Normandy apple tart is made. But the recipes that call for it did get me thinking about learning how to make it!

Kate, your method sounds pretty easy. Easy cooking is me!

John Weiland wrote:

Anne Miller wrote:......As with pie crust, keep the ingredient cold is the key.

Color me intrigued, Anne!......  What is the main outcome difference between cold ingredients and warmer ingredients for pie crust.  I admit in my laziness to softening the 'fat'....butter, margarine,or coconut oil....before combining it with the all-purpose flour.  Thanks!.....

Would you like the long version or the short version?

I have always been told to use ice cold water and cold butter so I ask Google:

Gluten is what makes bread soft and stretchy – it's desirable in bread, but not in pie dough. Rather, pie dough should be flaky and tender! So, it's important to use cold butter and ice water with your flour, as the coldness interrupts gluten development

https://www.pitsco.com/blogs/news/science-behind-perfect-pie-dough

AI said, When making a pie crust, cold ingredients, especially the butter, are crucial because it prevents the fat from melting into the flour, allowing for the creation of distinct layers that result in a flaky, tender crust; essentially, the cold fat creates small pockets of air that expand during baking, leading to flakiness.

Anne Miller wrote:

AI said, When making a pie crust, cold ingredients, especially the butter, are crucial because it prevents the fat from melting into the flour, allowing for the creation of distinct layers that result in a flaky, tender crust; essentially, the cold fat creates small pockets of air that expand during baking, leading to flakiness.

This is what I was taught in 7th grade home ec class, long before there was internet and AI.