10 hours ago
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Puff pastry is made by wrapping a block of fat (ideally butter) in a sheet of dough, then rolling it out, folding it over itself, and repeating the rolling and folding process several times more. This creates dozens of thin layers of fat between each layer of pastry. It’s skilled, arduous work, but that’s where ready-rolled puff pastry comes in. This miraculous product makes baking your own pastries, vol-au-vents and upside-down tarts very simple indeed.
I baked a small rectangle of pastry from each brand for 10-15 minutes at 180-200C (or according to the manufacturer’s instructions). I noted the height of the rise as well as the lamination (the separation of layers), texture, flavour, ingredients and value relative to quality.
The flavour profile of most of the pastries was pretty neutral (a sign of ultra processing), but a couple of standouts had a natural sweetness and nutty flavour. The texture varied wildly. All you need to make puff pastry is flour, butter, milk and salt, with optional egg and yeast, but many of these products are made with palm oil (instead of butter), additives, preservatives, emulsifiers, flavourings and colourings.
The best supermarket puff pastry
Best overall:
M&S handcrafted all butter puff pastry
★★★★☆
A uniform, golden-brown pillow, 16mm deep, with good lamination. Softer in texture than most of the others – more croissant-like, in fact – with a good, buttery flavour. A simple recipe formula: flour, butter, water, white-wine vinegar and salt. Clean, confident and well made.
Best bargain:
Ready, Set … Cook! ready rolled puff pastry
★★★☆☆
The proudest piece of puff, rising to 28mm high, with nicely open lamination and an even, golden-brown bake. Crisp and flaky, with a neutral flavour. Contains palm oil, ethanol and emulsifier. Impressive height for the price.
And the rest …
Dorset Pastry puff pastry
★★★★☆
An uneven but impressive 25mm rise, with good separation of layers and a buttery flavour. Flaky with good structure. A simple ingredients list (flour, butter, yeast, egg and salt). Three Great Taste stars. The closest to homemade and my next choice for best all-rounder, knocked off its perch by its premium price.
Co-op puff pastry
★★★☆☆
A golden-brown, 14mm pillow of well-laminated pastry with lots of delicate, flaky layers and a sweet, nutty flavour. Made with margarine (palm oil), emulsifier and ethanol. Good flavour, despite the ingredients list.
Tesco Finest ready rolled all butter puff pastry
★★★☆☆
A crunchy, blistered, golden-brown 18mm pillow. Very crunchy with clearly separated layers. A sweet, neutral flavour, but a slightly greasy aftertaste. A relatively simple formula, though it does contain a preservative.
Asda ready rolled puff pastry
★★★☆☆
An even 25mm rise with nice open layering and a blistered, golden-brown top. Crunchy with some bite and a neutral flavour. Contains palm oil, emulsifier and preservative. Solid and reliable, though.
Lidl Chef Select puff pastry
★★☆☆☆
A decent 25mm rise and good layering, which browned nicely. Crisp, crunchy and flaky, but leaves a greasy mouthfeel. Mildly sweet flavour. Made with palm fat, alcohol and starch. A good structure, but disappointing flavour from the palm fat.
Morrisons ready roll puff pastry
★★☆☆☆
Golden brown and crinkly, with less obvious separation of the pastry layers along the edge, though still a good internal lamination. Very flaky with a sweet, neutral flavour. Made with palm oil, emulsifier, preservative and flavouring. Satisfactory, but a bit unappetising.
Sainsbury’s sheet puff pastry
★★☆☆☆
An even puff pastry pillow, 20mm high, with a noticeably smooth, golden-brown surface. Extra-flaky on the outside, and a firm bite in the middle – a sign of overworked pastry – and neutral in flavour. Includes palm oil, emulsifier, preservative and flavouring. Satisfactory lamination, disappointing texture.
Jus-Rol ready rolled puffy pastry sheet
★☆☆☆☆
An unimpressive, crinkly, 13mm puff with an unappetising, uneven appearance and a distinctly greasy flavour. Thick, tough layers of overworked pastry. Contains palm oil, alcohol, emulsifier and flavouring. Disappointing.
