Can You Freeze Puff Pastry?

Buttery, flaking puff pastry has got to be one of the most popular types of pastry. But can you have some ready-to-use in the freezer and does it freeze well? Let’s ask ourselves: Can you freeze puff pastry or not?

How To Freeze Puff Pastry

But first, let’s start with the basics. If you have a block or a sheet of raw puff pastry that you want to freeze then this is the approach you need to take:

1. Wrap
   Whether you have a block or a roll of puff pastry, the same approach can be taken. First, grab your puff pastry and place it in the centre of a piece of greaseproof paper and wrap the pastry up in it.
2. Wrap Again
   Next, place your puff pastry onto a sheet of clingfilm and repeat, this time wrapping it in clingfilm.
3. Freeze
   Finally, please place it in the freezer.

That’s all there is to it. The key here is to protect your puff pastry from both oxidation (and freezer burn) as well as other odours that will be lingering in your freezer.

How to Freeze Puff Pastry with Fillings

Whether it’s savoury tarts, sweet cinnamon swirls or vol-au-vents, puff pastry is incredibly versatile. But maybe you’re hosting a dinner party or buffet and want to get ahead with your preparation by freezing your filled puff pastry treats.

So the question is: Can you?

Yes! You do need to consider the fillings and whether those fillings can be frozen. For example, anything high in fat such as brie or camembert are ingredients we would avoid freezing. But most fruit, spices, vegetables and condiments will freeze well.

If you’re confident that the filling will freeze well, then follow these instructions for freezing puff pastry with a filling. The main job you need to do is keep the air out.

That’s why we would recommend using an airtight Tupperware container so grab one that will fit all your filled pastries in.

1. Place in Containers
   Place your pastries into the bottom of the container in one layer.
2. Layer with Greaseproof Paper
   Place a sheet of greaseproof paper over the top of them and then layer in another set of pastries if they will fit in the container. Repeat until all your pastries are in the container and/or the container is full.
3. Seal
   Place the lid on the container.
4. Wrap
   You can then, optionally, wrap the container in clingfilm if you are concerned it is not completely airtight.
5. Freeze
   Finally, place the container in the freezer.

Nothing too complicated for you there and just a few minutes of your time to complete.

3 Tips for Freezing Puff Pastry

Now you know how to freeze puff pastry, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing them to have the best results:

Protect
Puff pastry is very sensitive in the freezer, and a small amount of air can dramatically impact its texture. That’s why we double wrap puff pastry when freezing it.

Avoid Dairy Fillings
Cheese and cream-based fillings will split when frozen, which can ruin your puff pastry. So avoid freezing these types of fillings and try sugar-based fillings such as jam instead.

Avoid Refreezing
It’s perfectly safe to refreeze, but when you come to reheating your puff pastry after freezing it multiple times you’ll find it won’t rise quite as well.

How Long Can You Freeze Puff Pastry?

Unfortunately, the longer you leave puff pastry in the freezer, the greater the degradation of texture. A lot of puff pastry contains butter which will always breakdown over time.

This can destroy the layers and lamination in the pastry’s structure, ultimately reducing the rise you get from the pastry.

For these reasons, we would recommend only keeping puff pastry in the freezer for a maximum of 3 months, unfortunately.

You Can Freeze Puff Pastry for Around 3 Months

How Do You Defrost Puff Pastry?

If you have raw puff pastry that you want to defrost, then you’ll want to defrost it overnight in the fridge. Once thawed, remove it from the fridge 10 minutes before you plan to use it to soften a little making it far easier to work.

If you have cooked puff pastry that you want to defrost then reheat then take the same approach of thawing it overnight in the fridge.

Once thawed, give it an egg wash to crisp the outer layer back up – if you don’t do this, your puff pastry will remain quite soft and soggy. Once egg-washed, you can reheat until piping hot through.

Can You Refreeze Puff Pastry?

If you’ve accidentally thawed a little too much of your puff pastry then you’ll want to know if you can refreeze it right? The good news is that it is perfectly safe to do so. You can refreeze your thawed puff pastry.

However, there is a chance that when you come to cooking the double-frozen puff pastry that you won’t achieve the same rise as you previously would have.

Freezing will always impact the structure somewhat and freezing twice will have double the negative impact.

You can also refreeze frozen puff pastry if you have cooked it. Perhaps you’ve stored frozen raw puff pastry, thawed it and then made a few tomato tarts which you now want to freeze? Well, you’d be safe to do so.

Just follow our guidelines for freezing puff pastry with fillings towards the top of this page.

Does Puff Pastry Freeze Well?

It freezes… But it will never be as good as freshly prepared puff pastry. Having said that, unless you’re comparing the two side-by-side then frozen puff pastry will work just fine – it’s certainly a far more convenient way to store your puff pastry.

Whenever you freeze anything that contains dairy, such as butter, you’ll find that over time the texture will degrade. This textural degradation can and will most probably affect the way your puff pastry rises when you come to cook it.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing puff pastry or puff pastry in general, then these may help: