FOOD NEWS
You're Only Ever 20 Minutes Away From Leftover Puff Pastry Pizza
By Carly Weaver
Whether you buy puff pastry to make a chicken pot pie, a baked brie, or a dessert tart, you often don't need to use every roll or sheet of dough in the pack. Naturally, the package goes back into the freezer, potentially to be forgotten about forever, but that won’t be the case if you give leftover puff pastry pizza a whirl.
The puff pastry provides a pizza crust stable enough to hold everything together but light enough to give you that delicate, flaky crunch with every bite, and it takes just 20 minutes to get there. Roll the sheet of puff pastry out on a floured surface using a rolling pin, place it on a pizza stone or baking sheet with parchment paper, and bake it at 425 Fahrenheit after topping it off with fixings.
To make sure the bottom or middle of the dough doesn't become too soft or soggy, be sparing with heavy or liquid-heavy sauces, like tomato sauce or creamy white sauce, and moist ingredients, like juicy tomatoes or fresh mozzarella. Alternatively, try pesto or garlicky, herby olive oil instead of sauce, and use drier toppings like pepperoni, mushrooms, goat cheese, caramelized onions, or olives.
If you want to use whatever ingredients your heart desires and avoid this issue entirely, you can always break up the baking process to give the puff pastry a head start and prevent sogginess. Bake the puff pastry on its own for 10 minutes, then add your toppings, and finish with another 10 minutes in the oven.