A buttery, lightly sweet, and delicately salty rough puff with countless crisp, flaky layers—achieved without traditional lamination yet with bakery-quality lift and texture.
Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
Add the very cold, cubed butter to the bowl. Gently toss with your hands, briefly rubbing some of the butter into the flour to begin combining without breaking the butter down too much. Avoid using a food processor or mixer.
Add ice-cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with your hands after each addition. Start with about 2 tablespoons before tossing; after roughly 4 tablespoons total, begin lightly squeezing/clumping the dough to help it come together while keeping it shaggy. If the dough becomes sticky and wet before 6 tablespoons, mix in 1 tablespoon of flour (your butter was likely too warm).
Turn the shaggy dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat it into a 3/4–1 inch thick rectangle, about 5×8 inches. Fold into thirds like a business letter. Gently smooth any cracks. Wrap tightly in plastic (or place in an airtight container).
1st refrigeration: Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
Roll and fold: If the dough chilled longer than about 3 hours, let it rest at room temperature for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface (and with additional flour nearby as needed), roll the dough into a long rectangle and fold it into thirds like a business letter.
Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat the roll-then-fold. Continue this roll-and-fold process until you have completed 6 total turns, dusting lightly with flour as needed to prevent sticking.
2nd refrigeration: Wrap and chill the dough for at least 15 minutes before using.
Use as desired: Use anywhere a recipe calls for 1 box (1 lb; 2 sheets) of store-bought puff pastry, or roll to a 12-inch circle for a single-crust 9-inch pie (blind-bake if using as a pie crust).