Keep Puff Pastry Flaky And Crispy With This Smart Reheating Tip

When it's fresh, there's nothing like a rich, crispy, and flaky puff pastry — whether you buy it from a bakery, or make your own rough-puff pastry at home. It shatters upon your first bite from all those layers, and if it's filled, it gives way to a satisfying center. But the issue is, reheating puff pastry can be tricky, since it's hard to revive the stuff to give you the same joy you got from your first few bites. We spoke to Vivian Villa, chef and founder of the UnButter plant-based butter company to get some tips on how to revive puff pastry the next day.

Villa says it's all about moderate heat, and a delicate application at that. She explains, "Pastry is best heated at a moderate temp of 350 degrees Fahrenheit so as not to burn the exterior before the filling has a chance to reheat." You'll want to gently cover it at first so the filling has a chance to warm up, then remove the cover to finish crisping it back up. In terms of time, Villa says you can expect the process to only take about 10 to 15 minutes. If you're using an air fryer, try setting it at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 to 10 minutes. Whether your pastry is straight from the fridge, or even frozen, these reheating tips will restore that coveted flakiness you were craving in the first place.

You don't have to eat other flaky pastries cold, either. Your biscuits and pie can definitely get a second wind. To reheat a biscuit so it's not dry and crumbly, simply wrap it in foil and bake for about 10 minutes at no higher than 350 degrees Fahrenheit; the steam generated inside the foil should soften it up. Microwaving biscuits is sort of an option, but you'll end up with a biscuit that's quite soft, and you'll want to eat it hot before it goes stale.

That same 350 degrees Fahrenheit is also your best friend when it comes to reheating a single slice of apple pie, though this is going to take significantly longer thanks to the filling. You're likely going to need anywhere between 15 to 25 minutes to heat it from top to bottom, using a cake skewer along the way to gauge the internal temperature. You don't need to cover your pie, in this case, but you'll want to layer parchment paper underneath it to keep the pastry from sticking to your tray.

Exposure to heat is important when it comes to puff pastry since you want that exterior to re-crisp up. The filled variety just needs a bit of covered time for the heat to penetrate the center. With a little bit of dry oven heat on the exterior at the end, your pastry will be almost like brand new — even if it came straight from the freezer.