The best supermarket puff pastry, tasted and rated

Puff pastry is made by wrapping a block of fat (ideally butter) in a sheet of dough, then rolling and folding repeatedly to create dozens of thin layers of fat between each pastry layer. Ready-rolled puff pastry makes baking pastries, vol-au-vents and upside-down tarts much simpler.

A small rectangle of each brand was baked for 10–15 minutes at 180–200C (or to the manufacturer’s instructions) and examined for rise, lamination, texture, flavour, ingredients and value. Best overall was M&S Handcrafted All Butter: a uniform, golden-brown pillow 16mm deep with good lamination, a softer, croissant-like texture and a clear buttery flavour.

Its simple recipe lists flour, butter, water, white-wine vinegar and salt. Best bargain was Ready, Set … Cook! from Aldi, which rose to 28mm with open lamination and an even golden bake, crisp and flaky with a neutral flavour, though it contains palm oil, ethanol and an emulsifier.

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