With a lot of advice and some great photos from anapestic, I made "rough"puff pastry for the first time this weekend. I now have 2 lbs of it in the freezer,as well as 6 onion egg puffs, and a mini apple tart. It worked out well, and it was fun to do.
With a significant taste differential, I think I'm ready to give up the store stuff, at least until it's possible to buy all-butter puff pastry for a reasonable price in Pittsburgh. I don't really bake with it that often. Thus, 2 lbs in the freezer is a pretty good hoard, and I think by the time I need more, I'll probably be up for doing it again.
So I decided to evaluate my product, as compared to the stuff from the shop. My first ever, "rough" all-butter puff pastry, made into Shammi's Egg Puffs, took on the store bought frozen misc. ingredients puff version in two, highly simplified categories:
I. Appearance: 
You can see the others here, where you can also find the link to Shammi's delightful and simple recipe for this supper/lunch/treat item. I think the all-butter homemade pastry ones are prettier, better browned and pouffier, although they are also less tidy, due to their greater lift pulling things apart a bit. I can remedy this next time, by using a larger slice of pastry for each puff. As you can see, if you follow the chain of links to Shammi's original post, hers are nicely browned and tidy looking. She didn't say what sort of puff pastry she used, except that it was "frozen." She lives in England, and probably has more market choices for readymade puff.
2. Taste: No contest, the homemade pastry is delicious and buttery and sets the filling off beautifully. The store-bought misc. ingredients one tasted dubious at best, as I noted at the time I first made them.
I've got a clear winner here, and for a bonus, a nice little tart for dessert. Not bad for an evening's work. I can't recommend the above-linked photos too highly, and it was really easy to follow the connected "rough puff" recipe. (I did experience a slight glitch due to the limited capacity of my stand mixer-there was a brief flour storm, soon controlled. It was a little preview of what I'll look like when all my hair goes white-unless I dye it. Which I will.) I also commend to you, if you do not have one, the pastry marble. It's so cool. Literally. Please excuse me, I'm a bit giddy with success.
One bazillion congrats on the pastry. But you don't need my admiration and awe, good cooking is its own reward . . .
Posted by: zp | October 31, 2005 at 10:15 AM
Congratulations! That looks lovely. I should make some for myself (though I have neither pastry marble nor large rolling pin).
Posted by: redfox | October 31, 2005 at 03:57 PM