The Baking Ingredient Prue Leith Prefers Store-Bought Over Homemade

There are plenty of culinary undertakings worth doing the labor-intensive, old-fashioned way. Making homemade bread beats the grocery store loaves (while also maybe saving you money.) Plus, even the simplest homemade pasta is worth its delicious weight in gold.

But in other instances, know when it's time to shelf your pride and save yourself serious time and hassle. Just ask celebrity chef, TV personality, Michelin star-winning restaurateur, and adored judge on "The Great British Bake Off," Prue Leith. She's made it her mission to share her love of incredible food while normalizing and celebrating kitchen shortcuts and cheats. And by doing so, Leith gives permission to busy home cooks everywhere to do the same, guilt-free. The latest ingredient Leith is publicly waxing lyrical about is the grocery store frozen puff pastry, which she sings the praises of in her newest cookbook, titled "Life's Too Short to Stuff a Mushroom: Really good food without the fuss."

On the page where she shares her recipe for sundried tomato palmiers, she calls store-bought puff pastry "one of the best things since sliced bread," noting that she always prefers the grocery store variety over the laborious task of making her own from scratch, for use in savory or sweet applications. Yes, chef.

Anyone who's worked with puff pastry knows, the delicate creation of countless sheets of paper-thin dough results in delicious baked treats — what would gorgeous fruit tarts or savory beef Wellington be without it? But no one's equating puff pastry with ease. Making your own is a task best left to the experienced cook or baker unafraid of a serious challenge. It requires labor-intensive rolling and finesse when handling the notoriously tear-prone layers, oodles of butter, and even more patience.

If you're stressed out just reading that, Prue Leith's approach is the one for you. Leith, who's a true food lover and prestigious chef if ever there was one, with the accolades to prove it, preaches a time-saving, cheat heavy approach in her latest book. She is refreshingly upfront about her love of store-bought puff pastry and other accessible workarounds for the busy home cook.

Working smarter, not necessarily harder in the kitchen is a common theme in her book, and she admitted to a crowd this month at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, "I haven't made puff pastry in 25 years." To do as Leith does, find your premade puff pastry in the freezer section at any major grocery store — look for it around where the frozen pie crusts are sold, or near the frozen cakes and fruit. The premade version will stay good in the freezer until you're ready to use it, for six months up to a year.