How to fix rips in a puff pastry sheet

Yes, is possible, and not uncommon. You may wish to dock it to prevent excessive rising.

Some pastries are made with puff pastry that is already baked separately, such as the famous Napolean or Mille-Feuille . For example, in this recipe (which uses commercial puff pastry), the instructions are:

Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or plain brown paper; set aside.

Unfold puff pastry sheet and trim edges to a 9-inch square. Cut pastry into nine 3-inch squares. Transfer pastry squares to the prepared baking sheets; prick pastry. Bake in a preheated oven for 18-23 minutes, or until golden. (Or bake according to package directions.) Carefully remove pastries from baking sheet. Cool on a rack.

I cannot endorse the plain brown paper idea, but the method is fairly standard.

Here is another example, from King Arthur flour, of croissants du patisserie, which is essentially puff pastry baked as a croissant (as opposed to croissants du boulanger, the baker's croissants, which are yeast raised as well as a laminated pastry).

A few points to consider...

1. Try docking the pastry.

   Docking means to pierce lightly with a fork, or a docker (looks like a spiked paint roller), to make small holes in dough that will let steam escape during baking. This helps the dough to remain flat and even.

   ref: http://powerhungry.com/2009/02/puff-pastry-docking/

2. In general, to cook food more evenly, one should cook longer at a lower temperature. The problem is that the dough on the bottom of your crust is not reaching a high enough temperature by the time the top of your crust is done cooking.

3. Puff Pastry is notoriously finicky. Be sure to handle the dough according to puff pastry best practices to ensure the layers do not collapse and stick together.

Pepperidge Farm has a tutorial website (http://www.puffpastry.com/videos-and-tips#howto-demos) to help people with puff pastry issues, but it doesn't appear to cover much detail.

• You must be very gentle when rolling out the pastry because it is multiple layers of dough with fat between each.
• Do not mangle the dough, cut clean lines and try not to apply pressure except where the knife is cutting
• Do not let the dough get warm before you are ready to cook. The fat melts and the layers will stick and not puff properly.