Danish Pastry Dough

Danish pastry is a laminated buttery dough (has layers of dough and butter) that is extremely versatile for baking! I have to try using it to make turnovers, or rolling ingredients up into it to make other treats. Here, I made a small batch (half the size of the original recipe) and made a cream cheese filling to top them with. They were challenging to make but very buttery and delightful to eat!

Recipe is here, and more pictures of the danishes are below:

Ingredients:

• 350 grams Flour ­

• 40 grams Sugar ­

• 5 grams Instant dry yeast ­(1 tsp.)

• 5 grams Salt (1 tsp.)

• 30 grams Soft Butter ­

• 1 egg

• 175 ml Milk ­(at room temperature)

• 250 grams Butter (little over 2 sticks)

• 1 egg or egg yolk for the egg wash

Directions:

1. Note: I recommend not using a dark baking tray for baking (like I did because it can cause them to brown to quickly) and also I recommend lining your baking tray with parchment paper first.

To make the dough:

1. Sift 350 grams of flour into a mixing bowl. Add 5 grams of salt (one teaspoon), 40 grams of sugar, and 5 grams (1 teaspoon) grams of instant dry yeast.

2. Mixing on low speed, add 1 egg, 175 ml of room temperature milk, and 30 grams of soft butter. Mix on medium speed, using the hook attachment, for 4 minutes. Shape into a round, cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours. (May need to add a little more flour)

3. Spread the dough into a rectangle, cover completely with plastic wrap or place in a bag and refrigerate overnight.

4. Roll the dough into a rectangle 1 cm thick, keeping the edges and corners straight.

5. Use a rolling pin to beat 250 grams of cold butter to make it pliable, shaping it into a rectangle that is half the size of the dough. (One trick is to roll it out in a 6 in x 6 in Ziploc bag when it’s a little colder than rom temperature, chilling it, and cutting it out of the bag before use.)

6. Place the butter on half of the dough and fold the remaining dough over.

7. Seal the edges using the rolling pin. Turn the dough 90 degrees, and roll into a rectangle 1 cm thick.

8. Make a four­fold: Visually divide the dough into 4 parts. Brush away any raw flour. Fold the two ends so that they meet in the middle, than fold the dough, just like closing a book. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

9. Turn the dough 90 degrees, and roll it into a rectangle 1 cm (0.4 inch) thick.

10. Make a three­fold: Visually divide the dough into 3 parts. Brush away any raw flour. Fold one third of the dough over the center third, then fold the remaining third over the dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, and repeat once more, for a total of two three­folds (I think I did 3 three folds).

11. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes before using.

12. Danish dough can be held in the fridge or frozen.

To make snails:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut 0.25 inch thick dough into 1 inch strips that are about 9 inches long. Curl them in opposite directions on each end and then roll into a spiral. Pinch the end to seal it onto itself. Place on a baking sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper). Brush on egg wash and bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes 16 snails. Best eaten fresh. Can be used for many other pastries.