Danishpastrydough Recipes

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 2/3 cup of flour. Divide into 2 equal parts, and roll each half between 2 pieces of waxed paper into a 6 x12 inch sheet. Refrigerate.
• In a large bowl, mix together the dry yeast and 3 cups of the remaining flour. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, sugar and salt. Heat to 115 degrees F (43 degrees C), or just warm, but not hot to the touch. Mix the warm milk mixture into the flour and yeast along with the eggs, and lemon and almond extracts. Stir for 3 minutes. Knead in the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough is firm and pliable. Set aside to rest until double in size.
• Cut the dough in half, and roll each half out to a 14 inch square. Place one sheet of the cold butter onto each piece of dough, and fold the dough over it like the cover of a book. Seal edges by pressing with fingers. Roll each piece out to a 20x 12 inch rectangle, then fold into thirds by folding the long sides in over the center. Repeat rolling into a large rectangle, and folding into thirds. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove from the refrigerator one at a time, and roll and fold each piece two more times. Return to the refrigerator to chill again before shaping. If the butter gets too warm, the dough will become difficult to manage.
• To make danishes, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. The dough can be cut into squares, with a filling placed in the center. Fold 2 of the corners over the center to form a filled diamond shape. Or, fold the piece in half, cut into 1 inch strips, stretch, twist and roll into a spiral. Place a dollop of preserves or other filling in the center. Place danishes on an ungreased baking sheet, and let rise until doubled. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Danishes can be brushed with egg white for a shiny finish.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bottoms are golden brown.

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the water, milk, vanilla and yeast together. With the mixer fitted with a dough hook, on low, beat the mixture for about 4 minutes to dissolve the yeast. Sift the sugar, salt, flour and cardamom together. Add this mixture and the egg yolk to the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed until it lightly comes together, then increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball, and climbs slightly up the dough hook. Remove the dough from the bowl and let rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. On a floured surface, place the butter. Lightly dust the top of the butter with flour. Using a rolling pin, lightly pound the butter until flat. Fold the butter in half and continue to pound the butter until the butter is workable. Using your hands, shape the butter into a 8-inch square. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a second floured surface. Roll the dough into a 16 inch square. Place the butter in the center of the dough. Fold the ends of the dough in towards the center, forming a package. Lightly press the ends into the dough, sealing the package completely. Carefully lift the package off of the surface and redust the surface with flour. Lay the package back down on the floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about a 24-inch rectangle. Fold one end of the dough into the center, then the other end, so that it resembles a letter, and forms a square. (You should have three layers of dough) Place the dough in the refrigerator and allow the dough to rest for 25 minutes. Roll out the dough a second time, forming a rectangle. Repeat the folding process from above two more times, making sure the dough rests between turns. The following directions are for two types of Danish pastries:
• For Cinnamon Rolls: Roll the dough out 1/4 inch thick. Egg wash the dough. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the egg wash. Starting at the bottom, roll the dough up lengthwise, forming a jelly-roll. Cut the pastry into 1-inch slices. Place the slices, cinnamon and sugar side on a parchment lined baking sheet and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the tops of each pastry with the egg wash and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for 10 minutes or until browned and crisp. Brush the pastries with the glaze and serve warm.
• For Pinwheel: On a floured surface, roll the dough out 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 12 (4-inch) squares. Brush the edges of the dough with the egg wash. Add a spoonful of the cream cheese filling to the center of the square. Place a teaspoon of the jam in the center of the cream cheese. Cut diagonally from each corner to within 3/4 inch of the center. Fold the four alternate points to the center, pressing them down lightly to hold them in place. Place the pastries on a parchment lined baking sheet and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the tops of each pastry with the egg wash and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for 10 minutes or until browned and crisp. Brush the pastries with the glaze and serve warm.
• For Bear Claws: Roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thick. The longer the dough the more claws yielded. Egg wash the entire piece of dough. Spread a thin layer of almond filling horizontally down the center third of the dough. Fold the bottom third of the dough up to cover the filling. Fold the top third of the dough down, like your folding a business letter. Egg wash the dough. Sprinkle with crushed almonds. Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces, crosswise (the shorter end). Make three slashes into the sides of each piece and spread gently into a horse-shoe shape to separate the toes. Proof until dough in size about 15 to 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for 10 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and brush with the apricot glaze and serve.

Steps:

• In a large bowl sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Add the egg, sugar, salt and vanilla. Whisk gently to combine. Set aside.
• Quarter each stick of butter and cut into 9 or 10 pieces. Toss the diced butter and flour together in a medium bowl.
• (Optional method) Put the flour in the bowl of a food processor. Cut each stick of butter into 1/4 inch slices and mix into the flour. Pulse machine 8 to 10 times, just to cut the pieces of butter into 1/2 inch pieces. If there are any larger pieces, break them with your fingers.
• Add the flour and butter mixture to the wet ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula until the flour is completely moistened. Transfer the dough to a smaller bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a heavily floured surface, pat it into a rectangle about 8 x 6 inches, and then roll it into a larger rectangle about 14 x 24 inches. Brush off any excess flour and fold both edges in so that they meet in the center. If the dough is sticking underneath, release it with a long flexible metal palate knife. Dusting off any excess flour and fold the dough in half when the edges meet. This is called a "book or 4-fold". Rotate the rectangle of dough 1/4 turn on the table. This is called a "turn". Roll into a rectangle measuring about 24 x 12 inches, loosening the dough underneath with a the metal spatula, reflouring as necessary. Brush off any excess flour and give it another book fold. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and repeat this process two more times, rolling the dough out each time to 12 x 24 inches. There are 4 book folds in all. After the final turn, shape the package into a rectangle measuring about 9 x 6 inches. Brush off any excess flour, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to one month.

Steps:

• Whisk yeast into water.
• Wait 1-2 minutes, then whisk again.
• Whisk in milk.
• Combine flour, sugar and salt in food processor and pulse to mix.
• Cut 4 tablespoons butter into thin slices and add to processor.
• Pulse to a fine texture, but do not allow to become pasty.
• Cut remaining butter into 1/2 inch cubes and add to processor.
• Pulse exactly twice, for 1 second each time.
• Remove dough from processor and place in mixing bowl.
• Whisk eggs into yeast mixture and add to bowl.
• Position a rubber spatula so its blade is flat and parallel with the bottom of the bowl.
• Repeatedly dig spatula down to the bottom of the bowl, while turning bowl.
• Repeat until dough comes together. Dough will be soft and sticky.
• Press plastic wrap against surface of dough and refrigerate 1-2 hours.
• Scrape chilled dough onto a floured surface and sprinkle flour over the top of the dough.
• Press dough into a rectangle about twice as long as it is wide.
• Starting at the narrow edge farthest from you, firmly press dough with a rolling pin in parallel strokes close to each other.
• If there are sticky pieces of butter on the surface of the dough, seal them with a pinch of flour.
• Clean off anything stuck to the rolling pin before continuing.
• Repeat pressing motion from the close to the farther narrow end of dough.
• Press once in the width. You should now have a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.
• Sprinkle flour under and on top of dough.
• Roll away back in length, and once in the width, without rolling over ends, to make a rectangle 18 inches long and 8 inches wide.
• Fold the two narrow ends in toward the middle, leaving a 1 inch space in the center.
• Fold top to bottom to form 4 layers.
• Reposition dough so folded edge is on your left.
• Repeat rolling and folding procedure.
• Wrap in plastic and refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours and a maximum of 12 hours before using.
• Use in the Danish pastry recipe of your choice.

Steps:

• Pulse together the dry ingredients plus 2 tsp salt in a processor, then pulse in the milk and egg, plus 100ml water, until you have a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Knead for 1 min, using a little flour, until just smooth. Put into an oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hr until doubled in size (overnight in the fridge if you like).
• Flour your surface, then pat the dough out to a rectangle, 1cm thick. Lay the butter slices out over the middle of the dough, in a rectangle. Fold the pastry over the top, bottom and then sides until the butter is completely hidden. Press the edges down.
• Roll the dough out to a 50 x 30cm rectangle, first tapping out the dough with the rolling pin in gentle ridges, so that you can tell the butter is being squashed out evenly inside the pastry, before rolling properly. Turn dough 90 degrees, then fold the right third over and the left third over that. Do this three times, chilling for 15 mins after each roll.
• Cut the dough in half, into 2 squares. Roll one piece of dough to 35 x 35cm. Cut into 9 squares, then follow the instructions below for each filling and shape. If you want to make more than one shape, it's easy to divide the filling quantity. Don't worry if your squares rise as you work, just roll them out a bit again.
• To make 18 pecan pinwheels, whizz 85g pecans until fine, then stir in 50g light muscovado, 1 tbsp maple syrup and 25g softened butter. Cut each square of pastry almost to the middle from each corner, spoon on 1 tsp filling, then fold each point over and press into the middle. Scatter more chopped pecans and a little sugar over before baking. Drizzle with a little maple syrup to serve.
• For 18 apricot custard turnovers, you will need 150g tub custard, 2 x 320g cans apricots and a few tsps apricot jam. Put 2 tsp custard in the middle, sit two apricot halves on top, dot with jam, then pull 2 corners over and pinch to seal.
• To make 18 raisin swirls, mix 50g raisins, 25g caster sugar, 1 tsp mixed spice and 50g soft butter. Instead of cutting the dough into 9, leave it whole and spread the filling over. Roll up, slice into 9 rounds, then squash each one. Blend 50g icing sugar and a few drops of water to drizzle over once baked.
• Once shaped and filled, let the pastries rise for 30 mins until puffed and doubled in size. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush with beaten egg, make sure you pinch any edges together again, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and risen.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk; stir until dissolved. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine 1 pound, 4 ounces flour, sugar, salt, cardamom, and 4 tablespoons butter; beat on low speed until butter is incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse meal, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in the yeast-milk mixture; mix until dough just comes together. Add the eggs and yolk; mix until just combined, 2 to 3 minutes. Do not overmix.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, making sure to include any loose bits left at the bottom of the bowl. Gently knead to form a smooth ball, about 30 seconds. Wrap well with plastic, and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Paddle remaining 3 1/2 sticks butter with 2 tablespoons flour. Form flour and butter mixture into a 12-by-10-inch rectangle on a sheet of plastic wrap. Refrigerate 15 minutes or up to 1 day. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to an 18-by-10-inch rectangle, a little over a 1/4 inch thick, keeping the corners as square as possible. Remove any excess flour with a dry pastry brush. Remove butter mixture from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature until it reaches the consistency of the dough. With a short side facing you, place butter mixture over 2/3 of the dough. Fold the unbuttered third over as you would a business letter, followed by the remaining third. This seals in the butter.
• Roll out dough again to an 18-by-10-inch rectangle, then fold dough into thirds as described above; refrigerate for 1 hour. This is the first of three turns. Repeat rolling and folding two more times, refrigerating for at least 1 hour between turns. To help you remember how many turns have been completed, mark the dough after each one: make one mark for the first turn, two for the second, and three for the third.
• Refrigerate dough, tightly wrapped in plastic, for at least 4 hours or overnight. Dough can also be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic, for up to 2 weeks; before using, thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight.

Steps:

• Pour water into a large bowl, sprinkle over yeast and let soften for a minute.
• Add milk, egg, sugar and salt.
• Whisk to mix.
• Set aside.
• Put flour into food processor, add butter and pulse (8-10 times) until butter is cut into pieces 1/2 inch diameter- no smaller.
• Empty contents of food processor into the bowl with the yeast mixture.
• Very gently turn the mixture over with a rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are moistened.
• Butter must remain in discrete pieces.
• Cover bowl and refrigerate overnight (or up to 4 days).
• Lightly flour work surface, turn the dough out and lightly flour the dough.
• Pat into a rough square.
• Note: If at anytime the dough becomes too soft, cover with plastic and chill.
• Roll out to 16" x 16".
• Fold in thirds like a business letter and turn so that the closed fold is on your left.
• Roll again to 10" x 24".
• Fold in thirds again, turn so the closed fold is on your left.
• Roll into a 20" x 20" square.
• Fold the square in thirds and turn so that the closed fold is on your left.
• Roll into a 10" x 20' rectangle, fold in thirds again.
• Wrap dough in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes (up to 2 days).
• Dough can be frozen for 1 month.
• Thaw in refrigerator overnight.

Steps:

• Do ahead
• Prepare the laminated dough as directed on page 182, up to the point of shaping and baking, and roll out as you would for large croissants, into a rectangle measuring about 24 inches wide by 9 inches long and just under 1/4 inch thick.
• Shaping
• To make Schnecken, if you want to use cinnamon sugar, you'll need to apply an egg wash before cutting the dough. Whisk the egg and water together, then gently brush it over the surface of the dough. Separately, whisk the cinnamon into the sugar, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface of the dough.
• Use a straight edge, such as a sturdy ruler, to cut 1-inch-wide vertical strips, so that you end up with about 24 strips, 8 to 9 inches long (the dough will shrink slightly as you cut it). For large schnecken, use the entire strip; for a mini version, cut each strip in half to make two 4-inch strips. Lift each strip at both ends and twist in opposite directions to form the strip into a springlike coil, then lay the strip on the work surface and coil it in a circular fashion to make a snail shape. (For full-size Schnecken, you can also coil them from both ends to form either an S-shaped double snail or an eyeglass-shaped double snail, which allows you to fill the schnecken with two fillings.) Tuck the outer end of the coil underneath to close off the circle.
• Place the schnecken 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined sheet pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Proof at room temperature for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the dough has swelled noticeably.
• To make pinwheels, cut the dough into approximately 3-inch squares for large pinwheels, or 2 1/2-inch squares for smaller pinwheels. Working with one piece at a time, use a metal pastry scraper to cut a notch at each corner, cutting from the corner toward the center without connecting the cuts; leave an uncut center about 1/2 inch wide to serve as a platform for the filling. Take the same side of each corner and fold it over to the center, pressing it into the uncut platform. When all 4 corners are folded, use your thumb to press the ends into each other and seal them in the center of the pinwheel. Don't worry if they come apart during the proofing stage; you can press and seal them again before you add the filling.
• Place the pinwheels about 1/2 inch apart on a parchment-lined sheet pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Proof at room temperature for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the pieces have swelled noticeably.
• Baking and glazing
• About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Fill the schnecken by using your thumb to make an indent in the center of each coil large and deep enough to hold about 1 heaping teaspoon of filling, then add whatever fillings you like. Fill the pinwheels by pressing the center with your thumb or finger to create a small pocket, and place about 1 teaspoon of whatever fillings you like into the pocket.
• For both Schnecken and pinwheels, make the fondant glaze while the oven preheats.
• Just before baking the Danish, prepare the hot glaze. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring it to a boil; stir until the sugar is dissolved, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer while the Danish bake. If you like, stir in the apricot preserves, or squeeze the juice from the lemon into the saucepan, then add the entire lemon half.
• As the syrup is heating up, place the pan of Danish into the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400°F (204°C). Bake for 6 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 5 to 6 minutes, until a medium golden brown.
• As soon as the Danish come out of the oven, brush the hot syrup over them, including over the filling. Let the Danish cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then drizzle streaks of the fondant glaze over them. Let the glaze set up for about 3 to 5 minutes, then enjoy!
• Filling Options: Cream Cheese Filling
• Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and cream them together until smooth and slightly fluffy. If using a mixer, use the paddle attachment and gradually increase the speed of the mixer to high. If mixing this filling by hand, use a large, sturdy spoon and be prepared to stir vigorously. The filling should be thick, creamy, and custardlike; it will firm up when baked.
• Fruit Filling
• If using diced apples or pears, poach them in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain. Whisk the water, sugar, salt, and cornstarch together in a saucepan to make a slurry, then bring it to a boil over a medium heat, stirring constantly. It should thicken by the time it comes to a boil. Remove it from the heat immediately, then stir in the fruit. Some fruits will leach moisture into the slurry, so stir the filling a few times as it cools.
• Lemon Curd
• Whisk the lemon juice, sugar, and eggs together in a double boiler over simmering water, then stir continuously until the mixture begins to thicken; this could take 10 to 15 minutes.
• As soon as the mixture thickens, add the butter and stir until it melts. Remove the lemon curd from the heat and continue to stir until the butter is fully incorporated. If it's lumpy, push it through a fine-mesh sieve to smooth it out. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd and set it aside to cool.
• Variation
• If you want richer, softer Danish dough, when making the détrempe, replace 6 tablespoons (3 oz / 85 g) of the water with 2 eggs (3.5 oz / 99 g).

Steps:

• Combine the flour, granulated sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse to combine. The butter should be the size of small marbles and peas. Transfer this mixture to a medium bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and 2 tablespoons/30 milliliters water.
• Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture until it is evenly moistened. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape into a small rectangle, and wrap well. Chill for at least 3 hours, and up to 2 days.
• On a lightly floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to an 8-by-15-inch rectangle. With a short side facing you, fold the dough in thirds like a letter, bringing the top third of the dough down, then folding the bottom third up. Use a bench scraper to help lift and fold the dough if necessary. At this point, the dough will be rough and shaggy with visible butter pieces; as you roll and fold the dough it will come together. Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Repeat the rolling and folding process, then rotate the dough once more and roll and fold again. As you work, dust the work surface, your hands and the rolling pin with flour as necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Repeat the entire rolling and folding process one more time for a grand total of six turns. If the dough starts to fight you and become difficult to roll at any point, just pop it in the fridge for an extra rest. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.