Cinnamon Roll Danish Style Food

KANELSNEGLE (DANISH CINNAMON ROLLS)

Steps:

• Mix the yeast with the sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour and a 1/4 cup of milk and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
• Pour the rest of the flour into the bowl of your stand mixer with the cinnamon, cardamom and salt.
• Add the yeast and mix in the bowl of the stand mixer, using the hook attachment.
• Pour in the milk and vanilla extract slowly, while mixing.
• Add the butter and mix for 10 minutes on medium speed.
• Leave to rise for an hour covered with a towel or plastic wrap.
• Mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl.
• Punch the air out of the dough.
• Roll out the dough into a rectangle of roughly 12×18 inches.
• Spread the filling over the dough.
• Roll up the dough, being careful not to roll it too tightly, to obtain a 12 inches cylinder.
• Cut into 12 parts.
• Put on parchment paper, covered with a clean towel, and leave to rise for 30 to 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
• Glaze the uncooked kanelsnegles with the beaten egg.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and leave to cool on a cookie cooler.

DANISH PASTRY CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Make the butter roll-in first.
• With a pastry blender or two knives (using two knives is actually easier) cut the flour and the 3 sticks of butter together until combined but do not let the butter become warm. The butter should never be allowed to become warm the entire to time you are working with this dough.
• Tear off a sheet of waxed paper and dump the butter on to it. Place another sheet of waxed paper on top.
• Beat the the butter between the two sheets of waxed paper with a rolling pin until it becomes malleable. Make sure it stays cold though.
• With a spatula, a knife or whatever, shape the mound of butter into an 7"x9" rectangle. It doesn't have to be perfect but try to get it into a rectangular shape as best you can.
• Set aside in a cool spot or place back in the refrigerator while you make the dough, but don't let the butter re-harden. You want the butter to be cold but still soft and pliable. If it's too hard it will break through the dough when you roll it out.
• For the dough combine the packages of yeast with the warm milk and let sit 5 minutes to soften.
• Mix in the salt, sugar, and eggs.
• Add the 3 1/4 cups flour all at once and stir until thoroughly combined. You should have a very soft and sticky dough.
• Chill dough in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
• If the block of butter is in the refrigerator remove it when you place the dough in there to chill. You don't want the butter to re-harden and it's best if the dough and the butter are approximately the same temperature.
• Sprinkle your work surface generously, and I do mean generously, with flour. I use a shaker to evenly distribute the flour and completely cover the area I'm going to be rolling the dough out on. A simple dusting won't do. You need a good thick layer of flour, maybe as much as a 1/16 to an 1/8 of an inch thick. Don't worry about using too much flour because any excess will be brushed away with your pastry brush.
• Roll dough out into a 11"x16" rectangle.
• With a pastry brush brush all the excess flour off the top of the dough. Excess flour will interfere with layer formation.
• Place the block of butter on one side of the dough leaving a small border around the edges.
• Fold the other half of the dough over and pinch the seams together slightly to seal to encase the block of butter. If dough sticks to the table when you try to fold it then simply brush it with flour. Don't worry if the dough doesn't look too pretty at this point. It will get better.
• Turn the dough 1/4 turn so the part of the folded dough that opens up is on your right(like a book). Brush away the excess flour that's on top of the dough.
• Roll the folded dough into an 8"x20" rectangle. When you roll out the dough you want to make sure you use even strokes and roll from one end to the other. Avoid quick back and forth movements with the rolling pin and do not roll over the edge of your dough. This will destroy the layers you're trying to make. If the butter breaks through the dough simply sprinkle a little bit of flour over the spot.
• Brush away all excess flour off the top of the dough.
• Fold 1/3 of the dough over and brush off the excess flour and then fold the other 1/3 of the dough over that so the dough resembles a business letter.
• Roll out the dough again and fold it in thirds like a business letter just like you did before.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This completes the first two "turns". Each time you roll out the dough and fold it you are doing what's known as a turn. A turn gets its name because after you fold the dough you have to turn it a quarter turn when you go to roll it out again. Each time you roll out the dough you want to make sure that the part of the dough that opens up is always on the right (like the way a book opens). It can open on the left if you want but the important thing is to be consistent.
• Meanwhile, take your pastry brush and a sheet of paper and sweep up all the flour on your work surface so you can use it again. You'll find that very little of the flour you used to roll out the dough actually gets worked into the dough.
• After the dough has chilled, sprinkle your work surface with your recycled flour and place the dough on it.
• Roll out and fold the dough in thirds exactly as you did before. (turn #3).
• Chill dough for 1 more hour.
• Repeat this rolling and folding one more time (turn # 4). You should now have a dough with 162 flaky layers (2x3x3x3x3). You started with two layers of dough separated by a layer of butter. Each time you rolled the dough out and folded it in thirds you increased the number of layers by a factor of 3.
• Chill dough for at least 3 hours or overnight if preferred. At this point you have a basic Danish pastry dough.
• With a sharp serrated knife, cut the dough in half.
• Keep one half in the refrigerator while you work with the first half.
• Roll the half of dough into a 9"x16" rectangle.
• Sprinkle the top of the dough with the cinnamon topping which consists of 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans.
• Roll dough into a tight 16" long log.
• Cut dough into 16 pieces. The easiest way to do this is to cut the log in half and then cut those halves in half and so forth. If dough is too soft to slice wrap it up and refrigerate it for an hour or place it in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Place cinnamon rolls on ungreased baking sheets at least 3 inches apart so they have room to rise and expand.
• Repeat with the other half of the dough.
• Cover the trays of cinnamon rolls with towels and set aside to rise until the rolls are ALMOST doubled (about a 75% increase in size). Don't put them in a warm spot because you don't want the butter to melt. Rising time may take a few hours or more. After a couple hours the surface of the rolls may start to dry out, especially if the air is dry. If this happens, cover the tray of rolls with a damp paper towel and then put another towel on top of that.
• Brush rolls lightly with egg wash and bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Be sure to watch them carefully so they don't burn. If rolls are browning too fast on top lower the oven temperature about 15 degrees. If you have thin or dark colored baking sheets you may want to double-pan them so the bottoms of the cinnamon rolls don't get too dark.
• Drizzle powdered sugar icing over the rolls while they are still warm.
• To make icing simply combine powdered sugar with a teaspoon or two of vanilla and enough milk so you can drizzle it. I usually use about 3/4 to 1 pound of powdered sugar. As far as the amount of milk goes, I just kind of eyeball it.

DANISH CINNAMON SNAILS

Steps:

• Pour the warm milk into a mixing bowl and mash in the fresh cake yeast. Mix in 6 1/2 tablespoons of soft butter, eggs, cardamom, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, and 3 1/2 cups of the flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix the dough. If it's very sticky, mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
• Cream together the 2/3 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir in the cinnamon.
• Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it until it's firm, about 3 minutes. Divide the dough in half; roll each half into a rectangle no more than 1/2 inch thick. Spread each rectangle with half the filling.
• Stack one layer of dough and filling on top of the other rectangle of dough, filling-side up. Roll the dough up, starting with the edge closest to you, to form a long log. Cut the log into 1 inch-thick slices.
• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease a baking dish or two cake pans.
• Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart. If you like pull-apart rolls, arrange them in a greased baking dish or cake pans, spacing the rolls about 1 inch apart. Place the uneven end pieces on the baking sheet cut-side up for the best presentation. Let the rolls rest 20 minutes before baking.
• Bake the snails in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Pull-apart rolls will take longer to bake: after 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake the rolls until the sides are fully set, about 10 minutes longer. Cover the baking dish with foil if the rolls begin to get too brown.

DANISH DOUGH

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.

DANISH CINNAMON ROLLS (SNAILS)

Steps:

• Heat the milk up to approx. 30 degrees. Add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and the dry yeast. Whisk it thoroughly and place it in a warm spot until it bubbles up. It usually takes 10 - 15 minutes. Then the yeast will be activated.
• I assume you knead the dough on the machine. Add flour, sugar, the mixture of milk and yeast from step one, salt, cooled melted butter, eggs and vanilla seeds to the bowl. Then knead the dough at medium speed until it releases from the sides of the bowl. It is in this step that you can add extra flour if you think the dough looks too soft.
• I usually knead the dough for about 10 - 15 minutes before it is ready.
• When the dough starts to release from the sides of the bowl, pick it up and transfer to a second bowl greased with a little oil. Position it in a warm place and let it raise to double size. It usually takes an hour.
• As the dough raises, prepare the filling for the cinnamon snails. Mix brown sugar, soft butter and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix it thoroughly and set it aside.
• When the dough is rised, transfer it to a table sprinkled with flour. The dough may seem a bit sticky, so it is important with the flour. Sprinkle flour on the dough and roll it out to a square of approx. 50 x 50 cm with a rolling pin. Then spread the filling gently into an even layer on the dough.
• Gently roll the dough from one edge to the opposite into a cylinder shape.
• Find a roasting pan approx. 22 x 33 x 5 cm and cover it with baking paper. Now cut the cylinder into 15 equal sized snails and place them in the roasting pan. It doesn't matter they are a bit close. We want them to raise upwards during baking. It is a good idea to use a piece of sewing thread to cut the pieces. This avoids pressing the dough flat. You make a loop around the dough and tighten.
• Now the cinnamon rolls have to rise again. Place them in a warm space and cover them with a cloth. Let them rise to double size. It should take 30 - 40 minutes depending on the temperature. While the buns are rising, the oven is preheated to 190 degrees celcius.
• Place the roasting pan in the middle of the preheated oven and bake the cinnamon rolls for 20 - 25 minutes until slightly golden on top.
• Allow the snails to cool and mix the powdered sugar, cocoa and boiling water to make the icing. Decorate the snails with sugar icing and enjoy them with someone you love.

GIANT CINNAMON-CHEESE DANISH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 9-inch glass pie plate with shortening, or spray with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Separate dough into 5 rolls; set icing aside. Unroll 1 roll into long strip of dough; reroll loosely and place in center of pie plate. Unroll second roll; loosely wrap around first roll, cinnamon side in. Replace any cinnamon that falls off. Repeat with remaining rolls, coiling dough in pie plate into spiral shape.
• In small bowl, beat remaining ingredients except icing with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spoon cream cheese mixture into decorating bag with tip or gallon-size resealable food-storage plastic bag with 1/2-inch hole cut in bottom corner. With tip or corner of bag about halfway down into rolls, pipe mixture between strips of dough, starting at center and working to edge of pan, using all of mixture.
• Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until center is thoroughly baked and edges are deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Meanwhile, remove cover from icing; microwave on Medium (50%) 10 to 15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle.
• Drizzle icing over warm coffee cake. Cut into wedges. Serve warm.

DANISH SNAILS

Steps:

• Place sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
• On a lightly floured work surface roll out dough 1/8-inch thick rectangle. Brush surface all over with egg. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture in an even layer to cover. Any remaining cinnamon sugar may be reserved for another use. Fold dough in half lengthwise to enclose cinnamon sugar. Trim edges, discarding scraps. Cut lengthwise strips 3/4-inch-wide. Twist each strip and roll into a spiral. Let rest in a warm place until dough is doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Fill the center of each spiral with a small dollop of apricot jam. Brush dough with the remaining beaten egg. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until pastries are evenly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature. Snails are best eaten the same day they are made.

ORANGE DANISH

Steps:

• Mix yeast and warm water together to proof yeast.
• Cream shortening and margarine with sugar.
• Add yeast and water mixture.
• Add three cups flour and mix.
• Continue adding flour until soft dough forms.
• Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead until dough becomes smooth and elastic.
• Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double (about an hour).
• Punch down.
• Roll out into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface.
• Mix all of the filling ingredients cutting the butter or margarine in until it is well blended.
• Spread evenly over the dough and roll, jelly roll style from the long side.
• Cut into 1 inch slices, place on lightly greased baking pan.
• Let rise 20-30 minutes.
• Bake at 350° for approximately 30 minutes.
• Mix frosting until smooth.
• Pour over rolls while they are still slightly warm.
• Note: I usually mix the frosting and then add a store bought tub of vanilla frosting.
• It gives a better texture to the frosting.
• If you choose to do this, I recommend having the"homemade" part slightly thicker than the desired end product.
• If you are adding the store bought frosting, the margarine/butter is not necessary.