Danish Pastry Dough Food

DANISH PASTRY DOUGH (THE BASE RECIPE)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, add the lukewarm milk and dissolve the fresh yeast. If you normally uses dry yeast, add this together with the all-purpose flour in step 3.
• Add the sugar and a beaten egg. Stir to mix.
• Add the all-purpose flour and the salt. Knead everything into a nice and smooth dough.
• Leave the kneaded dough in the bowl, cover it with some plastic foil and let it rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a flat square measuring 45x45 cm (18x18 inch).
• Use a wire cheese cutter or similar cutting tool to cut very thin slices of the cold butter. You can with advantage place the butter in the freezer for some time to ease the process of cutting thin slices. Place the butter at the center of the dough in an angle of 45 degree to the corners of the rectangle dough. It should look like a diamond in the middle of the dough.
• Fold the four corners over the butter. Make the edges of the folded dough overlapping so that all the butter is sealed inside.
• Again, roll the dough flat using the rolling pin. This time the dough should be a rectangle. Be very gentle; make sure not to break the dough and revealing the butter.
• Now fold 1/3 of the short side over the dough and then fold the other 1/3 over. It is similar to folding a letter, which is to go into an envelope. Wrap the folded dough into plastic foil and let it rest/cool in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
• Continue this procedure with rolling the dough flat and folding it. This rolling and folding process should be done totally 3 times. Remember to let the dough rest in the fridge in between each step. Again, be careful not to break the dough revealing the butter. If you accidentally break the dough try to cover the hole and use a little flour to make sure, the outside of the dough does not get sticky from the butter.
• Now the dough is ready to make any kind of Danish pastry. Find several recipes here on my blog for different traditional Danish Pastry like. Browse the 'Traditional Danish section'

PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Blend together flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.
• Squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.
• Gather all dough together with pastry scraper. Press into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• If you're making two desserts that call for this pastry dough, you can make a double batch.
• Pastry dough can be chilled up to 2 days or frozen, wrapped well, up to 3 months.

DANISH PASTRIES

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.

DANISH PASTRY DOUGH

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.

DANISH PASTRY

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.

DANISH PASTRY

Steps:

• Heat milk to luke warm, about 100 degrees. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl and whisk in yeast. Set aside while preparing other ingredients. Place flour, sugar and salt in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade; pulse to mix. Add the 4 tablespoons butter and pulse until butter is absorbed and mixture is powdery in appearance. Add eggs and milk mixture and continue to pulse until dough forms a ball. If the dough refuses to form a ball, add up to 3 tablespoons more flour, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing once or twice between each addition.
• To mix by hand, combine flour salt and sugar in a bowl and stir well to mix. Rub in butter by hand, being sure to leave mixture cool and powdery. Beat eggs until liquid and add to flour mixture along with yeast-milk mixture. Stir vigorously with a rubber spatula to form a dough.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest 5 minutes. Scrape dough to floured surface and fold dough over on itself 6 or 8 times, sprinkling with up to 3 tablespoons more flour if dough is very soft. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 to 8 hours.
• After the dough has chilled, prepare butter: Place half the flour on work surface and place butter on it. Scatter remaining flour on butter and pound the butter with a rolling pin to soften it to a malleable consistency. Scrape butter together and form into a cylinder. Immediately remove dough from refrigerator and press in into a 6 by 12-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Distribute dabs of butter in a 6 by 9-inch rectangle at the closer end of the dough, covering dough as completely as possible. Fold the top (unbuttered) portion of dough down over the middle section and the bottom (buttered) portion up to cover it. Position the dough so the fold is on the left and roll the dough back to its original size, flouring the surface and dough as necessary. Fold both short ends in to the middle of the dough and fold again at the middle, making 4 layers. Reposition the dough so that the fold is on the left again and repeat rolling and folding. Double-wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate dough several hours or overnight before using.

DANISH PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Warm milk to 110 degrees.
• Sprinkle yeast over milk, let sit for 5 minutes then whisk inches.
• Add eggs and vanilla, whisk until just mixed.
• Put dry ingredients in food processor and pulse to mix.
• Add 3 Tbl of the butter, pulse until butter is well incorporated.
• Put dry ingredients in mixing bowl with dough hook, add wet ingredients and knead until just smooth and no dry spots remain.
• Don't overknead.
• Dough should be slightly wet.
• Place dough on lightly floured sheet pan, shape into rough rectangle, dust top with flour, cover with plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Roll dough on lightly floured work surface into a 26x13 inch rectangle.
• Position so that short side is closest to you.
• Butter should be soft enough to spread, but not so soft that it is melting.
• Spread butter by hand over lower 2/3 of dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border around side and bottom edges.
• Fold upper 1/3 of dough toward the centerof the rectangle, then fold the lower 2/3 over that.
• Crimp short edges and seam with your fingers to seal in butter.
• Turn dough so that crimped edge is to your right.
• Roll dough to a 21x13 inch rectangle, using only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking.
• Brush off excess flour.
• Fold top 1/3 of dough toward the middle, then lower 2/3 up over that.
• Place on sheetpan, cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
• Repeat this process 3 more times refrigerating for 30 minutes between each turn.
• when all turns are complete, place on sheetpan, cover well with plastic and let dough rest overnight in the refrigerator.
• At this point dough can be refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for 2 weeks.

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.

QUICK DANISH PASTRY DOUGH

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.

DANISH DOUGH

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.

PUFF PASTRY (DANISH PASTRY DOUGH)

Steps:

• In a large bowl sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Add the egg, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk gently to combine. Set aside.
• Toss the diced butter and flour together in a medium bowl. 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.This is called a "book 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.