Danish Pastry

PRINT

Danish Pastry

Yield:  2 dozen pastries

#of Servings: 12 Method: Laminated Dough

Difficulty: Advanced

Ingredients
The dough:

2 packages (½ oz / 14 g) active dry yeast
½ cup warm water ((102°F to 105°F)
1 tsp sugar

4 cups (18.6 oz /527 g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (4 fl oz) cold milk
1 tbl butter, room temp
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp vanilla extract, or vanilla bean scrapings
½ cup sugar (3.5 oz / 99 g) granulated sugar

1 cup (4.65 oz / 132 g) all-purpose flour, variable

1 lb (454 g) butter, unsalted, cool room temperature

Cheese strip:

12 oz cream cheese, soft room temperature

3 oz (85 g) granulated sugar
¾ oz (21 g) cake flour, sifted
1 pinch sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 oz (57 g) sour cream
2 oz (57 g) golden raisins

For Baking:

1 egg, lightly beaten
Coarse sugar, as needed
Apricot jam, as needed

Special equipment needed:

• Stand mixer with dough hook, optional
• 1 jelly roll pan for the dough
• Heavy duty rolling pin, preferable French style
• Two pieces of parchment paper or silpat.
• One half-sheet pan or baking sheet, lined with parchment paper or a silpat.
• Ruler or tape measure

Pre-recipe preparations:

• Remove the butter from the refrigerator
• Clear a shelf in the refrigerator

Directions

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
2. Sprinkle sugar over solution. Let stand for 1 minute, then whisk to dissolve. Set in warm place until it is foamy and doubles in bulk.
3. Place flour in machine bowl. Make a well in the center. Add the yeast solution, milk, butter, eggs, salt, cardamom, vanilla, and sugar.
4. Add as much of the remaining flour as necessary to form a soft, but not sticky dough.  Knead for 10 minutes.
5. Form into a rectangle, place on a flour dusted jelly roll pan and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6. Place 8-ounces of the butter between two pieces of parchment and pound with rolling pin until malleable. Roll into a 6” by 8” rectangle. Repeat with the other half of the butter. The butter should be malleable and cool. If it has softened too much during the rolling out, refrigerate until the proper consistency.
7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll it into a 9” by 18” rectangle.
8. Place one piece of the butter over the center of the dough. Fold down the left half and seal the edges.
9. Place the other piece of butter on top and fold the right half of the dough over the butter. Seal the edges. This constitutes the first turn.
10. Place the dough back on the flour-dusted jelly roll pan, cover with the kitchen cloth, and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
11. Remove from the refrigerator and place on a flour-dusted work surface with the short side facing you. Roll to an 8” by 18” rectangle. Bring the top and bottom to meet at the center, and then fold in half. This is known as double turn. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
12. Repeat the above step, making another double turn. Refrigerate for 40 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator. Roll into an 8” by 18” rectangle. Fold in half and return to the flour-dusted jelly roll pan. Cover well with plastic film and refrigerate overnight.

Cheese Strip: (Preheat oven to 375°F)

1. Roll ½ of the Danish dough into a 12” by 14” rectangle. Place on half-sheet pan or large cookie sheet.
2. Using a bench scraper, mark the dough into thirds down the long side. Do not press all the way through the dough. Using an offset spatula, spread the cream cheese filling down the middle section.
3. Using a bench scraper or a small knife, cut 1” angled strips (see photo) on the two outer strips.  Bring the strips up over the cheese filling, alternating between each side.
4. Brish lightly with egg wash and let rise until puffy.
5. Brush again with egg wash and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until the strip is golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for 15 minutes.  Brush with apricot glaze, if desired.
6. Using a large metal spatula, remove the cheese strip to decorative cutting board or rectangular serving platter.
7. Serve warm or room temperature.

Notes:

¹ Plugra brand (unsalted) butter is excellent for all laminated pastry, such as Danish pastry.