DANISH PASTRY RECIPE
Did
you ever wonder how artisan bakers make those super-buttery, flaky,
light-as-air Danish? Here's how. Warning: this isn't a quick-and-easy recipe;
there are numerous steps, including a suggested overnight rest for the dough.
But if you follow the directions and take it one step at a time, you'll be able
to claim a delicious new pastry for your Bread
PREP
50 mins. to 1 hrs 20 mins.
BAKE
16 mins. to 18 mins.
TOTAL
3 hrs 6 mins. to 19 hrs 38
mins.
YIELD
24 to 36 pastries,
depending on size
Ingredients
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
DOUGH
2 cups unsalted butter, at
cool room temperature
5 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose
Flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons salt; if
you use salted butter, reduce this to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground
cardamom, optional; for traditional flavor
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cold milk
1/3 to 1/2 cup lukewarm
water*
2 large eggs
*Use the greater amount in
winter, or in a dry climate; the lesser amount in summer, or when it's humid
out.
CHEESE FILLING
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup cottage cheese or
ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons granulated
sugar
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
FRUIT FILLING
about 1 to 1 1/4 cups jam,
preserves, or canned fruit pie filling
TOPPING
1 large egg white beaten
lightly with 1 tablespoon cold water
GLAZE
1 1/2 cups confectioners'
sugar or glazing sugar
2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons
water or milk, enough to make a "drizzlable" glaze
pinch of salt
crushed nuts, optional; to
garnish
Instructions
Begin by cutting 1/4"
butter off the end of each of the 4 sticks in the pound; you'll have about 2
tablespoons butter. Set them (and the remaining butter) aside. You'll be using
the 2 tablespoons butter immediately, but won't need the remaining butter until
after you've made the dough.
In a large bowl, whisk
together the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and cardamom. Add the 2 tablespoons
cold butter, working it in with your fingers until no large lumps remain. This
step coats the flour a bit with fat, making the pastry a tiny bit more tender.
Add the vanilla, milk,
water, and eggs. Mix and knead to make a cohesive, but quite sticky dough. This
is easily done in a bread machine set on the dough cycle; or in a mixer. If you
use a mixer, the dough won't completely clean the bowl; it'll probably leave a
narrow ring around the side, and stick at the bottom.
Scrape the dough into a
ball, and transfer it to a floured work surface. Cover it with plastic wrap,
and let it rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the butter.
Cut each stick of butter in
half lengthwise, to make 8 long rectangles. On a piece of floured parchment or
plastic wrap, line up 4 of the butter pieces side by side, to form a rectangle.
Sprinkle lightly with flour, and cover with another piece of parchment or
plastic wrap.
Gently pound and roll the
butter until it's about 6" x 9". The pieces may or may not meld
together. If they do, great, they'll be easier to work with. If not, though,
that's OK; don't stress about it.
Repeat with the remaining 4
pieces of butter. You should now have two butter rectangles, about 6" x
9" each.
Roll the dough into a
rectangle about 12" wide and 24" long. Don't worry about being
ultra-precise; this is just a guide, though you should try to get fairly close.
Place one of the butter
pieces onto the center third of the dough. Fold one side over the butter to
cover it. Place the other butter piece atop the folded-over dough, and fold the
remaining dough up over it. You now have a rectangular "packet" of
dough-enclosed butter. Pinch the open ends and side closed as best you can.
Turn the dough 90°, so a
12" side is closest to you. Roll the dough into a 10" x 24"
rectangle (approximately). Fold each side into the center; then fold one side
over the other to make a rectangular packet about 6" x 10".
Dust the surface of the
dough with flour, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for
about 20 minutes.
Remove the dough from the
fridge, and again roll it into a rectangle about 10" x 24". Fold it
into a packet as you did in step #10; it'll be about 7" x 12". Roll
one final time, fold into a packet, and flour the dough lightly. Wrap loosely
(but completely) in plastic, and chill it for 2 hours, or up to 16 hours; we
prefer the longer refrigeration, as it gives the dough a chance to relax and
rise.
Before shaping the
pastries, select your filling(s). We like to use a variety. Either of the
filling suggestions in this recipe make enough to fill all the pastries; so if
you want to mix and match, make a half-recipe of the cheese filling, and use
only half the amount of fruit filling called for.
To make the cheese filling:
Combine all of the ingredients, stirring until smooth. For the smoothest
filling, process in a food processor.
When you're ready to make
pastries, remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and cut off
one-third. You'll work with this piece first; return the remainder to the
fridge.
Divide the dough into 12
pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball, then flatten the balls into 3" to 3
1/2" rounds, making the center thinner than the edges. You want to build
up a slight wall of dough all around the circumference; this will help hold the
filling. Place the rounds on a parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheet.
Working with one-half of
the remaining dough at a time, repeat the process; you'll finish with three
baking sheets, each with 12 dough rounds.
Cover the Danish lightly
with greased plastic wrap, and let them rise for about 1 hour; they'll become
slightly puffy. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Use your fingers to press
the centers of the dough rounds as flat as possible, leaving the
"sidewalls" puffed. Spoon a slightly heaping measuring teaspoon of
filling into the well of each round.
Brush the exposed edges of
pastry with the egg/water topping; this will create a satiny, golden crust.
Bake the pastries for 15 to
18 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and transfer
to a rack. Glaze and serve immediately; or wait until they cool, then glaze.
To make the glaze: Whisk
the confectioners' sugar and salt with enough water or milk to make a
"drizzlable" glaze.
Drizzle the glaze atop the
pastries. Sprinkle with crushed nuts, if desired.
Yield: 3 dozen 3"
pastries.
Tourism in Denmark
Tourism in Denmark constitutes
a growth industry. Tourism is a major economic contributor at approx. DKK 82
billion in revenue and 120,000 full-time-equivalent-jobs annually, for the
tourism experience industry alone in 2014.
Inbound tourists to Denmark
mainly comprise people from neighboring countries, especially Germany, followed by Sweden,Norway, and the Netherlands. The UNWTO's World
Tourism rankings show that Denmark had 8.7 million visitor
arrivals in 2010. The total annual number of overnight stays in Denmark has
been somewhat declining in 2011.
Denmark has long stretches
of sandy beaches, attracting many tourists in the summer, with Germany
accounting for most foreign visitors. Swedish and Norwegian tourists often come
to visit the relatively lively city of Copenhagen, while many
young Scandinavians come for Denmark's comparably cheap and readily accessible
beer, wines and spirits.
As Europe's oldest kingdom
and the home of Hans
Christian Andersen, Denmark is often marketed as a "fairytale
country". The term is so ingrained, that it is still used in international
news reports, especially when the news is of a nature contradicting the image,
such as the Copenhagen
riots or the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.
Denmark has a relatively
large outbound tourism, with Spain as
primary destination, accounting for 14% of all overnight stays abroad of four
days or more in 2013. Turkey ranks
as the primary destination outside of Europe at 7%.
Copenhagen and Sealand
The capital
In 2004 Copenhagen Region
had 136 hotels with a total of 4.9 million nights spent. There were 250 cruise
liners calling at Copenhagen Port with
more than 350,000 passengers.
Among the major tourist
attractions are Tivoli
Gardens, the Freetown
Christiania and The Little Mermaid, all located in Copenhagen. A survey
conducted by the newspaper Berlingske
Tidende in July 2008 listed The Little Mermaid as the most
popular tourist attraction in Copenhagen.
Surrounding area
Kronborg Castle in
Helsingør is famous for its associations with Shakespeare's Hamlet. The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art 30 km north of
Copenhagen is the most visited museum in Denmark, and Roskilde Festival near
Roskilde 30 km west of Copenhagen attracts over 100,000 guests every year.
Southern Sealand, Lolland,
Falster and Møn
In view of its proximity to Germany, one of the most
popular areas of Denmark for visitors is the South of Sealand and the
neighbouring islands. Møn, with
its magnificent chalk cliffs, Liselund Park and its
sandy beaches is one of the main destinations. Falster has a number
of sandy beaches including those at Marielyst. The area also
has several tourist attractions including Knuthenborg
Safari Park and Middelaldercentret both
on Lolland, BonBon-Land near Næstved and the GeoCenter at Møns Klint.
Bornholm
Hammershus.
The island of Bornholm in the Baltic
Sea to the south of Sweden offers
tourists a variety of attractions including rocky seascapes, picturesque
fishing villages and sandy beaches. Among the quaint towns worth visiting are Gudhjem, Sandvig,Svaneke and Rønne. The magnificent ruin
of Europe's largest castle, Hammershus, is the island's
most famous monument. There are ferry services to Bornholm from Køge near Copenhagen, from Ystad in the south of Sweden, from Rügen in the north
east of Germany and from Kołobrzeg and Świnoujście in the
north west of Poland. There is also an airport at Rønne.
Funen
Funen, linked to Sealand by the Great Belt Bridge, has
strong associations with Hans Christian Andersen who was born inOdense. The small coastal
towns of Fåborg and Svendborg are popular
with tourists both as attractions in their own right and as centres for
visiting the surroundings, particularly the castles of Egeskov and Hvedholm and the
unspoiled islands ofThurø, Tåsinge and Ærø with their narrow
streets and thatched cottages.
Jutland
Major cities
The cities of Aalborg, in the north, and Aarhus, in the east,
attract a considerable number of visitors, whether for business or pleasure.
Aalborg's 14th century Budolfi Church, 17th
century Aalborghus
Castle and the Jomfru Ane Gade (a lively
old street close to the city centre) are major attractions.
Aarhus is amongst the top
100 conference cities of the World and has seen a large expansion of the hotel
business, throughout the last couple of decades. The city is home to several of
Denmarks' top tourist attractions, including the museum village of Den
Gamle By (the Old Town), ARoS
Art Museum, Moesgård
Museum andTivoli Friheden accounting
for more than 1.4 million visitors annually. Other important tourist
attractions are music festivals and shopping facilities. With one of the
largest ports in Northern Europe, more than a dozen international cruise ships
docks in Aarhus each year.
Regional attractions
Among Jutland's regional
attractions are Legoland close
to Billund
Airport, the easterly village of Ebeltoft with its
cobbled streets and half-timbered houses, Skagen in the far
north famous for its seascapes and artist community and the north-west beach
resorts of Løkken and
Lønstrup. Finally the island of Mors, famous for its
natural beauty, attracts tourists to itsJesperhus Flower Park and
to the cliff at Hanklit which overlooks the sea.
Jelling, near Vejle in the south-eastern part of
Jutland, is a World
Heritage Site, famous for its two great tumulus mounds erected in
the late 10th century and its runic stones erected
by King
Harold.
Near Esbjerg on the west
coast stands Svend
Wiig Hansen's enormous sculpture of four chalky white figures gazing
out at the sea. Known as Mennesket ved havet or Men at the Sea and
standing 79 m high, it can be seen for miles around.
Cuisine
The new
Danish cuisine - part of the new
Nordic cuisine movement - has gathered international attention
in the past decade as an inspiring, high quality gourmet cuisine with several
acclaimed restaurants. The most popular restaurants of this particular cuisine
is primarily located in the Copenhagen area including Noma, Geranium, Restaurant
AOC, Den Røde Cottage and many others. Important provincial restaurants serving
a new Danish cuisine, includes Ti Trin Ned in Fredericiaand Ruths Gourmet
in Skagen.
Apart from the new Danish
cuisine, Denmark has an increasing number of high quality gourmet restaurants
serving an international cuisine that has also attracted international
attention. Many restaurants in the Copenhagen area has been awarded Michelin stars and in
2015 a couple of restaurants in Aarhus, was the first provincial restaurants to
receive this highly acclaimed rating. Many other
restaurants throughout the country figures in other important restaurant
guides, including the Nordic White Guide.
The usual fare of typical
Danish food for the citizens, comprise a lunch of smørrebrød on thinly
sliced rye bread. Traditionally,
the meal begins with fish such asmarinated herring,
smoked eel, crab, or breaded plaice filets with remoulade and moves on
with meat such as slices of roast pork or beef, frikadeller (meat
balls), hams and liver pâté.
The sandwiches are richly garnished with onion rings, radish slices, cucumbers,
tomato slices, parsely, remoulade and mayonnaise.The meal is often
accompanied by beer, sometimes also by shots of ice-cold snaps or akvavit. In the evening,
hot meals are usually served. Traditional dishes include fried fish, roast pork
with red cabbage (the national dish), pot-roasted chicken, or pork chops. Game
is sometimes served in the autumn. Steaks are now becoming increasingly
popular.
Transport
Air
Copenhagen
Airport is the largest airport in Scandinavia. The airport is
located at Kastrup, 8 km from
central Copenhagen.
It is connected by train to Copenhagen Central Station and beyond as well as to Malmö and other towns
in Sweden.
For the west of the
country, the major airport is Billund although both Aarhus, Aalborg, and Karup have smaller
airports with regular connections to Copenhagen.
Rail
Denmark has a good national
railway network. There are also frequent train services to Malmö and other
parts of Sweden. Germany is connected both by rail services using the ferries
from Puttgarden to Rødby and by services
across the Flensburg-Padborg land border in
the south of Jutland.
Road
Motorways are well
developed across the country, the only tolls being on the major bridges (over
the Great Belt and to Malmö).
Bicycles
Outside of the towns and
cities there are often bicycle tracks parallel to, but separated from, the
roads between towns. During the summer months, there are free "city
bikes" stationed at various spots in the downtown area of
Copenhagen and Aarhus. The idea is that anyone can take a bike from one of the
spots, ride it to another spot and leave it there for the next person.
There are numerous national and regional bicycle routes
throughout Denmark. They are all marked and include rest areas with
benches and other necessities.
Sea
International overnight
ferry services connect Oslo,
Norway, to Copenhagen every day. Harwich, south-east
England, used to be connected to Esbjerg, west Jutland three
times a week. The
Esbjerg–Harwich connection was closed in 2014, after nearly 140 years of
operation.
There are also a number of
ferry services connecting the Danish islands.
