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Danish recipes?


CanadianBakin'

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I haven't made Danish before but after seeing the one's in Wendy's blog I've been dying to try some. My husband's family buys these awful ones at the grocery store as well as at one of the chain donut shops, they are just dripping with grease. There's got to be something better?! I was wondering if someone could please share their tried and true recipe? I noticed Wendy's looked like they had a filling rolled into them like cinnamon buns as well as a topping. I'd be interested in that version as well. I'm not a Danish connoiseur (sp?) which is why I'm looking for help. I know there's a catch to trying this though...I'm gonna wreck them for grocery store Danish. :blush:

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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Do you have baking with Julia? Beatrice Ojakangas did danish for the series. If you don't, I can share the recipes with you. She did a quick version for the series, which is very good. There is also a version that takes a little more time in her "Great Scandinavian Baking Book".

You can see a clip here http://www.pbs.org/juliachild/meet.html

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This is the Chef Dieter’s recipe that I learned. Dieter is a master of viennoiseries. This makes a really delish Danish. Still, you may want to look through a few books on technique if you have never done this type of dough.

250ml milk

55g dry yeast

2 eggs

50g butter (melted)

1t salt

50g sugar

pinch cardamom (optional)

350g bread flour

200g cake flour

350g butter

proof yeast in warm milk (about 100 degrees F)

add eggs, melted butter, salt, sugar, cardamom, flours

mix using dough hook attachment on mixer

warp and chill to rest about 1 hour

pound out the 350g butter to a rectangle to fit on 1/2 the rolled out dough. It should be flexible, but cool and not room temp soft

roll the dough out as for puff or croissant to a rectangle about 9x18

place butter pack on 9x9 half leaving about a 1/2” lip around the 3 outer edges and fold other half over it then seal the open edges

Do a single turn – wrap chill and rest the dough about 30 min

Do 2 more single turns resting at least 30 minutes in between

That’s the dough

The artistry is in forming and filling

There are hundreds of forms and methods

Like croissant dough it needs to be proofed after shaping

A good reference is the Jacques Torres Dessert Circus book – he does not have any Danish but works with croissant dough. There are several differences, but it may help.

Forming the dough really requires illustrations or photos.

Some typical forms include Bear claws (includes apple compote as filling)

Pinwheels (includes pastry cream and fresh fruit)

You may be thinking of a raison filled wheel

you roll out the compled dough to a rectangle about 1/2" thick

spread with a thin layer of pastry cream (I guess you could also use butter here)

sprinkle with raisins (I like adding cinnamon)

roll into a tight cylander

cut 1" thick slices

set on tray. Twist and tuck the tail under the danish body

proof til doubled

brush with egg wash

bake at 375 til golden brown

brush with sugra glaze (10x sugar with a bit of milk to make the desired consistency)

Perhaps Danish would be a good demo for the pastry thread

Edited by chefette (log)
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Yes, I use the recipe from Baking With Julia written by Dorie Greenspan. The beauty of this recipe is how easy it is to make. It will definately WOW your family............it's better then alot of bakeries danish (bakeries that use a danish mix).

Do you own the book? Do we need to post the recipes? (.............if not.........well it's a great book, everyone serious about baking should have this in their collection.)

There's variation from one danish recipe to the next.......as typical of all recipes.... Normally/traditionally with danish, the butter is rolled in beginning as a seperate item from the dough, after it's baked it's brushed with simple syrup. This recipe cuts the butter into the dough from the beginning like making a pie crust. It makes a pretty moist danish that doesn't need or like a simple syrup wash.

So your making this multi layered danish dough and you do need to finish it by adding fillings and shaping it. Theres countless ways to fill/top danish.........maybe it would be easiest if there was a particular type/flavor of danish you'd like to make?

* My favorite danish dough recipe comes from Wayne Gisslens professional book. But the Ojakangas recipe is definately my second favorite recipe and it's the easiest version I know of.

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My danish dough recipe makes an insane amount -- 13 blocks -- so if you can find a good dough recipe and are just looking for filling ideas, here's what I do.

I make both cinnamon rolls and cherry danish out of the danish dough. Both get rolled to the desired thickness (rolls = #8 on sheeter; cherry = #6 on sheeter). They get brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with a cinnamon mixture (12 pounds brown sugar, 6 pounds granulated sugar, and 1 pound cinnamon) rolled, cut (3 1/2 oz for rolls and 3 oz for cherry) and the ends tucked. They then get sprayed with an equal portion of eggs and half'nhalf.

The rolls are proofed, baked and then hot from the oven glazed with an apricot glaze and drizzled with a powdered sugar fondant. The cherry danish are proofed, once proofed the center is spread apart and filled with a black scoop of cherry pie filling, and baked. These are also glazed with an apricot glaze but not drizzled with the ps fondant.

I also use danish dough to make apricot pecan rings. These are rolled to about 18"H x 45"W rolled to #8 thickness on sheeter. Two-thirds (width wise) is spread with an apricot preserve and toasted chopped pecans, fold the 2/3 onto each other and follow with the un-spreaded portion. These are cut into approximately 3/4 to 1"strips, braided with 3 strips, and made into a ring. Proof and bake. Immediately out of oven, glaze with an apricot glaze and drizzle with ps fondant. You can also make these in smaller versions with using only one strip -- just roll the strip into a twist.

Sorry if the above provides more confusion than it helps.

Karen

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Thanks everyone! I don't yet own Baking with Julia but I can easily get it out of the library. I'm not going to be doing it this weekend so it's not a huge rush. I would love a demo though if someone has time. As long as it's made with danish dough, I don't think they're particular as far as shape goes. My initial thought was to do what I think of as a traditional shape as shown in Wendy's blog. A rolled dough, sliced and topped with some kind of fruit.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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I found the recipe from baking with Julia HERE.

Sandra

WOW! Thank you. I don't have the book and my local library has closed for renovations until next JUNE :angry: so this is a real treat for me. I am going to have a go!

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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I 'm wondering what the standard is for the quality of a danish dough as the Julia recipe makes a flaky style and yet I often see the flat spiral danishes with the fruit in the center that have a nice moist, non flaky character.

Both are good, I just wonder which is the official "Danish"?

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  • 1 month later...

I've decided to try making danish for a post-Thanksgiving brunch in a few weeks. Can I shape them and then freeze them? Or bake them and freeze and top with a filling later?

I'm definitely going to try the recipe from Baking with Julia. Would you say this is a difficult recipe to master? Do I need to practice a few times before subjecting guests to it?

For the fillings, do I just use jams? Or is there something special about danish fillings? What about the cream cheese fillings you see at times - any recipes? Is it just sweetened cream cheese, or more like cheesecake batter or something else entirely? Seasonal fillings I'm thinking of are cranberry orange, rosemary plum, maple walnut pear, pumpkin cream cheese...

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I found the recipe from baking with Julia HERE.

Sandra

WOW! Thank you. I don't have the book and my local library has closed for renovations until next JUNE :angry: so this is a real treat for me. I am going to have a go!

I did make these and though they were not difficult, I was quite disappointed in the result. I was definitly expecting something much more delicate, tender and flaky. But having sampled Danish pastry in Denmark, I have to say that the things we call Danishes here would not be recognized by a Dane!

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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I 'm wondering what the standard is for the quality of a danish dough as the Julia recipe makes a flaky style and yet I often see the flat spiral danishes with the fruit in the center that have a nice moist, non flaky character.

Both are good, I just wonder which is the official "Danish"?

I don't know that there is an official Danish.

However, I've made many recipes and have concluded that Danish have a tender, moist crumb and a flaky crust. As opposed to croissants that are generally flaky from crust to crumb.

Honestly, Danish are generally paired with fruit and cheese fillings so I don't know that you would want them to have too much flake as they are liable to puff in the oven and send your filling in all manners of direction (except where you want it :biggrin: )

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I think danish pastry dough is called wienerbrød not sure of that but I am certainly interested in participating in a demo

You are right piazzola. After quite a few trips to Denmark I have seen virtually none of what we commonly call "Danish" i.e., small round pastries with a filling in the center. They, of course, call it "Vienna bread". I have seen predominately longer rectangular pastries with the sides folded over a filling.

Woods

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I made Beatrice Ojakangas' Danish recipe from Baking with Julia this summer. Very pleased with the results, really superb. And being able to watch the video first is a big plus. You can see the butter and layers in the dough here...

gallery_9294_1831_52853.jpg

Baked Danish...

gallery_9294_1831_37628.jpg

Close-up of flaky layers...

gallery_9294_1831_58821.jpg

Drizzled with glaze...

gallery_9294_1831_58969.jpg

Fresh strawberry jam and pastry cream...

gallery_9294_1831_10894.jpg

~Amy
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has anyone tried the danish recipe from RLB's pie and pastry bible? she claims to have an authentic danish pastry dough recipe which she got from a trip to denmark.

i've tried it before and it is definitely one of the best pastries i've ever eaten - although they all disappeared pretty much as soon as they came out of the oven and IMHO, ANY pastry warm from the oven is the best! :biggrin:

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