Danish Pastry

I actually decided to plan ahead for this recipe. So, instead of looking through the cook books minutes before baking, I looked through them the night before. I had no idea what Danish pastry was, but it sounded good. I was also hooked by the 500 degree Fahrenheit baking temperature! The recipe even informs me that 500 degrees F is "very hot" (thank you recipe, I had no idea!). I seem to be on a good run with recipes lately, because these are very tasty.

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Danish pastries in grocery store bakeries and such places. I keep thinking that they should have a blob of cream cheese in the middle. I won't be adding any to mine because cream cheese is like poison to me. Anyway, these pastries have a nice and light flavor. They are also a bit flakey. I could have made them flakier, but the amount of shortening involved in doing that wasn't appealing to me!

Danish Pastry (Printer-friendly PDF version)

1 C milk, scalded

1 packet dry active yeast

1/4 C warm water

1/3 C sugar

1 t salt

1/4 C shortening

2 eggs

1/4 t vanilla

1/2 t lemon extract (or 1/2 t fresh lemon juice with some lemon zest)

4 C sifted flour

1 C shortening

1 1/2 C powdered sugar

3 T water

1 t vanilla

Proof the yeast in the warm water. Set aside.

Place the sugar, salt, and shortening in a bowl. Add the hot scalded milk. Stir until the shortening is mostly melted. It didn't melt all the way for me, but that doesn't matter much. Let cool to lukewarm.

Once it has cooled enough, add the eggs and lightly beat. Stir in the yeast.

Add 3 cups of flour and stir until well combined.

Mix in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft ball. I had to use my hands for this mixing and I think I used a bit more than 4 C total of flour.

Cover the bowl with a non-fuzzy dish towel and let rise for an hour, or until doubled in size.

Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Dot the dough with half of the 1 C of shortening, leaving the edges clean. (I used much less shortening!)

Fold the dotted dough in half, and press the edges to seal them. Dot the dough with the remaining shortening. (I used maybe a bit more than half a cup total.)

Fold the dough in half again and seal the edges. 

Repeat the roll out and folding process three more times, without adding any more shortening. The dough will become difficult to work with after the second repetition. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rest for 20 minutes.

Roll out the rested dough to 1/3 inch thickness. Cut into 1/2 inch strips.

Twist the strips and form them into circles. Scrunch the circles a bit so they aren't too big and open. Place the dough circles on a baking sheet. I greased mine, but that caused the bottoms to slightly burn. Try using parchment paper on the baking sheet instead.

Let the circles rise for 30 minutes.

Bake at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven. Let cool for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together the powdered sugar, water, and vanilla. Drizzle this glaze over the slightly cooled pastries.

Enjoy!