This Danish pastry is a sinful delight made with rich, buttery, flaky dough. It's worth the effort and extra work involved. Make sure the dough is well-chilled before rolling, folding, and shaping.
Ingredients
- unsalted butter: 2 cups (softened)
- all-purpose flour: 0.66667 cup
- all-purpose flour: 8 cups (divided)
- ½ teaspoons active dry yeast: 4 piece
- ½ cups milk: 2 piece
- white sugar: 0.5 cup
- salt: 2 tsp
- eggs: 2 piece
- lemon extract: 1 tsp
- almond extract: 1 tsp
- fruit preserves, any flavor: 2 cups
- egg white: 1 piece (beaten)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Cream butter and 2/3 cup flour in a medium bowl until well combined. Divide into 2 equal parts, then roll each half between 2 pieces waxed paper into a 6x12-inch sheet. Chill butter sheets in the refrigerator.
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Mix 3 cups flour with active dry yeast in a mixing bowl; set aside.
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Stir together milk, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until warm, but not hot to the touch, about 115 degrees F (43 degrees C).
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Pour warm milk mixture over flour mixture. Add eggs, lemon extract, and almond extract. Stir for 3 minutes. Knead in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough is firm and pliable. Cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
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Cut dough in half. Roll each half out to a 14-inch square. Place one cold butter sheet over half of each dough square, off to one side, then fold dough over butter sheet like the cover of a book. Pinch the edges of dough together with your fingers.
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Roll each piece out to a 20x12-inch rectangle. Fold into thirds like a letter. Repeat rolling and folding one more time. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
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Roll and fold each piece of dough two more times. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
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Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough into squares. Place a dollop of fruit preserves in the center. Fold 2 opposite corners over the center to form a filled diamond shape. Place danishes on an ungreased baking sheet. Allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C).
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Brush beaten egg white over pastries.
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Bake in the preheated oven until the bottoms are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.