<p>Many perceive Danish to be a complex and work-intensive pastry. But Samantha Seneviratne simplifies the process and tells you how to enjoy this delicious treat, the easy way. <br /><br />Practically every bakery, supermarket and coffee shop sells Danish. Some are ethereal, flaky magic, puffed and browned from the oven; others are leaden, dull impostors. Either way, they have most likely been sitting around for some time. That is the inevitable fact about buying baked goods. It’s also the most convincing argument for baking at home.<br /><br />Nothing that comes from a store can ever be quite as fresh as something pulled directly from the oven, and a store-bought dessert will never offer that delectable feeling of satisfaction you earn by baking from scratch. No matter how experienced (or inexperienced) you are as a baker, those two realities will always make the homemade treat taste that much better. Picture that same Danish from the store. Now imagine it warm, emerging from your own oven, exceedingly crisp, buttery and unquestionably fresh. That homemade Danish is well worth the effort. <br /><br />The traditional recipe for Danish pastry starts with a basic yeasted dough, kneaded until smooth and rested for at least an hour. Next, sticks of butter and a little bit of flour are worked together and softened, meticulously shaped into a perfect square, and chilled until firm. Then the two parts must be married. The dough is carefully wrapped around the butter block, rolled and folded a number of times. This is all harder than it sounds. The butter must be the perfect temperature to roll evenly but not ooze out or melt into the dough. The dough must be smooth, relaxed and pliable. And of course, the baker must work with a considerable amount of skill and finesse.<br /><br />With the streamlined method here, delightful Danish pastry is attainable with about 30 minutes of easy, active work and a little bit of foresight. The dough starts with the butter, flour, sugar, salt and active dry yeast whizzed up in the food processor. The goal is just to break the butter down into pea-size pieces. You could also do this with a knife or a pastry blender. <br /><br />Dump that mess into a bowl and stir in a beaten egg, a bit of milk and a splash of water with a fork, and the first step is done. That’s about two hours of work condensed into five minutes. You don’t even have to warm the milk or proof the yeast. Pop that mixture into the fridge for a few hours or up to two days. The longer it rests, the more delicious, yeasty flavour it will develop.<br /><br />After the dough has chilled, roll and fold it a total of six times. This is the most taxing part of the process, but if your dough has rested properly, it should be easy. The butter pieces roll out into thin layers between the dough, without extra prodding or anxiety. Whatever they do naturally is just fine. Give the dough another rest for a few hours or overnight. <br /><br />Then just roll, shape, proof and bake. All those resting hours give the baker plenty of time to dance, nap, watch movies, work on that novel, and then return to enjoy the fruits of the labour: fresh pastry that’s both tender and crisp, beautiful to behold and, best of all, homemade.<br /><br /><br /><br />INGREDIENTS<br />8 ounces/226 grams cream cheese<br />1 ¼ cup/160 grams confectioners’ sugar1 large egg yolk<br />Pinch of salt½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract<br />1 batch Danish dough (see text)<br />1 large egg, lightly beaten<br />2 tablespoons/30 millilitres whole milk<br /><br />PREPARATION<br />1. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, ¼ cup/32 grams confectioners’ sugar, the egg yolk, the salt and the vanilla until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a resealable plastic bag; set aside.<br /><br />2. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 12½-inch square. Trim ¼ inch off each edge. Cut the dough into nine 4-inch squares. Brush the corners of each square with a bit of the beaten egg, then fold each corner into the centre and press down gently. Transfer the squares to two parchment-lined baking sheets.<br /><br />3. Cut the tip off one corner of the filled plastic bag so you have a 1/2-inch hole. Use the bag to pipe the cheese filling onto the centre of each dough square. Loosely cover the pastries with plastic wrap and let stand until slightly puffed, about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 <br />minutes. Heat oven to 425 degrees.<br /><br />4. Remove the plastic and gently brush the top and sides of the dough with the beaten egg. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Continue to bake until pastries are puffed and deep golden brown, another 6 to 8 minutes.<br /><br />5. Whisk together the remaining confectioners’ sugar and milk. Let the Danish cool slightly on the sheet, drizzle with glaze. Serve warm.<br /><br /><br />INGREDIENTS<br />2 tablespoons/18 grams sesame seeds<br />2 tablespoons/20 grams poppy seeds<br />2 tablespoons/26 grams dried onion flakes<br />2 tablespoons/26 grams dried garlic flakes</p>.<p>1 batch Danish dough (see recipe)<br />1 large egg, separated<br /> n Flaky sea salt<br /><br />PREPARATION<br />1. In a small bowl, mix together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion flakes and garlic flakes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into an 11-by-14-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with egg white. Sprinkle the seed mixture evenly over the top, pressing lightly to adhere.<br /><br />2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Starting from a short side, roll the dough up into a tight coil. Using a bread knife, trim off the ends, then slice the coil into 10 equal pieces. Arrange the pastries on the baking sheets and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let stand until slightly puffed, about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.<br /><br />3. Whisk the egg yolk with one teaspoon water.<br /><br />4. Remove the plastic and gently brush the top and sides of the pastries with the yolk mixture. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Continue to bake until puffed and deep golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes more. Serve warm or room temperature.<br /><br /><br /><br /></p>
<p>Many perceive Danish to be a complex and work-intensive pastry. But Samantha Seneviratne simplifies the process and tells you how to enjoy this delicious treat, the easy way. <br /><br />Practically every bakery, supermarket and coffee shop sells Danish. Some are ethereal, flaky magic, puffed and browned from the oven; others are leaden, dull impostors. Either way, they have most likely been sitting around for some time. That is the inevitable fact about buying baked goods. It’s also the most convincing argument for baking at home.<br /><br />Nothing that comes from a store can ever be quite as fresh as something pulled directly from the oven, and a store-bought dessert will never offer that delectable feeling of satisfaction you earn by baking from scratch. No matter how experienced (or inexperienced) you are as a baker, those two realities will always make the homemade treat taste that much better. Picture that same Danish from the store. Now imagine it warm, emerging from your own oven, exceedingly crisp, buttery and unquestionably fresh. That homemade Danish is well worth the effort. <br /><br />The traditional recipe for Danish pastry starts with a basic yeasted dough, kneaded until smooth and rested for at least an hour. Next, sticks of butter and a little bit of flour are worked together and softened, meticulously shaped into a perfect square, and chilled until firm. Then the two parts must be married. The dough is carefully wrapped around the butter block, rolled and folded a number of times. This is all harder than it sounds. The butter must be the perfect temperature to roll evenly but not ooze out or melt into the dough. The dough must be smooth, relaxed and pliable. And of course, the baker must work with a considerable amount of skill and finesse.<br /><br />With the streamlined method here, delightful Danish pastry is attainable with about 30 minutes of easy, active work and a little bit of foresight. The dough starts with the butter, flour, sugar, salt and active dry yeast whizzed up in the food processor. The goal is just to break the butter down into pea-size pieces. You could also do this with a knife or a pastry blender. <br /><br />Dump that mess into a bowl and stir in a beaten egg, a bit of milk and a splash of water with a fork, and the first step is done. That’s about two hours of work condensed into five minutes. You don’t even have to warm the milk or proof the yeast. Pop that mixture into the fridge for a few hours or up to two days. The longer it rests, the more delicious, yeasty flavour it will develop.<br /><br />After the dough has chilled, roll and fold it a total of six times. This is the most taxing part of the process, but if your dough has rested properly, it should be easy. The butter pieces roll out into thin layers between the dough, without extra prodding or anxiety. Whatever they do naturally is just fine. Give the dough another rest for a few hours or overnight. <br /><br />Then just roll, shape, proof and bake. All those resting hours give the baker plenty of time to dance, nap, watch movies, work on that novel, and then return to enjoy the fruits of the labour: fresh pastry that’s both tender and crisp, beautiful to behold and, best of all, homemade.<br /><br /><br /><br />INGREDIENTS<br />8 ounces/226 grams cream cheese<br />1 ¼ cup/160 grams confectioners’ sugar1 large egg yolk<br />Pinch of salt½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract<br />1 batch Danish dough (see text)<br />1 large egg, lightly beaten<br />2 tablespoons/30 millilitres whole milk<br /><br />PREPARATION<br />1. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, ¼ cup/32 grams confectioners’ sugar, the egg yolk, the salt and the vanilla until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a resealable plastic bag; set aside.<br /><br />2. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 12½-inch square. Trim ¼ inch off each edge. Cut the dough into nine 4-inch squares. Brush the corners of each square with a bit of the beaten egg, then fold each corner into the centre and press down gently. Transfer the squares to two parchment-lined baking sheets.<br /><br />3. Cut the tip off one corner of the filled plastic bag so you have a 1/2-inch hole. Use the bag to pipe the cheese filling onto the centre of each dough square. Loosely cover the pastries with plastic wrap and let stand until slightly puffed, about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 <br />minutes. Heat oven to 425 degrees.<br /><br />4. Remove the plastic and gently brush the top and sides of the dough with the beaten egg. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Continue to bake until pastries are puffed and deep golden brown, another 6 to 8 minutes.<br /><br />5. Whisk together the remaining confectioners’ sugar and milk. Let the Danish cool slightly on the sheet, drizzle with glaze. Serve warm.<br /><br /><br />INGREDIENTS<br />2 tablespoons/18 grams sesame seeds<br />2 tablespoons/20 grams poppy seeds<br />2 tablespoons/26 grams dried onion flakes<br />2 tablespoons/26 grams dried garlic flakes</p>.<p>1 batch Danish dough (see recipe)<br />1 large egg, separated<br /> n Flaky sea salt<br /><br />PREPARATION<br />1. In a small bowl, mix together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion flakes and garlic flakes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into an 11-by-14-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with egg white. Sprinkle the seed mixture evenly over the top, pressing lightly to adhere.<br /><br />2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Starting from a short side, roll the dough up into a tight coil. Using a bread knife, trim off the ends, then slice the coil into 10 equal pieces. Arrange the pastries on the baking sheets and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let stand until slightly puffed, about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.<br /><br />3. Whisk the egg yolk with one teaspoon water.<br /><br />4. Remove the plastic and gently brush the top and sides of the pastries with the yolk mixture. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Continue to bake until puffed and deep golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes more. Serve warm or room temperature.<br /><br /><br /><br /></p>
