Danish Pastry – How to Laminate Dough?

SCALING

• Prepare all ingredients by measuring with a digital metric scale.

MIXING

Butter Preparation

• Use stand mixer with paddle attachment to cream together the slightly softened butter and bread flour just until combined.
  
• Fold a piece of parchment paper in half. Spread butter on one half of the parchment paper. Fold second half of parchment over the butter.
  
• Use hands to gently shape butter into a rectangle and then even out using the rolling pin into a 6" x 12" / 15cm x 30cm rectangle (about 1/4" thick).

  HINT: If making two batches of the recipe make two separate butter slabs.
  
• Set rolled butter onto a sheet pan and into the refrigerator to chill while you mix the dough.

  HINT: Butter can be prepared ahead of time, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and stored in the refrigerator or freezer until needed.
  

Dough Preparation

• Mix milk, sugar, salt in a saucepan. Gently warm milk to 110°F/43°C and whisk to mostly dissolve sugar and salt.
• Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, mix together 200 g of flour with the instant yeast.
• Pour warmed milk over the flour, add egg and extract. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
  
• Switch to dough hook. Add all but ¼ cup of remaining flour. Mix on low speed (speed one) for 2 minutes until dough just comes together.
  
• Switch to speed two and continue to mix dough while adding remaining flour 1 T at a time until dough is soft, pulls from the sides, climbs the dough hook but sticks to the bottom, approximately 5-6 minutes.
  
• Remove dough to a flat surface prepared with a bit of flour, knead a few times into a ball.
  

BULK FERMENTATION

• Proof dough in a well oiled container at room temperature until doubled.
  

FOLDING/PUNCHING

• After doubling, dump dough onto a flat work surface and expel some air by pressing down on the dough.
  

DIVIDING

• If you are making two times this recipe, divide the dough in half and work half of the dough at a time. Otherwise, skip this dividing step and move to preshaping.

BENCH REST

• If dough is stiff, cover and rest the dough for 5-10 minutes.

PRESHAPING/ROUNDING

• Using a rolling pin, finish rolling the dough into a 14"/35 cm square.
  
• Remove the cold slab of butter from the refrigerator, peel it from the parchment paper (set paper aside). Place butter on one half of the dough, leaving 1"/2.5 cm dough exposed around three edges.
  
• Fold the second half of the dough over the butter slab being careful not to tear the dough.
• Seal the butter in the dough by folding and pressing the edges together with fingers.
  
• Roll the dough until it is ½" / 1¼ cm thick rectangle (12" x 24"/30cm x 60cm).
  
• Give the dough one three-fold.

  HINT: A three-fold means to fold the bottom ⅓ of the dough over the center, then fold the top ⅓ of the dough over the center so you are left with 3 layers of dough stacked, like a letter.
  
• Roll the dough out again into a ½" / 1¼ cm thick rectangle and give it a second three-fold. Place back on the parchment paper lined sheet pan, cover with plastic wrap, and chill/rest the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

  HINT: Chiling and resting the dough allows the butter to harden and gluten to develop in the dough. The chilled butter is what creates the layers in the final Danish pastry. The gluten development is necessary to give the dough structure to hold in the butter layers. If butter is not rolled in correctly there are two results: it could melt out of the pastry during baking or if the butter is too soft when rolling, it mix mixes with the dough resulting in a lack of layers in the final pastry.
  
• After 30 minutes, remove the chilled dough and roll the dough until it is ½" / 1¼ cm thick rectangle (approximately a 12" x 24"/30cm x 60cm).
• Give the dough the first three-fold (fold over in thirds).
  
• Roll the dough into a rectangle again. Give the dough a second three-fold.
  
• Place onto the parchment lined tray, cover with plastic wrap and place it back in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare your fillings.

FILLING

• If using high quality jarred fruit preserves, no additional preparation is necessary.
  
• If using FRESH FRUIT follow these instructions: Add fresh fruit to a small sauce pan with sugar. Simmer over medium/high heat for 15-20 minutes until fruit just breaks apart but there are some nice chunks left. Mix corn starch with the lemon juice. Add to the fruit and continue to stir for 2 minutes just until the starch is dissolved and the fruit puree thickens. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
  

MAKEUP/PANNING

• Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator and roll the dough to ½"/1.25 cm thickness, a 9" x 18" / 22cm x 45cm rectangle.
• Using bench scraper, knife or pastry wheel, divide dough into 3 squares by 6 squares. (resulting in 18 squares approximately 3-4"/8-10 cm).
• There are many different pastry shapes, I am explaining the pinwheel shape here. Cut each square one inch inwards from the four corners, avoiding cutting into the center.
• Egg Wash the squares.
• Create the pinwheel by pulling each of four corners and pressing to the center. To do this, grab one corner and fold to the center and press to secure. Grab the next corner and fold into the center and press. Repeat until you have four corners folded and pressed into the center, creating a pinwheel shape.
• Place pastries onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

PROOFING

• Proof the pastries at room temperature until slightly puffy.
• Press down the center of the pastries to create an indention for the fruit.
• Add fruit to the center.
• Egg wash the pastries.
  

BAKING

• Bake at 350°F/175°c for 15 minutes reversing tray half way through baking, bake until pastries are evenly golden brown.
  

COOLING

• Remove pastries to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Serve.

STORING

• After pastries are completely cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 48 hours. Or store in refrigerator for up to 5 days. Baked pastries can be frozen and unthawed at room temperature for later.