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homemade Danish pastry dough
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Danish Pastry Dough

Here's a step by step guide to making the flakiest homemade Danish pastry! This pastry can be used to make bakery style Danishes, croissants & turnovers and is surprisingly easy to make.
Prep Time2 days
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time2 days 15 minutes
Course: Baking, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Danish, French
Servings: 1 kg Of Dough
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer
  • Rolling Pin
  • Ruler
  • Baking Trays
  • Pastry Brush

Ingredients

Danish Pastry

  • 360 g Plain Flour
  • 240 g Strong White Bread Flour (See Notes)
  • 80 g Caster Sugar
  • 12 g Fine Sea Salt
  • 170 g Whole Milk (Cold)
  • 100 g Cold Water
  • 12 g Dried Active Yeast
  • 1 Large Egg (50g Out Of The Shell)
  • 60 g Unsalted Butter (At Room Temperature)

Butter Layer

  • 300 g Unsalted Butter (At Room Temperature)
  • 25 g Plain Flour

Instructions

Dough

  • Add both of the flours into the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the sugar & sea salt then whisk to combine.
  • Next, add the milk & water into a jug then add in the yeast. Whisk to dissolve the yeast then add into the flour, along with the egg. Mix with the dough hook on a medium-low speed until a smooth dough forms. This will take 3-4 minutes.
    The milk should be straight from the fridge, so that it's as cold as possible.
  • With the mixer still running, add in the butter a small piece at a time making sure to let each piece incorporate fully before adding in more. Then once all the butter has been added, continue mixing on a medium-speed until the dough passes the windowpane test. This will take another 5 minutes or so.
    To perform the windowpane test, stretch a small pice of dough with your fingers. If it stretches thin enough to see through, it's ready.
  • Once the dough is ready, transfer it to a work surface then use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 2 cm thick rectangle. Wrap the dough in clingfilm then chill in the fridge for 12-16 hours.
    The dough shouldn't stick as you roll it but if it does, dust your work surface with a small amount of flour. Don't wrap the dough too tightly as we need to allow some room for expansion.

Butter Layer

  • The next day, place the butter & flour into the bowl of a stand mixer then use the paddle attachment to mix on a low speed until combined & smooth. Don't over mix though!
    Make sure that the butter is soft, so that it mixes with the flour properly.
  • Take a large piece of baking parchment then use a pen to draw a 6 inch square in the centre. Flip the baking parchment over then place the butter in the middle of the square.
  • Next, fold the excess baking parchment over the butter so that each edge lines up with the edges of the square that we drew onto the parchment.
    If there's too much parchment it can make rolling the butter out tricky, so I like to trim some of the excess parchment off before folding it over the butter.
  • Flip the parchment over so that the folds are underneath then use a rolling pin to roll the butter out into an even layer that reaches each edge of the square that we drew on earlier. Place the butter into the fridge & chill for 30 minutes or until the butter has firmed up but is still pliable.
    To test if the butter is ready, give it a gentle bend with your hands. If it bends easily & feels firm, it's ready.

Laminating

  • Once the butter is ready, take the dough out of the fridge & place it onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust the pastry with a small amount of flour then use a rolling pin to roll out into a 10" square.
  • Dust any excess flour off the dough then place the square of butter on top, in the middle so that it's sitting diagonally (like a diamond).
  • Starting with 2 opposite corners, fold the dough over the butter so that they meet in the middle, overlapping slightly (like an envelope). Pinch the dough together to seal.
  • Fold the remaining 2 corners over into the centre then pinch along all overlapping sections of dough to seal.
  • Flip the dough over so that it's sitting seam side down then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rectangle that measures 30x40cm & is around 5mm thick.
  • Trim the edges edges slightly so that they're straight then brush any excess flour off the top of the pastry.
    I find that a pizza wheel works best for trimming the dough!
  • Next, you need to mentally divide the dough into thirds horizontally with one of the shorter edges sitting closest to you. Take the bottom third of the dough & fold it up over the middle third. Brush any excess flour from the top then fold the top third over the top.
    There's a visual guide to doing this in the post above.
  • Wrap the dough in clingfilm then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Remember how the dough was facing on your work surface.
  • Once chilled, place the dough back onto your work surface facing the same way as before then turn it 90 degrees clockwise & repeat the rolling out & folding process, the same way as before. Chill the dough in the fridge for another 30 minutes then repeat this process a final time. This will bring the total number of folds to 3.
    Make sure to trim the edges before rolling if needed.
  • Once your dough has been laminated, wrap it in clingfilm then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before using. The dough is best used within a day of being made (24 hours).

Proving & Baking

  • Now, how you roll, shape, prove & bake the dough comes down to what recipe/dish that you're making. But as a general set of guidelines, the dough will need to be proved for 2-3 hours once shaped then baked at a fairly high temperature, to get the best rise & colour in the oven. I bake Danish pastries (like pain aux raisins) at 220°c/428°f for 16-18 minutes.
    You'll know when the dough is ready to be baked when it feels light & airy and wobbles when you gently shake the tray.

Notes

1. Flour - For a flaky danish pastry, with the best structure & chew, I'd recommend using a mix of plain (all purpose) flour & a strong white bread flour with a protein content between 12-14% I've found that using 60% plain flour & 40% bread flour works best.
2. Butter - Using a good quality butter makes all the difference when making laminated pastries. Make sure to use a butter with a butter fat percentage of at least 82%. If you're in the UK, most supermarket own brand butters will work but it's best to check the packaging!
3. Storage - Once made, danish pastry is best used within a day & needs to be chilled in the fridge. Make sure to chill the pastry for at least 2 hours after making and before using. This gives the gluten times to rest & gives the pastry the best layers.
4. Usage - Danish pastry can be used to make bakery style pastries, croissants & turnovers. Danish pastry is very similar to croissant dough & can be used pretty much the same way. The difference between the 2 pastries is that Danish pastry dough contains egg & more sugar.
5. Weather - If the weather is on the hot side, I'd recommend laminating the dough early in the morning or later in the evening when it's a bit cooler. If the dough gets too warm, the butter will start to melt & will affect the layers.