Easy Danish Pastry

Two blocks of Danish pastry dough stacked showing the layers inside.

Create buttery, flaky Danish pastry at home with this easy recipe. Soft layers, simple folds and stunning results every time.

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Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 0

Chilling & resting: 10

Total Time: 10 40

Servings: -20 serves

Calories: 298kcal

Equipment

Mixing bowl
Rolling Pin

For best results, weigh ingredients with a kitchen scale.

Ingredients

¾ cup whole milk (180ml)
2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast (or active dry yeast) (1 sachet / 8g) (notes 2)
⅓ cup white granulated sugar (66g / ~2⅓oz)
1 large egg
1 egg white from a large egg
390 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (3 cups / ~13¾oz)
½ teaspoon salt
226 g unsalted butter full fat - no light versions, coarsely grated and very cold (1 cup / 2 sticks / 8oz)

Instructions

FOR THE DANISH DOUGH: Add the milk to a large microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds until just tepid to the touch - not hot.
Add 1 tablespoon of the measured sugar and all of the yeast and whisk together. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until you see it looking puffy on top. If it doesn’t start puffing up, your yeast might be expired so get some new yeast and start again.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg and egg white to break them up.
To the yeast bowl, add the flour, salt and eggs. Mix with a spoon as much as possible then you might need to get your hands in there to mix until it comes together into a fully combined yet rough and sticky dough.
Dust a clean work surface with flour, scrape the dough out onto the flour, and turn the bowl upside down over the top. Let it rest for 30-40 minutes.
Dust the top of the dough with a little flour then gently knead into a rough rectangle. Try to add only enough flour to stop it from sticking to your hands but not so much that you dry out the dough.
Roll it out to roughly 40x25cm (16x10 inches).
ADDING THE BUTTER: With the long side of dough closest to you and the two short sides to your left and right, imagine the dough in thirds.
Measure out your cold butter as a block, then use a box grater to grate it directly onto ⅔ of the dough, leaving one third on the left or right bare.
Press down on the butter to flatten it slightly
Fold the bare piece of dough over the centre piece. Now fold the other side (butter covered) over the centre as well.
Roll the dough out to 40x25cm (16x10 inches) again, then fold in thirds again. Only dust with flour if absolutely necessary to stop it sticking. Try to keep the edges straight just by tapping them in from time to time.
Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill overnight.
THE NEXT DAY: Roll the dough out to roughly 40x25cm (16x10 inches) again and fold in thirds. Only dust with flour if absolutely necessary to stop it sticking. Again, try to keep the edges as straight as possible.
Repeat step 13.
Chill the dough for at least 1 hour to relax it (you can chill it overnight again if you like).
USING THE DOUGH: The dough is now ready to turn into Danish pastries.
- Baking time and temp will depend on what you’re creating with the dough but 180C/350F oven temp is a good all round temperature and cook until golden brown.
- This batch will yield 12 individual breakfast-sized pastries similar to what you’d get in a bakery or 2 Danish braids.
- Once you’ve shaped your Danishes, let them rest at room temperature for 45-60 minutes before baking. They should look a bit puffy but they won’t double in size.
- For larger pastries or on warmer days, I find a chill in the fridge for 30 minutes after they’ve risen and while you let your oven preheat helps them hold their shape better.
- The dough can be frozen and will be perfect to use after thawing. You can use half a batch and freeze the rest if you like.
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Notes

Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
Step 2 is activating the yeast. While not a requirement when using instant yeast, it’s a great way to check that your yeast is actually good and not expired without wasting all the other ingredients. If using active dry yeast, you need to activate it anyway so this step covers both types.
If you want to do all the rolling and folding in one day, you can but don’t skip the chilling overnight once it’s done. After step 12, chill the dough for 30 minutes to relax it a little, then go ahead and do the two final roll and folds. Now, wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight.
Nutrition values are based on making 12 pastries from 1 batch of dough.

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