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Danish Pastry Dough
(Wienerbrod)
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| What You Need: |
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½ cup lukewarm water
2 packages or cakes of active dry or compressed yeast
½ cup sugar
5 to 6 cups unsifted all-purpose flour or 6 to 7 cups granulated flour
½ cup cold milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound unsalted butter, chilled
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Pour the lukewarm water into a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar over it. Let the mixture stand for 2 or 3 minutes, then stir it to dissolve the yeast completely. Set the bowl in a warm, draft-free place, such as an unlighted oven, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the yeast bubbles and doubles in bulk.
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2. Place 4 cups of all-purpose flour (or 5¼ cups of granulated flour) in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture, the cold milk, 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 eggs, salt, cardamom, vanilla and the remaining sugar.
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3. With your fingers, mix the ingredients together until a soft dough is formed, then shape into a ball and place it on a floured pastry cloth or board. To knead the dough pull it into an oblong shape, fold it end to end, then press it down and push it forward several times with the heels of the hands.
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4. Turn dough slightly toward you and repeat the process-pulling, folding, pushing and pressing. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. This will take at least 10 minutes. Sprinkle the dough with flour, wrap in aluminum foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
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5. Meanwhile, remove the butter from the refrigerator and let it soften to the point where it is neither too hard nor too soft; it should hold the impression of a finger. If the butter is in the shape of a brick, place it on a sheet of wax paper lightly dusted with flour, dust with more flour and cover with another sheet of wax paper.
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6. With a heavy rolling pin, roll the butter into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. Cut it in half, making 2 sheets, each a 6-by-8-inch rectangle. Wrap both halves in wax paper, and place in the refrigerator.
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7. If the butter has become very soft while rolling it, chill until it is again as firm as when you began rolling it, but it should not become hard. If the butter is in quarter-pound sticks, slice each quarter in half lengthwise.
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8. Place 4 of the pieces side by side on wax paper dusted with flour, dust with more flour and cover with another sheet of wax paper. With a heavy rolling pin, roll the butter into a rectangle 6 by 8 inches in size and ¼ inch thick. Repeat with the remaining butter.
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9. Liberally sprinkle a pastry board or cloth (of canvas or heavy muslin) with flour. Roll the chilled dough out on the floured surface into a 9-by-I8- inch rectangle, 1/8 inch thick. Place 1 sheet of butter across the center of the dough and bring the end of the dough farther from you over the butter, sealing it along the sides with your fingers.
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10. Place the other sheet of butter on top and bring the other half of the dough over that, again sealing the butter in. Dust with flour, wrap in aluminum foil and chill 20 minutes.
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11. Turn the dough around so that the narrow side faces you. Roll out the dough to an 8-by-18-inch strip. Fold both narrow ends in to meet at the center, then fold in half, making 4 layers.
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12. Wrap again in foil, chill another 20 minutes, and repeat the procedure-with the narrow side toward you, roll it out, fold it in 4 layers, then chill for 20 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator, roll into an 8-by-18-inch rectangle again, and finally fold it in half. Wrap in foil and chill 2 to 3 hours (or overnight) before using.
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13. To make the butter cake, use half the dough. To make the pastries (Spandauer, Snegle, Abrokossnitte, Hanekam), use a quarter of the dough for each recipe. Even if you choose to use all the dough for only 1 type of pastry, cut it into quarters to facilitate handling.
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To Make: 2 cakes or about 2 dozen pastries
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