Danish Pastry Dough Recipe (Easy Method)

I know it can be disappointing when you want to bake a quick pastry at home but realize you don’t have any dough. Instead of going to the store for one ingredient, I like to make a few batches of my own dough to keep in the freezer for times such as this. It makes me feel so proud when I can say I made a pastry from scratch and not with store-bought dough! Hence why I make my own danish pastry dough, puff pastry dough, and yeast pastry dough.

Danish pastry dough is delicious, easy, and so versatile! Its multi-layered, yeast-leavened, laminated dough is buttery and sweet, making it great for Danish pastries. These danish pastries are frequently filled with fruit jam, cream cheese, or chocolate, and topped with a glaze or a sprinkle of nuts.

Danish, Puff Pastry, and Croissant Dough: What’s the Difference?

All three of these are popular types of pastry doughs that are very similar. Puff pastry is flaky and crispy. Croissants are less crispy, but still flakey due to the yeast in the dough. Danish pastry dough is chewy and flakey due to the yeast, milk, and egg ingredients. The variations in ingredients across the pastries may seem small, but even small ingredient variations change the texture and taste of the final result.

How to Make Danish Pastry Dough

If anyone tells you it’s too complicated to make your own danish dough, don’t listen! With these easy-to-follow instructions, you’ll be well on your way to a tasty dessert fit for the Danes.

• Combine the milk and yeast mixture: Warm half of the milk to 110°F and combine it with the yeast and sugar. Let this rest to allow for the yeast to activate.
• Whisk the remaining milk and egg: In a second bowl, whisk the egg and the remaining half of the room temperature milk.
• Grate in the frozen butter: Combine the flour and salt in a third large bowl, then grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture. Toss the butter with flour as you grate it in.
• Stir in the liquid: Add all the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients (third bowl) and stir until combined. The dough should look rough/sticky.
• Cover the bowl: Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least six hours.
• Roll the dough: Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/3 inch thick on a lightly floured work surface. Fold the dough in half, then roll the dough again to the same thickness. Repeat three times until the dough is smooth. This is called the “lamination process.” Work quickly to prevent the butter in the dough from melting.
• Refrigerate the dough: Cover with plastic wrap or a sheet of parchment paper and fold again. Refrigerate the dough for a minimum of two hours.

Tips to Ensure a Perfect Danish Pastry

The trick to a perfect danish pastry lies in the temperature of the ingredients and method. Here’s some tips to make sure your pastry turns out perfect each time.

• Keep the butter cold: Cold butter is the key. If the butter begins to melt or soften, immediately place it back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. Softened butter ruins the texture by preventing the flaky layers we want.
• Grate the frozen butter: Grate the frozen butter on the large side of the grater. When tossing the grated butter with the flour, you should still see little pieces of frozen butter.
• Use warm milk: Avoid cold or hot milk. Warm milk (about 110°F) is the key. Hot milk kills the yeast and cold milk will not activate the yeast. Use a food thermometer to easily check the temperature. Here’s our favorite!
• Chill the dough: Let the dough chill in the fridge for at least six hours. Roll it out only after it has been chilled, then chill it again after rolling.This will keep the butter cold, which keeps the dough flaky when it is time to bake.
• Flour the table very lightly: Using too much flour on the surface when rolling the dough can affect the texture of the dough. Keep the flour to a minimum. If the dough gets sticky when rolling out, don’t add more flour. The dough gets sticky because it is getting warm. Instead, place the dough back in the fridge to chill.

Storing Danish Pastry Dough

Whenever I make this dough, I make multiple sheets. That way, i’ll have some in the freezer for my next baking adventure! Whichever way you store it, store the dough folded in parchment paper.

• Freezer: To freeze for up to two months, place the folded dough on a baking sheet, then move to a ziplock bag when frozen.
• Refrigerator: To refrigerator for up to ten days, keep the folded dough wrapped in parchment paper and plastic wrap.

More Homemade Dough Recipes

• Overnight Pizza Dough – Day-ahead pizza dough
• Pizza Dough – Quick-rise pizza dough
• Sourdough Pizza Crust — A tangy pizza dough made with sourdough discard
• Flaky Pie Crust — The perfect dough for all your favorite pies

Recipe

Danish Pastry Dough Recipe (Easy Method)

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Servings

18 pastries

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Resting time 8 hours hrs

Total Time 8 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Recipe contributed by: Natalya Drozhzhin

This danish pastry dough is crazy easy to make and have on hand for yummy danish desserts. It's golden-brown, buttery, flaky perfection!

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk lukewarm
• 2 tsp dry yeast Instant or Active
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 oz unsalted butter frozen

US Units – Metric

Instructions

• Warm 1/2 cup of milk to 110°F. Combine the warmed milk with yeast and sugar, then let it sit for 10 minutes until the yeast blooms.
  
• In a separate dish, add the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and egg. Whisk until it is well combined.
  
• In another separate large bowl, add flour and salt. Grate the frozen butter on the large side of a grater. Toss the butter with flour as you grate it in.
  
• Add all the liquid ingredients to the butter/flour mixture. Using a spatula, stir to combine together until you have everything combined. The dough may look rough and sticky, but that is normal.
  
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
  
• Sprinkle the working surface lightly with flour. Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape, about 1/3 inch thick. Fold the dough over like a paper, then roll it again to 1/3 inch thick. Repeat 3 times until you reach smooth dough. Work quickly to prevent the butter from melting.
  
• Place the plastic wrap or parchment paper on the dough and fold it over. Leave to refrigerate for at least 2 more hours.
  

Nutrition Facts

Danish Pastry Dough Recipe (Easy Method)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 193 Calories from Fat 99

% Daily Value*

Fat 11g17%

Saturated Fat 7g35%

Trans Fat 0.4g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 3g

Cholesterol 38mg13%

Sodium 43mg2%

Potassium 62mg2%

Carbohydrates 20g7%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 350IU7%

Vitamin C 0.004mg0%

Calcium 25mg3%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.