Monday, April 12, 2010

By popular demand: Danish Pastry

Half the readers of this blog have been clamouring for this recipe, so here it is:






Danish Pastry

Ingredients:

1 tsp Granulated sugar
¼ cup warm water
¼ oz. (1 Tbsp) active dry yeast (instant is OK too)

4 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt

1 ¼ cups butter or hard margarine, cold

2 large eggs
1 cup of milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm

1 large egg, beaten, for brushing tops

Filling: lemon cheese, jam or jelly

Topping: 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:

Stir first amount of sugar in warm water in small bowl. Sprinkle yeast over top. Let stand ten minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast.

Place next three ingredients in large bowl. Cut in butter until size of small peas.

Beat first two eggs in small bowl. Add warm milk. Add yeast mixture; stir. Add to flour mixture; mix with fork until it forms a ball. Dough will be sticky. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with greased wax paper and a tea towel. Refrigerate for about six hours or overnight.

Divide dough in half. Roll out on floured surface ½ inch thick Cut into 4-inch squares; fold each corner almost to centre. Press or pinch down to make a depression. Place on greased baking sheet two inches apart.

Brush with egg. Put 1 teaspoon (or more, to taste) of cheese or jam in centre. Sprinkle with walnuts or pecans if desired. Cover with greased wax paper and tea towel. Let stand on counter for 15 minutes. Bake in 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Makes 16 pastries.

Variations:

Place a half-inch cube of cream cheese in centre of folds before filling with jam.

When pastries have cooled, dust with icing sugar or drizzle with glaze.

From Company’s Coming: Breads by Jean Paré.

Mrs. P testifies: This cookbook is fully AWESOME! I have been looking for another copy forever. I wish the "Company's Coming" folks  would reissue it. In a world that is rapidly going to hell in a hand-basket, there is nothing quite so comforting as homemade bread.

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