Danish bread is crispy, soft, and chewy with a fragrant aroma of butter blended evenly in each rich and sweet layer of bread, making it irresistible. Today, join TasteVN to the kitchen to learn 2 recipes below to diversify your dessert menu deliciously!
1. Danish raisin bread
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Preparation
2 hours 15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Danish raisin bread Serves 6 people
All-purpose flour 260 gr Cornstarch 20 gr Unsalted butter 50 gr Raisins 100 gr Instant yeast 5 gr Rum 100 ml Unsweetened milk 310 ml Eggs 4 eggs Vanilla extract 2 teaspoons Sugar 45 gr Salt 1 teaspoon
Where to buy golden raisins?
- You can buy golden raisins at supermarkets or on e-commerce websites.
- Additionally, you can make raisins at home following the guide from TasteVN.
Tools needed
How to make Danish grape cake
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Cook egg milk cream
First, put 20g of cornstarch, 20g of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt into a bowl and mix well. Next, add 2 egg yolks and continue mixing until the mixture is well combined.
Place a pot on the stove and add 200ml of unsweetened fresh milk, 10g of unsalted butter, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Stir well over medium heat until the butter melts and the milk is warm, then turn off the heat.
At this point, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture and stir well to combine all the ingredients completely.
Then, strain the milk and egg mixture into the pot through a strainer, stirring continuously over low heat until the mixture thickens.
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Mixing the dough and proofing
Put 260g of flour, 25g of sugar, 5g of instant yeast, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt into a new bowl and mix well.
Note: Do not add salt directly to the yeast as it will kill the yeast or weaken its activity. You should mix the flour with the salt first before adding the yeast.Next, add 1 egg, 110ml of unsweetened fresh milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Use a mixer to combine the mixture until the ingredients stick together into a homogeneous mass.
Then, add 40g of unsalted butter on top of the dough and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic, and does not stick to your hands when touched.
Finally, shape the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let it rise for 1 hour until the dough doubles in size.
Note:
- If you do not have a dough mixer, you can knead by hand using the Folding and Stretching technique.
- First, fold the dough over, then use the palm of your hand to press and stretch the dough away. Note to press and stretch the dough away, not just press down. Next, turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the two steps above for 15 – 20 minutes.
How to recognize if the dough is satisfactory:
- The dough is smooth and elastic, with good elasticity.
- The dough does not stick to your hands: When pressed, it feels slightly sticky, but when you lift your finger, the dough does not stick to your hand.
- The dough can be stretched into a thin sheet without tearing.
- Check the dough using the Windowpane test: tear off a piece of dough and stretch it out. If the dough forms a thin membrane that does not easily tear and light can pass through, it is satisfactory.
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Making Danish grape bread
Take a bowl, add 100g of raisins, 100ml of rum, and soak until soft for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the raisins and let them drain.
After the dough has proofed, use a rolling pin to roll it out thinly, then use a knife to cut off the edges to create a rectangular piece of dough.
Next, evenly spread the egg cream over the surface of the dough, sprinkle the soaked raisins, and then roll it up.
Finally, use a knife to cut the dough into round pieces about the thickness of a large finger. Place the dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and proof for another 40 minutes.
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Baking the bread
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Next, beat 1 egg, then evenly brush it over the bread and bake for 20 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius.
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Final Product
The Danish grape pastry has a golden brown outer layer, crispy and flaky when bitten into, but the inside is chewy and soft, blended with the rich and fatty flavor of butter and a hint of sweet and sour from the raisins. I must say this pastry is absolutely delicious!
2. Danish Apple Pastry
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Preparation
2 hours
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Cooking
1 hour
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Danish Apple Pastry Serves 6 people
All-purpose flour 440 gr (or flour type 13) Cinnamon powder 1/4 teaspoon Cornstarch 8 gr Unsalted butter 253 gr (softened) Apples 300 g (crisp and sour variety) Instant yeast 1 teaspoon Sour cream 1 teaspoon Unsweetened milk 140 ml Water 120 ml Chicken egg 1 piece Sugar 97 gr Salt a pinch
How to choose crunchy sour apples
- You should choose apples with shiny skin, fresh colors, a firm grip, and a smooth feel when touched. If you prefer sweet apples, you can select those with dark colors and tiny white seeds.
- For the apple stem, you should choose fruits with fresh stems that are tightly attached to the fruit.
- Avoid choosing apples that are dull in color, bruised, or infested.
Tools needed
How to prepare Apple Danish Pastry
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Mixing and proofing the dough
Put 80ml of warm water, 1 teaspoon of instant yeast into a bowl and stir well. Then, add 60gr of flour and continue to mix until the mixture is smooth and thick.
Next, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it proof for 15 – 25 minutes until the dough doubles in size.
In a cup, add 140ml of warm unsweetened milk, 35gr of sugar, 10gr of salt, and 20ml of warm water. Stir well until the salt and sugar dissolve.
Then, add the milk mixture, 380gr of flour to the initial yeast dough and mix well until the ingredients bind together.
Transfer the dough to a table and knead using the Folding and Stretching technique. First, fold the dough, then use the palm to press and stretch the dough away. Note to press and stretch the dough away, not press down. Next, rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat the previous two steps for 15 minutes.
After that, place the dough back into the bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
Tip: If the dough is dry and hard to knead, you can wet your hands and continue kneading; the moisture from your hands will help keep the dough soft and moist.After 1 hour, take the dough out and knead for another 10 minutes to achieve a smooth and soft dough. Continue to tightly wrap the dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight.
How to recognize if the dough is good:
- The dough is smooth, elastic, and has good elasticity.
- The dough does not stick to hands: When pressed, it feels slightly sticky, but when you lift your finger, the dough does not stick.
- The dough can be stretched into a thin sheet without tearing.
- Check the dough using the Windowpane test. Tear off a piece of dough, stretch it out. If the dough forms a thin sheet that doesn’t easily tear and light can pass through, it’s ready.
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Shaping the pastry
When the dough has proofed, lightly knead it again to expel any air bubbles. Then, roll it out thinly into a rectangle shape.
Next, evenly spread 240g of unsalted butter over 2/3 of the width of the dough. After that, fold 1/3 of the dough into the middle and then fold the remaining edge over the top.
Then, wrap this dough tightly and place it in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.
Note: When spreading the butter on the dough, remember to leave about a finger’s width of the edge free.After 40 minutes, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 2 – 3mm. Then, divide the dough into 3 parts and stack them on top of each other. After that, wrap it tightly again and chill in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.
Continue to repeat the rolling, folding, and chilling process another 2 times.
Tip: To avoid tearing the dough, remember to frequently lift the dough gently and sprinkle some flour underneath to prevent sticking while rolling!After the final proofing of the dough, take it out and roll it thin, then cut the dough into long strips about the width of one large finger.
For one pastry, use 2 strips; twist the dough lightly and roll it into a circle. Next, twist a second strip and continue to wrap it around the outside of the pastry.
Finally, cover the dough tightly and let it proof at room temperature for 1.5 – 2 hours.
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Prepare and cook the apple filling
Wash the apples briefly to remove any dirt, then peel, core, and dice them.
Place a pot on the stove, add 10g of unsalted butter, the diced apples, and sauté over medium heat until the outer layer of the apple pieces becomes slightly translucent. Next, add 30g of sugar and stir well until the sugar completely dissolves.
Dissolve 8g of cornstarch in 20ml of cold water, pour it into the pot with the apples, and stir well over low heat until the mixture thickens.
Then, add 35g of sugar, 3g of unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix everything together once more until the mixture is well combined, then turn off the heat.
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Making apple danish
Use your hands to press down in the center of the risen dough to create a dent, then fill the center with apple filling to complete.
Tip: You can also replace the apple filling with other types of jam according to your preference.
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Baking
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.
Next, beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush it evenly over the surface of the dough. Then place the dough in the oven to bake for 25 – 35 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius until the surface is golden brown.
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Final product
The apple danish is fragrant with butter, light and crispy in texture, chewy and soft, with a sweet and nutty flavor from the dough combined with the appealing sweet and sour apple filling.
What is Danish pastry?
- Danish pastry, also known in Vietnamese as bánh mì Đan Mạch, is a type of pastry that originated from Austria. However, when it was introduced to Denmark, the chefs adjusted the recipe to suit their tastes, resulting in the version of the pastry we have today.
- Danish pastry is a variation of puff pastry and is made from flour, yeast, fresh milk, and butter. Thanks to the process of rolling the dough multiple times with cold butter, Danish pastry has a crispy, flaky texture while being soft and chewy with many layers intertwined.
What is instant yeast?
- Instant yeast is a type of dry yeast with fine granules and a light brown color. When using this type of yeast for baking, you do not need to activate it with warm water beforehand and can mix it directly with the flour.
- Instant yeast has significantly more gas than dry yeast, allowing the dough to rise 50% faster, thereby reducing the fermentation time.
Hopefully, with the recipe shared above, you have also learned 2 ways to make Danish pastry delicious for your family. TasteVN wishes you success in your baking!
