Danish Dough - CI

By mariannefeldman

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=8134

Cook's Illustrated

DANISH DOUGH

Published January 1, 2007.
Makes 1 large braid or 16 individual Danish.
Don’t rush the turning process in step 3. Tap the dough until the butter square softens enough to roll smoothly without it breaking through the dough. If the dough becomes too warm and sticky at any time during the rolling and folding process, wrap the dough in plastic and chill until it becomes workable.

Ingredients

• INGREDIENTS
• Dough
• 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces), plus extra for rolling
• 1/4 cup sugar (1 3/4 ounces)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg , lightly beaten
• Butter Square
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1-tablespoon pieces and kept cold
• 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

Preparation

Step 1

INSTRUCTIONS
1. For the dough: Whisk 1 1/2 cups of flour with sugar, yeast, and salt in medium bowl. Place milk and egg in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Add flour mixture and knead at low speed until smooth ball of dough forms, 7 to 8 minutes. (Dough should be sticky, but if more dough is sticking to sides of bowl than to itself, add remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as necessary.) Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. For the butter square: Following illustrations below, mix together butter and flour and form into even 5-inch square. Refrigerate butter square until ready to use, at least 30 minutes.

3. Lightly dust work surface with flour. Following illustrations below, roll dough into 9-inch square. Place chilled butter square diagonally onto dough. Fold corners of dough up over butter square so that they meet in middle and pinch ends of dough together to seal. Using rolling pin, gently tap dough, starting from center of dough and going outward, until square becomes larger and butter begins to soften. At this point, start gently rolling dough into 11-inch square, checking often to make sure dough is not sticking and dusting with additional flour as necessary. Do not let butter square break through dough. Fold square into thirds to form long rectangle, as if folding business letter. (This method of folding is called a “turn.”) Starting at narrow ends, fold rectangle in thirds again to form square. You have now given dough 2 turns. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.

4. Repeat step 3, giving dough 2 additional turns (for total of 4 turns) and chilling again for at least 4 hours. Fill and shape dough using one of the related recipes, or the shape of your choice.

STEP-BY-STEP
Forming the Butter Square


1. Using bench scraper, toss together butter pieces and flour on clean work surface. Smear butter and flour back and forth against work surface until they have combined into smooth, homogenous mixture.


2. Wrap butter mixture in plastic wrap and use edges of plastic wrap to form even 7-inch square. Refrigerate until firm.

STEP-BY-STEP
Making Turns


1. Place chilled dough on floured work surface and roll into 9-inch square. Place butter square diagonally on top of dough and remove plastic wrap.


2. Fold corners of dough over butter so they meet in middle of butter square. Pinch ends of dough together to seal.


3. Using rolling pin, tap dough from center outward until butter begins to soften and becomes malleable. Gently roll dough into 11-inch square.


4. Fold one outside edge of dough in toward center and bring opposite edge in over top (as if folding business letter).


5. Fold over each end to make square. This is 2 turns. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Repeat steps 1 through 4 to make 2 more turns.