Danish Puff Pastry Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is danish pastry the same as puff pastry? ›

Like other viennoiserie products, such as croissants, Danish pastries are a variant of puff pastry. Danish Pastry consists out of yeast-leavened dough and a type of fat; mostly butter or margarine. The fat can be included in the dough or it can be attached into the dough by laminating.

For example, puff pastry dough is made up of flour, water, and salt; croissant dough is prepared with flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and milk; while Danish dough includes the same ingredients as a croissant dough but adds eggs to the mix. An all-purpose flour can be used or a bread flour blended with a soft cake flour.

The terms full, three-quarter and half are used when describing the amount of fat in the pastry. Full has equal weight of fat and flour, three-quarter has three-quarters of the weight of fat to flour, and half has half the weight of fat to flour. More fat makes the pastry softer to eat but reduces its height.

Unlike short crust, flaky or puff pastry, choux pastry dough is made from water and flour which is further enriched and lightened through the incorporation of eggs while beating the paste. Baking results in a crisp shell with a thin, moist lining of cooked paste and a hollow centre.

The crescent-shaped croissant is a flaky pastry with buttery layers whereas a puff pastry is a drier composition of dough. Both use similar ingredients and preparation work.

Traditional Danish pastries

In Denmark, these world-famous sticky delights are called Vienna Bread (wienerbrød), as they were first made in Denmark in the 1840s by Austrian bakers.

The main differences between puff pastry and phyllo dough are their fat content and preparation. Puff pastry is a laminated dough that gets its signature airy puff from layers of butter, while phyllo dough is comparatively low-fat. Phyllo dough is mostly flour and water and can dry out easily.

Once the butter is added the pastry is rolled and folded into 3 five or six times. The best puff will probably have 6 rolls and folds which will produce pastry with 729 layers.

In Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, the term for Danish pastry is wienerbrød (or wienerbröd), meaning "Viennese bread".

Always preheat your oven for a minimum of 15-20 minutes before baking, because Puff Pastry depends on even heat to rise and puff. Place pastries 1 inch apart. If you want a flaky thin and crispy pastry that's not very puffy, prick the unbaked Puff Pastry all over with a fork, which lets steam escape while baking.

What do Americans call puff pastry? ›

Puff pastry, also known as pâte feuilletée, is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (détrempe) and butter or other solid fat (beurrage). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a paton that is repeatedly folded and rolled out before baking.

Phyllo, meanwhile, is a paper-thin dough that's made with oil instead of butter. The delicate sheets are brushed with butter or oil, then layered and baked.

The easiest way is to use croissant dough for danishes, but I wanted something lighter, sweeter and flakier. A few attempts and tada… the recipe is ready for you to enjoy.

So where does puff pastry come from. Well it comes from France, where it is called pâte feuilletée. It was invented in 1645 by Claudius Gele, a pastry cook apprentice. He wanted to bake an improved bread for his father who was sick and was on a diet of flour, butter and water.

A Danish has Viennese-Austrian origins, but it is not exactly a Viennoiserie (“Vienna Bread”) in French terms. A Viennoiserie is an enhanced version of a Danish which is developed and popularised in France. The intertwining and confusing relationship between a Danish and France does not stop there.

Like puff pastry, phyllo is used for both sweet and savory dishes. Perhaps the most famous dish made with phyllo is spanakopita or the famed baklava found in Greece, Turkey, and other Middle Eastern countries.

In Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, the term for Danish pastry is wienerbrød (or wienerbröd), meaning "Viennese bread".

Danish pastry is made from flour, yeast, milk, eggs, and copious amounts of butter. The texture is similar to croissant dough, but tastes sweeter (and has the addition of egg in the dough). Like croissants, typical Danish pastry dough is rolled out thinly, then folded with a layer of butter to form multiple layers.

Puff pastry, also known as pâte feuilletée, is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (détrempe) and butter or other solid fat (beurrage). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a paton that is repeatedly folded and rolled out before baking.