Pastry - Danish Pastry

To eat home made Danish pastries is like nothing you’ve ever eaten before - hot out of the oven for Breakfast -life doesn’t get any better.
To make the Danish roll out 4-5 inch shapes, top with fruit, cream cheese, chocolate, dried fruit etc. or or roll with dried fruits and spice -brush with butter, cook for 9-12 minutes and when cooked glaze with boiled apricot jam.

Preparation time: 40 minutes plus resting time   Quantity: Enough for 12 Pastries  

Ingredients

450g/ 16 oz plain flour- sieved twice
1 large egg
30g 1 oz caster sugar
15g fresh yeast or 1 packet dried
80 ml or so full fat milk
1 packet 250g/ 9 oz salted butter- soften

Method

  • Sift the flour 2 or 3 times
  • Make a well in the middle
  • Mix in the egg, yeast, sugar and 1/2 of the milk
  • Add enough of the remanding milk to mix to a firm smooth dough
  • Rest in the fridge for 20 minutes or so
  • Roll on a floured surface, in to a rough cross shape
  • Place the softened butter in the middle, fold over the 4 cross sides -to enclose in the butter
  • Gently roll on a floured surface to make a rectangle 1-2 cm thick
  • The idea is to keep the butter between the layers of pastry, if it splits DIY some pastry over to cover it
  • Fold over one end 2/3 way over, then the other end the other 1/3 over
  • Rest 10 minutes in the fridge-covered in cling film
  • Roll the rectangle again and then fold over
  • Rest and repeat the rolling again
  • So you’ve rolled, folded and rested 3 times
  • Rest the pastry till needed