Danishes; Or, the Proud Shall Fall

Ever determined to stay on top of things, I've been making an effort to post recipes on these pages as soon after making and tasting them as I feasibly could. The fact that I write here in order to not write my dissertation has made this effort seem like no effort at all. That was until this week. Feeling emboldened by my last baking success, I managed to convince myself that I could tackle any recipe in Ms. Stewart's Baking Handbook. Hmmmmmm. What would my next success be?

I skipped over the recipes for biscuits, scones, cookies, and tarts, thinking them too elementary for my seasoned baking skills. Cheesecake? Please, I've done that. Bagels? I seriously contemplated it, but I didn't have any barley malt syrup (nor did I even know what it was), so I kept thumbing. I wasn't in the mood for a layer cake. Tarte tatin? Nope. Rhubarb cobbler? Maybe another time. Danishes? I like danishes. Patrick loves danishes. I conjured up the look of bliss that would spread across his face as he took a bite of the flaky golden crust and proclaimed my danishes better than any he had sampled from Carrboro's Weaver Street Market to the streets of Rome. Danishes looked appropriately challenging...I knew that they would require some time, but I had a day to spend at home. I chose danishes. In particular, I chose sugar buns.

I chose sugar buns about a week ago. I have just now recovered my strength enough to write about the experience. Aside from an insane truffle making extravaganza last Christmas, this was the only culinary endeavor that required multiple days for full muscle recovery. And then there was just the sheer exhaustion. Read this now: I am not, nor assume I could ever be, a pastry maker. This realization is slightly depressing because I now esteem pastry makers the most talented, hard working, and under-appreciated cooks in the kitchen. None of the many steps in the process was impossibly difficult, but there were just so many! Well, rolling out the dough, which must be done 5 times in all, was almost impossibly difficult the first few times. I would like to think that if I had a proper marble rolling pin and pastry board instead of a splintering wooden rolling pin and cutting board, I could have fared a bit better, but I just can't.

The sugar buns were good. I achieved that buttery, layered texture that builds all good danishes. The pastry cream filling tasted fine, but I wasn't able to put enough of it in each bun because my dough was not thin enough. The same thickness problem led to pastry cream seepage. Patrick gladly ate them, and even moaned a bit over them, but there was no realization that he had been eating sub-par danishes his whole life. I could call these results encouraging and determine to try again, but I won't.

Once I make a full recovery, I may make a humble effort at croissants, but I'll leave to others:

Danish Dough
makes enough for two dozen danishes
It really does take an entire day to make this dough because of the time it needs to chill between turns. I wouldn't advise cutting that time short unless you feel prepared to deal with sticky, butter seeping dough.

1 cup warm milk
2 envelopes active dry yeast
1 pound four ounces (about 4 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature and cut into tablespoons
2 large whole eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and stir until dissolved. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, salt, cardamom, and 4 tablespoons butter. Beat on low speed until butter is incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse corn meal, 3-4 minutes. Pour in the yeast-milk mixture; mix until dough just comes together. Add the eggs and yolk. Mix until just combined, about 2 minutes.
2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface, making sure to include any loose bits left at the bottom of the bowl. Gently knead to form a smooth ball, 30 seconds to a minute. Wrap well with plastic, and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight (I would recommend more than two hours.)
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an 18 by 10 inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Try to keep the corners square. This is not easy. With a short side facing you, evenly distribute the remaining butter over two-thirds of the dough. Fold the unbuttered third over as you would a business letter, followed by the remaining third. This seals in the butter. And yes, your eyes are not deceiving you...this is a lot of butter.
4. Roll out dough again to an 18 by 10 inch rectangle. (Again, this is not easy...my butter started coming out at the seams. The dough becomes easier to roll out each time you do it. Don't worry if you can't quite get it to 18 by 10 inches this first time.) Then, fold dough into thirds as described above; refrigerate for 1 hour. This is the first of 3 turns. Repeat rolling and folding two more times, refrigerating for at least 1 hour between turns.
5. Refrigerate dough, tightly wrapped in plastic, for at least 4 hours or overnight. Dough can also be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic, for up to two weeks. Before using, thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight.
This is what all that rolling out and folding gets you. Beautiful layers of dough and butter:

Sugar Buns
makes 20

all purpose flour for dusting
1/2 recipe for Danish Dough
1 1/4 cups Pastry Cream (recipe follows)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
sugar for coating

1. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 15 by 12 inch rectangle, about 3/8 inch thick. Using a pizza wheel or pastry cutter, cut dough into twenty 3 inch squares.
2. Transfer Pastry Cream to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch plain tip. (I don't have a pastry bag, so I used a large zip lock bag with a hole cut in one of the bottom corners.) Pipe one tablespoon into the center of each square. Do not be tempted to pipe more than this...I succumbed to this temptation and was forced to remove some pastry dough from each square. Brush the edges of each square with the beaten egg. Gather the edges around the Pastry Cream, pinching seams together, making sure the bun is completely sealed. Good luck.
3. On a piece of parchment paper, gently roll each bun with floured hands, keeping it seam side down, to form a compact ball. My buns could not sustain rolling, so they ended up flatter and more oval-shaped. Repeat with remaining dough. Place shaped balls, smooth side up, on the prepared sheet, about 3 inches apart. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
4. Brush gently with beaten egg. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until buns are golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not cover the buns until they are completely cool or you will forfeit flakiness.
5. Brush the butter over the top of the buns. Place sugar in a wide bowl; dip buttered sides of buns into sugar to coat. Serve at room temperature. These buns are best eaten the day they are made.


Pastry Cream
makes about 2 1/2 cups (i.e. more than you'll need for the sugar buns)

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla bean with seeds, and salt. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1/4 sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the hot-milk mixture into the egg-yolk mixture. Continue adding milk mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until it has been incorporated. Pour mixture back into saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove and discard vanilla bean.
3. Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment. Add butter, and beat on medium speed until the butter melts and the mixture cools, about 5 minutes.
4. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, beat on low speed until smooth (or whisk by hand).