Danish Pastry

A Danish pastry (sometimes shortened to danish; , ) is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the '' viennoiserie'' tradition. Like other ''viennoiserie'' pastries, such as croissants, it is a variant of puff pastry made of laminated yeast-leavened dough that creates a layered texture.

It is thought that some bakery techniques were brought to Denmark by Austrian bakers, and originated the name of this pastry. The Danish recipe is however different from the Viennese one and has since developed into a Danish specialty. The origin of the pastry itself is also not clear.

Danish pastries were brought with immigrants to the United States, where they are often topped with a fruit or cream cheese filling, and are now popular around the world.

Terminology

In Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, the term for Danish pastry is (or ), meaning 'Viennese bread'. The same etymology is also the origin of the Icelandic , Finnish and Estonian ('Viennese pastry').

In Vienna, conversely, the Danish pastry is known as (or simply , after Copenhagen) or .Utley, Derek (1999). ''Reis på engelsk: guide, ord og uttrykk, menyordbok''. Oslo: NKS-forlag. .

Composition

Danish pastry is made of yeast-leavened dough of wheat flour, milk, eggs, sugar, and large amounts of butter or margarine.

A yeast dough is rolled out thinly, covered with thin slices of butter between the layers of dough, and then the dough is folded and rolled several times, creating 27 layers. If necessary, the dough is chilled between foldings to ease handling. The process of rolling, buttering, folding, and chilling is repeated multiple times to create a multilayered dough that becomes airy and crispy on the outside, but also rich and buttery.

Butter is the traditional fat used in Danish pastry, but in industrial production, less expensive fats are often used, such as hydrogenated sunflower oil.

History

The origin of the Danish pastry is often ascribed to a strike amongst bakery workers in Denmark in 1850. The strike caused bakery owners to hire workers from abroad, among them several Austrian bakers, who brought along new baking traditions and pastry recipes. The Austrian pastry of '' Plundergebäck'' soon became popular in Denmark and after the labour disputes ended, Danish bakers adopted the Austrian recipes, adjusting them to their own liking and traditions by increasing the amount of egg and fat for example. This development resulted in what is now known as the Danish pastry.

One of the baking techniques and traditions that the Austrian bakers reportedly brought with them was the Viennese lamination technique. Due to such novelties the Danes called the pastry and that name is still in use in Northern Europe today. At that time, almost all baked goods in Denmark were given exotic names.

Denmark

Danish pastries as consumed in Denmark have different shapes and names. Some are topped with chocolate, pearl sugar, glacé icing, and/or slivered nuts and they may be stuffed with a variety of ingredients such as jam or preserves (usually apple or prune), remonce, marzipan, and/or custard. Shapes are numerous, including circles with filling in the middle (known in Denmark as ''Spandauers''), figure-eights, spirals (known as snails), and the pretzel-like kringles. There's also the frøsnapper, which is a twisted pastry sprinkled with sesame and poppy seeds. The pastry is often filled with marzipan or custard. Interestingly, the term frøsnapper has no unique meaning and is only used to refer to the dish itself.

Danish pastries of all variations have come to symbolize , a significant concept within Danish culture that embodies a sense of coziness and comfort.

Varieties

In Sweden, Danish pastry is typically made in the ''Spandauer''-style, often with vanilla custard.

In the UK, various ingredients such as jam, custard, apricots, cherries, raisins, flaked almonds, pecans, or caramelized toffee are placed on or within sections of divided dough, which is then baked. Cardamom is often added to increase the aromatic sense of sweetness.

In the US, Danishes are typically given a topping of fruit and/or sweetened cream cheese prior to baking. Danishes with nuts on them are also popular there and in Sweden, where often icing, and, sometimes, powdered sugar and chocolate spritzing are also added.

In Argentina, they are usually filled with dulce de leche or dulce de membrillo.

File:Kringle (6868378753).jpg, A slice of a ''kringle'' with remonce, a type of Danish pastry common in Denmark
File:Danish pastry.JPG, Several types of Danish pastry in a bakery in Denmark
File:Pecan and Maple Danish.JPG, A pecan and maple syrup Danish pastry sold in the UK
File:Factura membrillo.jpg, Argentine facturas with dulce de membrillo
File:Danishjf1942.JPG, Danish pastries in the Philippines

United States

Danish pastry was brought to the United States by Danish immigrants. Lauritz C. Klitteng of Læsø popularized "Danish pastry" in the US around 1915–1920. According to Klitteng, he made Danish pastry for the wedding of President Woodrow Wilson in December 1915. Klitteng toured the world to promote his product and was featured in such 1920s periodicals as the ''National Baker'', the ''Bakers' Helper'', and the ''Bakers' Weekly''. Klitteng briefly had his own Danish Culinary Studio at 146 Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Herman Gertner owned a chain of New York City restaurants and had brought Klitteng to New York to sell Danish pastry. Gertner's obituary appeared in the January 23, 1962 ''The New York Times'':

"At one point during his career Mr. Gertner befriended a Danish baker who convinced him that Danish pastry might be well received in New York. Mr. Gertner began serving the pastry in his restaurant and it immediately was a success."

See also

* Danish cookie
* Danish cuisine
* Doughnut
* List of doughnut varieties
* Kolach
* Kringle
* List of pastries
* Pan dulce (sweet bread)

References

Sources

*Cauvain, Stanley & Young, Linda S. (2007)
Technology of Breadmaking.
' Springer Science & Business Media.
*Gisslen, Wayne (2013)
Professional Baking.
' (6th edition) John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.

External links

Danish pastry - base recipe - Danish pastry bar
Kvalifood, a non-commercial educational cooking website from Denmark.
BBC Danish pastriesDanish

{{pastries

Danish cakes
Danish pastries
Danish cuisine
Austrian cakes
Austrian pastries
Austrian cuisine
Finnish cuisine
Norwegian cuisine
Swedish cuisine
Sweet breads
Foods featuring butter