Danish Dough
- 1 cup warm milk (110F)
- 2 envelopes (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
- 1 pound 4 ounces (about 4 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
- 2 large whole eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
- In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk; 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 meal, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Pour in the yeast-milk mixture; mix until dough just comes together.
- Add the eggs and yolk; mix until just combined, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Do not overmix.
- Turn out the 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, about 30 seconds.
- Wrap well with plastic, and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to an 18-by-10-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick, keeping the corners as square as possible.
- Remove any excess flour with a dry pastry brush.
- 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.
- Roll out dough again to an 18-by-10-inch rectangle, then fold dough into thirds as described above; refrigerate for 1 hour.
- This is the first of three turns.
- Repeat rolling and folding two more times, refrigerating for at least 1 hour between turns.
- To help you remember how many turns have been completed, mark the dough after each one: Make one mark for the first turn, two for the second, and three for the third.
- 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 2 weeks; before using, thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight.
- The dough is rolled out to a large rectangle, then dotted with butter over two-thirds of its surface.
- The unbuttered third is folded up over the dough, then folded once more to seal in the butter.
- The dough is rolled out and folded again to complete the first turn.
warm milk, active dry yeast, flour, sugar, coarse salt, ground cardamom, unsalted butter, eggs
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/danish-dough-390257 (may not work)