Sourdough Danish Pastries

Name: Sourdough Danish Pastries
Prep time: 1 d
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 d 20 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: Danish
Ingredients: 30g starter; 60g flour; 60g water; 450g all-purpose flour; 50g granulated sugar; 1 large egg; 100g milk; 80g water; All the starter; 1 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp ground cardamom, optional; 50g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature; 250g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature; 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 113g cream cheese, room temperature; 1 Tablespoon lemon juice; 1/2 Tablespoon lemon zest; 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar, plus more for dusting; Fresh or frozen berries; 1 large egg; 1 Tablespoon water

Published: Feb 25, 2021 · Modified: Apr 7, 2023 by Elien ·

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These sourdough danish pastries are buttery and flaky, topped with sweetened cream cheese and berries.

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Ingredients
Method
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Full Recipe

The dough in this sourdough pastry recipe is similar to my sourdough croissants but it’s more enriched, with milk, egg and an optional touch of fragrant cardamom.

Like the croissants, making sourdough Danish pastry is a drawn-out process. However, it’s not too difficult. I’ve changed the timings a little in this recipe, compared to the croissants, so you can do most of the steps in one day and then shape and bake the dough when you’re ready.

Note: If your room temperature is above 25°C / 77°F you may struggle to keep the dough and butter cool.

Ingredients

Find the ingredient amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a run down of what you will need.

Active sourdough starter
All-purpose flour
Water
Milk
Large egg
Granulated sugar
Ground cardamom
Salt
Unsalted butter

Method

In a large bowl, mix all the dough ingredients to form a sticky dough.

Tip it on the bench and knead it for 5 minutes, pushing it forward and pulling it back until it smoothens. Shape it into a ball and place it into a clean, greased bowl.

Cover the bowl and leave the dough to proof in a warm spot for 3 hours.

Butter packet

Beat the softened with a bit of flour to create a butter mixture that is nice and malleable. Place it on a sheet of parchment paper, then place a second sheet on top.

Roll this butter into a rectangle measuring 6x8 inches / 15x20cm. Once rolled, if the butter is squishy and starting to melt, place it in the refrigerator to firm up a bit. Later, this butter needs to be consistent with the dough, so you want it cool but still nice and pliable, not rock hard.

Rolling the pastries

After the dough has finished its 3 hour ferment, roll it out on a lightly floured bench into a 20x40cm(8x16inch) rectangle.

Check first that the butter isn't too hard. Then place it in the middle of the dough. Bring the top of the dough down and the bottom of the dough up to meet in the middle and tuck in the butter.

Turn the dough a quarter turn. Use a rolling pin to push on the dough to help disperse the butter gently. Roll this dough out into a 25x50cm (10x20inch) rectangle, and focus on lengthening the dough rather than making it wider. While rolling, check that the dough isn't sticking to the bench and dust it with flour if it is.

Once it has been rolled out, it's time to fold the dough like a pamphlet. Take one end and fold it into the middle, then take the other end and fold it over the first end.

Wrap the dough up in parchment paper or plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

Fold 2 and 3

Repeat this process two more times, so that's three turns in total.

If you find that during the rolling out, that the butter is shattering, it may mean the butter is too cold. If this happens you can leave the dough to rest on the bench instead of the fridge before rolling it out again.

At the same time, ensure the butter does not melt into the dough or you won't achieve flaky layers. It's a bit of a balance that will get easier with practice.

After the third turn, the dough needs to be kept in the fridge for at least 8 hours. I leave it overnight.

Shaping

When ready to bake the dough, take it from the fridge. Roll the dough into a 16x16 inch / 40x40cm square.

Cut the square into 16 smaller squares with a pizza cutter or sharp knife.

Shapes

I stick to two basic basic shapes. The first is a simple square with each of the corners folded in to meet in the middle.

The second is a little more intricate looking but so simple to make. Take a pastry square and make a slit from one corner to nearly the middle. Do this on each side, but ensure they don't meet in the middle. Then take one side of each cut piece and fold it into the middle, folding up the same side on each piece.

sourdough danish pastry dough shaped into windmills

Proofing

Place each shaped piece on the baking paper used previously and let them proof for around 4 hours. They should become more puffy.

Then, add the toppings.

We like either a spoonful of cream cheese mixture and a couple berries or custard and canned peach slices.

Baking

Then they're brushed with an egg wash and into the oven. A hot oven will ensure they puff up quickly, but just watch that they don't burn, especially the windmill style danish. The thin points cook quickly.

Once baked, let the sourdough Danish pastries cool for about 30 minutes. Then, drizzle with an icing glaze or simply dust with powdered sugar.

Full Recipe

Sourdough Danish Pastries

Yield: 16

Prep Time: 1 day

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Inactive Time: 1 day

Total Time: 2 days 20 minutes

These are delicious flaky pastries leavened with butter and sourdough starter.