Sourdough Danish Pastries
Buttery, flaky sourdough Danish pastries made with laminated dough and topped with cream cheese and berries, custard and peach, or jam.
Ingredients
Starter
- 20 g starter
- 60 g flour
- 60 g water
Dough
- All the starter around 120g
- 100 g milk
- 80 g water
- 450 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom freshly ground, optional
- 50 g unsalted butter softened to room temperature
Butter packet
- 250 g unsalted butter
Cream cheese filling
- 113 g cream cheese room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar plus more for dusting
- blueberries fresh or frozen
Egg wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon water
Glaze
- 80 g powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tbsp water added gradually until you reach a pourable consistency
Instructions
The evening before
- Mix the starter, flour, and water in a small bowl or jar until combined. Leave at room temperature overnight until doubled and bubbly. If your kitchen is warm, use a 1:5:5 ratio so it rises more slowly and doesn't peak too early. 20 g starter, 60 g water, 60 g flour
Day 1
- Whisk the active starter into the milk and water in a large bowl until loosened. All the starter, 100 g milk, 80 g water
- Add the flour, sugar, egg, salt, and cardamom (if using) and mix until a dough forms, about 3-4 minutes. 450 g all-purpose flour, 50 g granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tsp salt. 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- Tip it onto the bench, add the softened butter, and knead until fully incorporated and the dough is smooth. Shape it into a ball and place it in a clean, lightly greased bowl. Cover and leave to ferment in a warm spot (ideally 23-25°C/74-77°F) for approximately 3 hours, until risen by about 30-40%. It should look noticeably puffier but does not need to double. 50 g unsalted butter
- Once the bulk ferment is done, gently press the dough into a flat rectangle. Wrap it tightly in parchment paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Make the butter packet
- Slice the cold butter and arrange the pieces in a grid on a sheet of parchment paper so they sit snugly together. Place a second sheet on top and use a rolling pin to bash and roll the butter into an even, flat block. Fold the parchment edges in to create a neat 15x20cm (6x8 inch) frame and press the butter to fill it evenly. Refrigerate until cold. If using the flour method, soften the butter first, mix in 1½ tablespoons of flour, then roll between the parchment sheets into the same size rectangle. 250 g unsalted butter
Encase the butter
- Remove the butter from the fridge and give it a few firm bashes with the rolling pin to make it pliable again before you start. It should feel cold but nice and bendable, like a firm clay. Roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured bench into a 20x30cm (8x12 inch) rectangle. Place the butter in the centre of the dough. Fold the top third of the dough down over the butter, and the bottom third up to meet it. Pinch the edges firmly to seal. Use a sharp knife to make a very shallow slit along each long edge of the dough, just scoring the surface, not cutting through. This relieves tension and helps the dough roll out evenly. Turn the dough 90 degrees.
- Using a rolling pin, gently press across the dough to start dispersing the butter. Once the butter starts to move with the dough, begin rolling properly. Roll it out to around 8mm thick, focusing on length and thickness rather than width. Always roll away from you in one direction, then lift the pin back to roll again rather than rolling back and forth. Rolling back and forth drags the layers in opposite directions and smears the butter rather than keeping it in clean sheets.Check the dough isn't sticking to the bench and dust lightly with flour if needed. Trim the uneven short ends with a sharp knife to expose the layers, then brush off any excess flour from the surface. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down over it (a letter fold). Wrap in parchment or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Take the dough from the fridge and rotate 90 degrees from how it was last folded. Roll out to 8mm thick, focusing on length and thickness, trim, brush, and letter-fold again. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Repeat one final time for three letter folds total. Note: if the butter shatters when you start rolling, it's too cold. Leave the dough on the bench for 5-10 minutes before continuing. If the butter feels soft or greasy, refrigerate it immediately.
- After the third fold, wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
Day 2
- Remove the dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured bench, roll it out to a 40x40cm (16x16 inch) square that's around 4mm thick. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut it into 16 equal squares, each approximately 10x10cm (4x4 inches).
- Windmill shape: Make a diagonal slit from each corner of the square towards the centre, stopping around 1cm from the middle so the slits don't meet. Take one side of each of the four cut pieces and fold it into the centre, all folding in the same direction like a pinwheel. Press the centre gently to help it stick together. See the shapes section in the post for other options including the envelope fold and simple square.
- Place the shaped pastries on baking-paper-lined trays, spaced well apart. Leave them to proof at room temperature (23-25°C/74-77°F) for 4-5 hours. They should look puffier and feel light. If they're drying out, drape a lightly damp cloth over them or brush gently with water. If your kitchen is cool, place them in a turned-off oven with a cup of hot water to create a little warmth. Just make sure the cup of water is to the side rather than directly underneath the pastries, as the heat rising from it can melt the butter layers.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Mix together all the cream cheese filling ingredients (except the berries). Add a teaspoon of filling or pastry cream to the centre of each Danish, then top with berries or peach slices. 113 g cream cheese, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 Tablespoon lemon zest, 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar, blueberries
- Mix the egg and water, then brush the exposed pastry edges with egg wash. 1 large egg, 1 Tablespoon water
- Bake in two batches for 18-22 minutes until deeply golden brown. Keep an eye on the windmill points in the last few minutes; they can get a little dark. Cool on the tray for 30 minutes.
- Dust with icing sugar or drizzle with an icing glaze. Serve warm.
Notes
- Bulk ferment visual cue: You're looking for a 30-40% increase in volume, not a full double. The dough should look noticeably puffier. In a cooler kitchen this may take up to 5 hours.
- Final proof: Don't skip or rush this step. Underproofed pastries will seem gummy and dense inside even if they look baked.
- Temperature: If your kitchen is warmer than 25°C/77°F, work quickly and refrigerate the dough extra during folds if you feel it warming up.
- Freezing: Baked pastries freeze well for up to 2 months. Reheat directly from frozen at 170°C/340°F for 10-15 minutes. You can also freeze shaped (but unproofed) pastries and thaw/proof them at room temperature before baking; allow 6-8 hours.
Nutrition
Serving: 1pastryCalories: 306kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 5gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 182mgPotassium: 68mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 607IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 2mg
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