Danish Pastry Dough (Wienerbrødsdej)

A Challenging Dough

Welcome…to the recipe that has undoubtedly challenged us the most on this blog! We started our journey on Skandibaking by immediately working on recipes for homemade Danish pastries, as these are one of our favorite treats. We have fond memories of eating tebirkes from the local baker whenever we would visit Denmark. Recreating that nostalgia was important to us! We also know that many home bakers out there want to learn how to bake pastries at home.

Recipe Testing

So, we decided to get to work on developing a recipe for Danish pastry dough that we could then use to make kanelsnegle (cinnamon snails), spandauer (custard/jam pastries), and tebirkes (poppy seed marzipan pastries). We must have made the dough at least seven or eight times before we published the final version! This is because buttery pastries are not so simple to make, and Danish pastry dough comes with plenty of challenges. 2023 Update: We also developed an “easier” version, with less butter and eliminating the overnight proof, making the lamination much easier. If you’d like to try out the easier version, check it out here.

What is Wienerbrødsdej?

So, what is Danish pastry dough, or wienerbrødsdej? Well, let’s start with the name. Wienerbrød is what we call Danish pastries in Denmark, which translates to “Vienna bread.” This is because Austrian bakers were actually the first to bring these techniques to Denmark. The irony is that nowadays, these pastries are known as “Danishes” throughout the rest of the world, but “Vienna bread” in Denmark!

Making the Dough

To make this dough, you start with a regular enriched yeasted dough, similar to what you would use to make any type of sweet roll or bread. Then, you roll that dough out into a square, place a block of butter in the middle, and fold in the corners of the dough so that the butter is enclosed. Then begins the lamination. You roll the dough out into a rectangle and complete a letter fold. Think of your dough as being split into thirds, then fold bottom over middle, top over bottom. You repeat this rolling out and letter fold process two more times (three total). This gives you 27 layers in your dough, making the final pastry flaky and buttery.

Difficulties of Wienerbrødsdej

However, the challenge of making this type of dough is that it is extremely difficult to master, not to mention very time-consuming. We like to make the base of the dough the night before and let it rest overnight in the fridge to control the rise. This does mean that it requires some thinking and planning ahead! The lamination also takes time, as does the proofing, so it’s definitely a baking project. But all this being said, we think it’s worth it, as it can be both fun and rewarding with delicious pastries as the result! If you’d like to try a slightly easier version without the overnight proof for same-day pastries, check out the recipe here!

Lamination Challenge

The lamination is also a challenge, as the butter has to remain cold so it doesn’t leak out of the dough or absorb too much into it either, but also pliable so that it doesn’t break into chunks when you roll it out. If it does, you won’t end up with smooth layers of butter in the dough. So, as you can see, it is not without its challenges. However, if you do decide to try your hand at this dough, we have offered you all the possible tips we can in our recipe down below!

Proofing the Pastries

Any tiny misjudgment, such as underproofing the pastry by 20 minutes, could result in all the butter leaking out in the oven and giving you greasy rather than buttery pastries. Patience is definitely key. It can take up to three or four hours to proof properly depending on your room temperature! The best tip we have for proofing properly is to tap the pastries after they have proofed; they should be super light and airy, and have a “wobble” to them! If you’re in doubt, wait an extra 15 minutes and check the pastries again.

Our Danish Pastry Recipes

Since developing this recipe, we’ve posted several that use this pastry dough as a base! Check out the list here:

• Spandauer (Danish Pastry with Custard or Jam)
• Tebirkes (Danish Pastry with Poppy Seeds)
• Kanelsnegle (Cinnamon Rolls with Wienerbrødsdej)
• Frøsnapper (Danish Pastry Twists)
• Chokoladesnegle (Chocolate Snails with Danish Pastry Dough)
• Wienerbrødsstang (Danish Pastry Slices with Marzipan Filling)

Watch Our Video!

You can check out our YouTube video below for a demo of how to fold and laminate the dough! We hope it’s a helpful visual guide. Be sure to check out the written recipe for full details and instructions as well. Let us know if you try out the recipe down below in the comments!

Danish Pastry Dough (Wienerbrødsdej)

4.67 from 21 votes

This recipe for Danish pastry dough makes the most buttery, flakey, and delicious pastries! Use this to make plain pastries like croissants, or check out some of our other recipes to make filled pastries like spandauer and tebirkes.

Servings 12 servings

Prep Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Proofing/Resting Time 13 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 15 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

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IMPORTANT NOTE:

We always bake using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and milliliters). We can’t promise that our cup measurements will be as accurate! Additionally, we bake and develop our recipes in a convection (fan) oven.

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

PASTRY DOUGH

• 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
• 150 ml warm water
• 50 grams sugar
• 2 large eggs (they don't necessarily need to be room temperature for this, since we are putting the dough in the fridge to proof after!)
• 1 tsp salt
• 360 grams all-purpose flour (plus extra for kneading and rolling out!)
• 325 grams European (high fat %) unsalted butter; chilled (for laminating the dough; we recommend at least 83% butter fat, which you can usually find either on the package or by looking up the brand on Google!)
• 1 egg for egg wash

Instructions

 

• Note: we make the dough the night before we laminate it with butter and shape/bake our pastries, so make sure to factor that into your timing! If you'd like to make them the same day, we recommend checking out our easier pastry dough recipe.
• Bloom yeast in warm water with about 1 tbsp of the sugar in the recipe (we usually measure the sugar out ahead of time and sprinkle some of it into the measuring cup with the yeast and water). If you're using instant yeast, this step can be optional – if in doubt, check the package directions of the yeast you are using!
  
• Let sit for 5-10 mins until frothy. If nothing has happened in that time, your yeast may be expired. You can try to add a little bit more sugar and wait a little bit longer, or you can start over with fresh/new yeast.
  
• Add remaining sugar, eggs, yeast mixture, and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl.
  
• Mix together well.
  
• Start adding flour while stirring/mixing until fully incorporated using either your hands or a spoon.
  
• Once the flour is incorporated, knead for around 5 minutes until the ingredients have come together. You can add more flour as needed while kneading – the end result of the dough will still be somewhat sticky, but it should still come together into a ball!
  
• Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and leave in the fridge overnight to rise: 8-12 hours is best. (Note: we prefer to do this long rise in the fridge to both control the rise of the dough and the temperature. While you could try to do this in the same day, we highly recommend the overnight rise!)
• The next day, take your dough out of the fridge for about 30-45 minutes before you use it. It should have doubled in size overnight. If you find that your fridge was very cold and it rose less than that, you can leave it out for a little longer!
  
• While your dough is warming up slightly from fridge cold temperature, prep your butter block for lamination. Make sure that you are using a high fat percentage European style butter (aim for at least 83% butter fat) – butter with too much water content will be difficult to work with and may result in butter leakage! We leave the butter out at room temperature for around 10 minutes so that it's a little easier to work with.
  
• Start by wrapping your measured out butter in plastic wrap (one piece on the bottom, and one piece over the top; you can also use parchment paper!) and hit (or just press down) with a rolling pin along the length of the sticks of butter to slightly soften it.
  
• Then roll out the butter so that it forms a thin rectangle about 12 inches in length.
  
• Remove the top layer of plastic wrap. Fold the bottom third of the butter over the middle third.
  
• Then, fold the top third down over the bottom (that you just folded up).
  
• This process basically helps to eliminate any gaps in the butter and make it easier and more pliable to work with; plus, it's practice for lamination! Turn the butter block 90 degrees and place it back down on the plastic wrap.
  
• Add the plastic wrap back on top of the butter, and repeat this rolling and folding process for the butter; depending on the consistency of your butter, you may have to repeat an additional time. The butter should be able to fold without breaking – that's when it's ready for lamination.
  
• Shape the butter into a square about 6 inches by 6 inches. We usually just do this by pressing the sides/edges with our hands, then rolling over the top with the rolling pin to make it even. Keep it wrapped in plastic. If it's getting too soft, pop it into the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
  
• Now the dough should be slightly warmer than fridge temperature. Turn out the dough onto a well floured surface and shape into a square that measures about 8 inches by 8 inches.
  
• Place your butter block on top of the dough square, on a diagonal so the corners touch the mid points of the dough edges.
  
• Fold in the dough corners towards the center (sort of like an envelope).
  
• Pinch the edges to seal the butter block inside the dough.
  
• Now you start the lamination! Turn the dough 45 degrees and flip the dough over so the seam is on the bottom. Make sure you have plenty of flour on your surface and also on the top so your rolling pin does not stick. This is very important, because any sticking could tear the dough, affecting the lamination!
  
• Roll out your dough into a rectangle that is at least 16 inches in length.
  
• Fold the rectangle like a letter: bottom third over the middle…
  
• …then top third over the bottom, making sure to dust off any excess flour between the folds.
  
• Once you've folded the dough, wrap the rectangle in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. You just want to give the dough time to relax before your second lamination and prevent any rising of the dough, keeping the temperature of the butter consistent during the process as well.
  
• Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Putting it in the fridge first and then letting it rest just a little bit longer at room temperature will make it easier to roll out!
• Turn your dough 90 degrees from how you were rolling it out last time, so that the first fold you did is at the bottom and the top of the dough.
  
• Roll out into a rectangle again that is at least 16 inches in length (closer to 20" is better!) and repeat the letter fold. Keep making sure that you have a well floured surface, and flour on the top if needed. If the dough is not rolling out easily, let it sit for 10 or so minutes and return to it. If it's still giving you trouble, you can also return it to the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
  
• Once you've reached the right length, repeat the fold: bottom third over middle third…
• …then top third over bottom third. Wrap this in plastic wrap and return to the fridge again for 15-20 minutes, then rest on the counter another 10-15 minutes.
  
• Complete your last lamination by doing the same thing as before: turning the dough 90 degrees from the previous fold, rolling to at least 16 inches in length and repeating the letter fold (bottom third over the middle third, then top third over the bottom.
  
• Once done, put in fridge for another 15 minutes, and let it rest on the counter at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
• Now the dough is at the stage where you can make any of our danish pastry dough recipes! Check out our recipes for spandauer, tebirkes, frøsnapper, kanelsnegle, chokoladesnegle, and wienerbrødsstang for additional steps and fillings!
• You can also make croissants/other shapes with just the pastry dough; the remainder of this recipe will cover those steps!
• Roll out your laminated dough. We cut ours in half when it has reached about 16 inches in length again to make it easier to work with! Return the second half to the fridge to roll out after you've shaped the first half of the pastries.
  
• Roll out to between 3/16 inch and 1/4 inch thickness. If the dough is hard to work with and it springs back when you roll it out, leave it to rest for about 10 minutes and return to it.
  
• Trim the edges of the dough; you should be left with a rectangle that measures about 9 inches by 14 inches. You can always roll up the edge pieces into swirls and bake them so there's no pastry wasted!
  
• We like to divide the dough into swirls and croissants. Lightly run your knife along the length of the dough, an inch apart, to mark three 1 inch strips.
• With the remaining rectangle, mark a line across the dough 1/3 of the way down the length of it, and 2/3 of the way down. Then, mark a line across the diagonal of each rectangle, creating 6 triangle shapes.
  
• Now that the rough outline has been marked, cut along the marked lines, leaving you with three long strips and 6 triangles.
  
• To make croissants, stretch the triangles so that they form more of an isosceles triangle shape. Then roll up the dough from the long end to the short.
  
• To make snails, roll the strip up into a circle.
  
• Transfer the shaped pastries to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, placing the croissants with the tip side touching the parchment.
  
• To "glue" the tip of the snail/swirl shape or the croissant to the rest of the dough so it doesn't unravel, place a little bit of water where you want it to stick together and press the dough together so it sticks.
  
• Cover the pastries on the baking tray with plastic wrap and set aside.
• Repeat the rolling and shaping process with the second half of the dough. Place the rolled pastries on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap.
  
• Now leave your shaped pastries to rise for at least 2 hours, perhaps longer. Note that one of your baking trays will likely be about 15-20 minutes ahead of the other one; this is totally fine, since you can bake them one at a time!
  
• Look at the difference between the previous picture and the picture below! This is a very important step, because under-proofing these means major butter leakage (we are speaking from experience!).
  
• You'll know the pastries are ready when they feel super light and airy (almost wobbly when you touch them) and have doubled in size. Another test is to poke the dough, and if it leaves an impression, feels like you punched out some air, and doesn't spring back immediately, it should be ready. Note: if your oven has a proofing setting, it is too warm for the butter; however, you can put the pastries in the oven (turned off!) to proof with the light on for a more controlled environment (no drafts, consistent temperature, etc.)
  
• With about twenty minutes of proofing time left, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).
• Egg wash the pastries.
  
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes on the center rack or until golden brown! If you want to bake both at once, you can; it just may take a little bit longer, and you may have to swap the racks part of the way through baking! We do prefer doing it one at a time for more consistency.
  
• Remove from the oven and bake the second tray of pastries. Let the pastries cool on a wire rack when done. Best enjoyed the same day, but if you pop them in the toaster oven to reheat over the next few days, some of the crisp exterior will return! We keep ours at room temperature for a few days, but you can also keep them in the fridge. You can even freeze them to enjoy later.

Video

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Danish

Keyword: advanced techniques, base dough, butter, buttery, croissant, danish pastry, flaky, vienna bread, viennoiserie

Difficulty: Advanced