Danish dough

Danish dough starts as a soft yeast dough enriched with sugar and eggs. A block of fat is rolled or pinned into the dough, and the dough is folded and rolled several times so that thin sheets of dough alternate with thin sheets of fat.

The yeast gives the pastry a light, bready lift, while the steam from the fat layers separates the sheets as it bakes. Along with croissant dough, it is one of the two main laminated yeast doughs. The dough itself is only mildly sweet; most of the sweetness in a finished pastry comes from the fillings and toppings added to it.

Bakers cut and shape the rolled dough into spirals, pockets, pinwheels and braids, fill them with fruit, cream or cheese, let them proof, and bake until golden and crisp on the outside.