Danish Wienerbrød (Danish Pastry with Almond Filling)

About This Recipe

Danish Wienerbrød is a real, traditional Danish dish, known as Danish Pastry with Almond Filling. Flaky, buttery laminated pastry spiraled around a sweet almond remonce filling, the origin of what the world calls 'Danish'.\n\nWienerbrød, literally 'Vienna bread', arrived in Denmark in the 1840s when Austrian bakers introduced their laminated dough techniques, which Danish bakers then adapted and refined into the pastry style now known internationally as 'Danish', despite its Viennese roots.\n\nThe result is a dish worth making on its own merits: it rewards patience with the technique and delivers real, specific flavor rooted in Danish home cooking, not a generic stand-in for a search term.

Ingredients

Serves 12

• 500 gall-purpose flour
• 10 ginstant yeast
• 50 gsugar
• 0.5 tspfine sea salt
• 250 mlwhole milk(cold)
• 1egg
• 300 gbutter(cold, for lamination)
• 150 gbutter(softened, for filling)
• 150 gsugar(for filling)
• 150 galmond flour(for filling)
• 1egg(beaten, for egg wash)
• 3 tbsppowdered sugar glaze(to finish)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Mix flour, yeast, sugar and salt, add cold milk and egg, and knead briefly into a shaggy dough. Chill for 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Make the butter block

   Pound the cold butter between parchment into a flat rectangle.

3. 3

   Laminate

   Roll the dough out, place the butter block in the center, fold the dough over it, and roll and fold in thirds. Chill for 20 minutes, then repeat the roll-and-fold two more times, chilling between each.

4. 4

   Make the filling

   Beat softened butter, sugar and almond flour together into a smooth paste.

5. 5

   Shape

   Roll the laminated dough into a large rectangle, spread with the almond filling, and roll into a log; slice into rounds or shape into classic pastry twists.

6. 6

   Bake

   Arrange on a lined tray, let rise for 30 minutes, brush with egg wash, and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 to 18 minutes until deeply golden with visible flaky layers. Drizzle with glaze once cooled.

Variations

• •

  Use a pastry cream filling instead of almond for a different classic Danish pastry style.

• •

  Add raisins to the filling for a spiral pastry variation common in Danish bakeries.

• •

  A cinnamon-sugar version, closer to a cinnamon roll, is also a traditional wienerbrød style.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of water or stock to loosen the texture.

Frequently Asked Questions