The Best Gluten-free Danishes

I've been working on this recipe for a while.  It was a request on a Facebook survey that I did last spring.  The fact that the request came from my mom inspired me more than a little, I guess.  I am taking some danishes over to my mom this afternoon for her to sample, and I'm so excited to see what she thinks.  I, for one, love these little treats.

I modified this recipe from the Danish Pastry Dough recipe on Joe Pastry, a great resource for any technique that is pastry-related.

Danish Recipe

Makes 8-10 danishes.
For this recipe you will need:

- 225g GF Bread Flour Blend
- sugar
- salt
- psyllium husk
- eggs
- milk
- apple cider vinegar
- parchment paper
- Cultured European style butter, preferably Lurpak
- extra flour - I recommend potato starch

This recipe takes several hours to make.  I recommend splitting it up into two days.  Any time the dough needs chilling you can extend that step overnight, as long as you wrap it in plastic so it doesn't dry out.

Whisk in the bowl of your stand mixer:

1 egg

Whisk in:

1 cup milk at room temperature

Mix until slightly frothy.  Add to the mixture:

2 tsp apple cider vinegar
14g whole psyllium husk -OR- 12g ground psyllium husk

Mix the wet ingredients with the psyllium husk until the mixture starts to thicken, looks creamy and coats the side of the bowl a bit, about five minutes.  Add:

225g GF Bread Flour Blend (about 1.5 cups)
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 tsp quick-rise yeast
1 Tbsp sugar (add'l)

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients on low, then on medium until the mixture is well-combined and smooth.  Remove the dough to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least two hours.

After the dough has refrigerated, remove it to a flat surface that is generously floured, and knead it for a couple of minutes until it looks smooth.  Put it back in the refrigerator. Measure:

- 6 oz Lurpak or high-quality cultured european butter.

Make the butter packet and dough envelope according to the instructions on the post How to Laminate Dough.  Do three letter folds.  Don't let the dough get too warm, and refrigerate it for 20 minutes at any stage if it becomes too delicate to handle.

Once the dough has undergone three letter folds, refrigerate it for at least one hour, then pull it out to roll out to 1/4 inch thick or so for shaping your danishes.  See some shaping suggestions below.  Let the shapes rise for 1/2 hour, and pre-heat the oven to 425.  When the danishes have risen, press the middle of the danishes down with a spoon and fill them with fruit, jam, or sweet cheese filling.  Brush the tops of the pastries with egg whisked with water.  Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until nicely browned on the top.

For a classic danish shape, cut two strips of dough about as wide as they are tall, and gently twist them together, then shape them in a circle and tuck the end in.

A shape that I like to do that is simpler than the classic shape is the pinwheel, pictured at the top of this post.  Cut slits in from each corner to almost the middle, then fold every other corner down to the middle.  Let rise 1/2 hour and fill and bake as instructed for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy your danishes after they have cooled from the oven.  They are best within four to six hours.