Recipe: O & H Danish Bakery Kringle

O&H Kringle
Source: O & H Danish Bakery, 1841 Douglas Ave, Racine WI, 53402
rec.food.cooking/Heidi Awes

Don't be put off by the long directions. This is time intensive, not labor intensive. It makes a great coffee cake but it does not keep well; (no more than 3 days) I would not recommend mailing this. This is a filled Croissant-type-pastry.

"Sixteen folds of flaky dough layered with butter, a brown sugar filling, and pecans."
Mades 2 filled ovals

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 - 115 f.)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup warm milk (105 - 115 f.)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
2 cups all-purpose flour

Butterscotch Filling (recipe follows)
1 cup chopped pecans
Powdered Sugar Icing

1. Halve the butter. On each of 2 pieces of waxed paper, spread 1 portion of butter to form an 8-inch square. Wrap and chill the butter portions.

2. In a mixing bowl, soften the yeast in warm water. Add sugar, warm milk, egg, salt, and lemon extract; mix well. Add 1 3/4 cups of the flour and beat till mixture forms a ball. Turn out onto a floured surface. Knead in the remaining flour till dough is smooth and elastic, about 2-3 minutes total. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

3. Roll out the dough to form a 12*8 inch rectangle. Place 1 square of the chilled butter on 2/3 of a dough rectangle next to an 8-inch side. Fold uncovered 1/3 of dough over middle third. Then, fold opposite third over the top.

4. Next, from a 4- inch end of the rectangle, fold dough over middle third and fold opposite 4-inch over the top, making a stack of layered dough. Cover and refrigerate the stacked dough for 30 minutes.

5. Repeat, rolling dough into a 12*8-inch rectangle. Top with remaining square of butter; fold into a stack as above. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.

6. Prepare the Butterscotch Filling.

7. Cut the chilled dough in half; chill 1 portion. On a floured surface, roll out the remaining portion of dough, smooth side up, to form a 24x6-inch rectangle. (If dough is too elastic and hard to roll, cover and let rest for 5-10 minutes.) Spread half of the Butterscotch Filling lengthwise down center third of dough. Sprinkle with half of the pecans. Fold 1 of the 24-inch-long sides over filling; brush other side with water and fold over the top. Pinch the dough to seal well.

8. Transfer the filled dough to a greased baking sheet and shape into an oval. Seal ends together. Flatten dough slightly with hands. Repeat shaping with remaining dough. Cover the ovals of dough and let rise till a slight indentation remains in the dough when touched, about 1 hour.

9. Bake in a 350 F. oven for 20-25 minutes or till golden brown. Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire racks. Drizzle with icing while warm.

Butterscotch Filling:
In a mixing bowl, stir together 1 cup packed brown sugar, dash salt, and dash ground cinnamon. Cut in 1/3 cup of butter. Add 1 egg white and mix well.

Powdered Sugar Icing: In a mixing bowl, beat together 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1-2 Tablespoons water.

Notes: I've made this twice in the past 2 weeks. The first time I followed the directions precisely and the second time I made some modifications. Some were successful, some were not.

Here are the "nots":

1. DO NOT USE BREAD FLOUR. When the gluten devolops, it becomes extremely difficult to handle and shape, plus it gives it a slightly doughy flavor.

2. DO NOT TRY TO SHORT-CUT REFRIGERATION TIME BY PUTTING IT IN THE FREEZER FOR A PORTION OF THE TOTAL CHILLING TIME. The dough becomes very stiff and requires some umph to roll out. It also increases the rising time considerably.

SUCCESSFUL TIPS:

1. BEFORE STARTING ANYTHING: mark with a ruler and cut out 2 8-inch squares of wax paper. Soften butter in the microwave on low for 2 minutes. Mix till smooth. Spread 1 portion of butter onto a piece of the wax paper, put it on a plate and pop in the freezer. Do the same with the second portion of butter. Keep the butter in the freezer using each one as called for. This way, you can simply peel the paper from the butter as a whole unit, plus the butter maintains its solid state longer, which is a good thing for croissant type doughs.

2. I use my Kitchen Aid to do the mixing and kneading and add the entire 2 cups of flour called for.

3. There is no noticeable difference if you incorporate the pecans into the Butterscotch Filling instead of sprinkling them on after placing the filling.