Danish Pastries

 

From the latest Fresh from the Oven challenge, I found I had a little fresh yeast left over, so decided to use it in a few pastries! The original recipe was found on the web, but posted as Raisin and Cinnamon rolls from a link on a forum on jamieoliver.com. I called them pastries, although they were a little heavy for that, but also, having not quite enough yeast may have had something to do with it.

     

Ingredients
my cup was 250ml. Makes 21 rolls

2 sachets of dried yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons milk
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 - 1 cup raisins
2 cups icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method
1. Combine the yeast and warm water and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Warm 3/4 cup of the milk in the microwave. In a large bowl, combine 4 tablespoons of the melted butter and the warm milk. Using an electric mixer with a dough hook at low speed, or a wooden spoon, slowly stir the dissolved yeast into the butter and milk. Add 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar, the egg and the salt, and mix until combined. Add 4 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time; mix until smooth. If the dough is sticky, add up to 1/2 cup of flour.
3. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes, place in a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Stir together the brown sugar, the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and the cinnamon. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to form a 12 x 24-inch rectangle. Brush the remaining 3 tablespoons of melted butter over the dough, and sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top. Scatter the raisins over the dough.
5. Starting with a long side, roll the dough up into a log, jelly-roll style, then cut with dental floss or a sharp knife into generous 1-inch slices. Place in 3 greased 9-inch round cake pans. Let the rolls rise for 45 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 180C. Bake the rolls, uncovered, until crusty and golden on top, about 25 minutes.
7. Stir together the icing' sugar, vanilla and the remaining 3 tablespoons of milk until smooth. Drizzle over the rolls and serve.