Danish Pastries

The pastry we call a "Danish" in the US, is actually called "Viennese Bread" (weinerbrod) here in Denmark. It is said that Viennese bakers were brought to Denmark when the Danish bakers went on strike in the 1800s. The pastry the Viennese bakers made was later improved upon by the Danes...who say they perfected it.
The bakeries here are called Konditori, but you can also spot them by looking for the golden pretzel hanging over the doorway. This is said to be a carry-over from the Viennese bakers too. It is evidently the crescent moon from the Turkish flag. It was twisted into a pretzel shape to kind of give the finger to the Ottoman Turks who battled the Austrians a few hundred years ago.

So...about these pastries. There are about a dozen shapes and flavors at any given bakery. Many are filled with almond paste or vanilla cream. Some are filled with jam or covered with chocolate. Many are round, some are large pretzel shaped kringler, but all of them are made with this incredible buttery, rich and flaky dough. The dough is a little sweeter than a croissant dough - making these total sugar bombs but oh, so worth it. YUM!