Danish Pastry Recipe

Cut whole stick butter crosswise into halves.
Place the 3 pieces side by side on piece of waxed paper.
Cover with second piece of waxed paper.
Flatten butter into 6-inch square with rolling pin to form a solid sheet.
Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 1/2 hours.
Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl.
Stir in milk, sugar, salt, egg and 1 1/2 cups of the flour.
Beat until smooth.
Stir in enough remaining flour to make the dough easy to handle.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
Place in lightly greased bowl; cover with damp cloth.
Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours .
Roll dough on lightly floured cloth-covered board into 12-inch circle with floured stockinet-covered rolling pin.
Place 1 square firm butter on center of dough.
Fold top and bottom edges of dough to center, covering butter.
Fold right and left edges of dough to center; press to seal securely.
Roll dough into rectangle 20 x 6 inches.
Fold rectangle crosswise into thirds to make 3 layers.
Press edges of rectangle to secure dough and seal seam.
Turn dough one quarter turn.
Roll into rectangle, 20 x 6 inches.
Fold rectangle into thirds, keeping sides and ends straight (uneven rolling results in less flakiness).
Turn dough one quarter turn; repeat rolling step a third time.
Fold rectangle into thirds; place on tray.
Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until dough is well chilled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Cut rectangle into halves.
Use half the dough for any of the variations.
Refrigerate remaining half until ready to use.