Sourdough Danish Pastries

Flaky, buttery, and filled with sweet cream cheese, these sourdough Danish pastries are a special-occasion treat you can absolutely make at home. With layers of laminated dough and just a touch of sourdough tang, they’re elegant enough for a holiday brunch but simple enough for a cozy weekend project.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Laminated dough, simplified – This recipe breaks down the process into manageable steps with plenty of rest time in between.
• Perfect for special occasions – These pastries look impressive but are surprisingly doable—ideal for brunches, holidays, or slow weekend mornings.
• Creative use of sourdough – The sourdough discard adds flavor and flake, turning your starter into something magical.

If you loved these sourdough pastries, you’ll want to try my sourdough cinnamon rolls, sourdough discard pop-tarts, and hot cross buns next! They’re just the thing for cozy mornings, weekend brunches, or special celebrations where sourdough gets to shine beyond bread.

How to make sourdough Danish cream cheese pastries

This is a laminated dough, which means we’re layering butter into the dough to create those beautiful flaky layers. It sounds fancy, but don’t worry—I’ve simplified the process to make it beginner-friendly. Here’s a quick overview of what to expect, but for the full breakdown of each sept, please make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below.

Step One: Make the dough

The night before you plan to bake, mix the levain and let it sit overnight.

In the morning, combine all the dough ingredients (except for the roll-in butter) in a stand mixer and knead until smooth. Wrap and chill the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.

While it chills, shape your butter into a square and return it to the fridge.

Step Two: Laminate the dough

Start layering the butter into the dough with three rounds of folding and resting in the fridge between each one. It’s easier than it sounds, I promise!

Each round builds up flaky layers. Keep the dough cold between steps to help the butter stay firm and create distinct layers. For the full set of directions for this, make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below.

Step Three: Make the filling

While the dough chills, beat together cream cheese, butter, sugar, flour, egg, and vanilla to make a luscious, rich filling. Chill until ready to use.

Step Four: Assemble + bake

Roll out the laminated dough and cut it into squares. Add a dollop of cream cheese filling to the center of each square, then fold the corners in or get creative with your shape.

Let the pastries chill for about an hour (they’ll puff a bit in the fridge), then brush with egg wash and bake.

Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes, then lower to 375°F and continue baking for another 15 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Optional: Drizzle with extra thinned-out cream cheese for a bakery-style finish!

Storage Tips

These pastries are best enjoyed fresh but can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in the oven or enjoy cold from the fridge—your call.

Sourdough Danish Pastries

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Flaky, buttery, and filled with cream cheese, these sourdough Danish pastries are perfect for special breakfasts or weekend baking. Made with sourdough starter for added flavor and texture!

• Author: Jenni Ward – Sourdough Surprises
• Prep Time: 1 day
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 24 hours 25 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x
• Category: Pastries
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Levain:

• 44 grams sourdough starter fed and active
• 75 grams water
• 134 grams bread flour

Final Dough:

• 361 grams all purpose flour
• 135 grams milk
• 77 grams egg
• 60 grams sugar
• 10 grams salt
• 41 grams butter softened
• all the levain
• 310 grams butter to roll in do not mix this in the dough!

Cream Cheese Filling:

• 226 grams cream cheese room temperature
• 113 grams sugar
• 19 grams butter room temperature
• 28 grams flour
• 21 grams egg lightly beaten (this is a little less than half of a large egg, save the rest for the egg wash)
• 4.5 grams vanilla extract

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Instructions

Make the laminated dough

• Mix the levain and allow to sit at room temperature, covered, for 12 hours.
• In the morning mix all the ingredients (except for the roll in butter) in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined.
• Switch to the dough hook and knead for 3 minutes at the low speed and then 3 minutes at medium speed, until the dough is not sticky but not completely smooth, either.
• Pat the dough flat, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours to overnight.
• Prepare the butter to roll in by placing the butter in the microwave for 5 second intervals until you can just squeeze the butter without it being too “room temperature”.
• Cut the butter into pieces and place on a sheet of waxed paper.
• Cover the butter with a second sheet of waxed paper and smoosh the butter together a little bit.
• Use your rolling pin to roll the butter out into a 7.5″x7.5″ square.
• Place the butter in the fridge until needed.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out until it is an 11″x11″ square.
• Remove the butter from the fridge, and take off the top waxed paper layer.
• Turn the butter out onto the dough square, so that the butter forms a diamond shape on the dough.
• Lightly run your hands over the bottom layer of waxed paper to attach the butter to the dough, and remove the waxed paper.
• Fold the dough into thirds and seal the edges.
• Roll the dough out into an 8″x24″ rectangle and fold into thirds again.
• Wrap in saran wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
• Take out the dough, roll it into an 8″x24″ rectangle and then fold into thirds.
• Wrap it back in saran wrap, and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
• Take the dough out, roll it into an 8″x24″ rectangle, and then fold into thirds.
• Place the dough in the fridge for 90 minutes.

Make cream cheese filling

• Using a hand mixer, beat together the soft cream cheese and butter until incorporated.
• Add the sugar and flour in three portions, mixing well after each addition.
• Beat in the egg, then the vanilla.
• Place in the fridge until needed, but bring to warm temperature before using.

Assemble the pastries

• Take the dough out of the fridge roll the dough out into 8×24 inches. ** If at any time during the next steps if it seems that the butter is getting too warm or the dough is getting elasticy, stop what you are doing and let it sit in the fridge for an hour!
• Using a pizza cutter type tool, cut the dough into 4.5″x4.5″ squares.
• Add a dollop of the cream cheese filling into the center of each square and decorate with fresh fruit of your choice.
• Fold all four corners into the center and press to seal. Place the pastries on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and allow to proof in the fridge for an hour.
• Preheat your oven to 425.
• Mix the remaining egg from the cream cheese mixture with 1 tsp of water and give all the pastries an egg wash.
• Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 375 and bake for an additional 15 minutes more.
• Allow the pastries to cool completely on a wire cooling rack. Take any remaining cream cheese filling and add about 1 Tablespoon of water to the mixture to make a thin glaze you can drizzle on top of the pastries.

Notes

You can swap out the blueberries for other fruit.