Like puff pastry, Croissants, Breton Butter Cakes, and Danish Pastry Dough are made from laminated doughs that bake into dozens of light, buttery layers. Whereas puff pastry gets all its lift from the butter, yeast is added to these doughs for leavening and a more complex flavor. Make sure you follow the timelines in the recipes and don’t let the doughs proof too long or your hard-earned layers may start to blend together.
A couple of other ingredients set these doughs apart. Milk enriches them; sugar activates the yeast and lends a bit of sweetness. In Breton Butter Cakes, sugar is also sprinkled over the dough with each folding to create gooey, caramelized layers—irresistible. And for Danish Pastry Dough, you have the option to add cardamom and vanilla for a distinctive but subtle twist.
If you don’t feel like going to the trouble to make any of these doughs, you can make the finished pastries with puff pastry dough, store-bought or homemade. It won’t produce the classic results, but it’s an excellent all-purpose substitute.