copenhagen
From top : Exterior of Rondo bakery ; an almond croissant at Rondo images : daniel rasmussen ; visit copenhagen itself resembles a stylish apartment , its Scandinavian blond wood and artful bookcases a stone ’ s throw from Nyhavn and its brightly colored 17th-century waterfront houses . It offers classes on a ‘ cook and dine ’ basis — the wienerbrød is one of its most popular ; a two-hour celebration of sugar and butter that makes me feel as if I ’ m being let in on a naughty secret .
“ We wanted people to feel they could come and hang out ,” says preternaturally patient owner Gray as he skilfully incorporates a butter sheet into his dough , folding and rolling it into the laminations , or layers , that give the pastries their flaky texture . Turn the pastry 3x3 for 27 layers , rolling carefully in between — only croissants with their 32 layers are more labor intensive . My ‘ panic rolling ’ is subsiding as I lean into the rhythm of the weinerdej , the hallowed dough that forms the basis for all types of this pastry .
It ’ s the shapes and flavorings that make it wienerbrød though ; the one thing all have in common is remonce , a marzipan and butter blend that ’ s the foundation of its taste . Creamed together in a bowl , the intense smell of almonds rises like a note of sweet , nutty comfort . In Denmark , marzipan ’ s almond percentage is a matter of national pride , a rebuke to glucose sugar and substitutes such as apricot kernels found in cheaper versions elsewhere .
Gray measures the pastry width and depth to make sure it ’ s ready for pastry origami — I start twisting my dough into frøsnapper ,
FALL 2023 • 43