{{short description|Pastry with almond paste filling}} {{other uses}} {{more citations needed|date=September 2012}} {{Infobox food | name = Bear claw | image = Bear claw pastry.JPG | image_size = 250px | caption = | alternate_name = | country = United States | region = | creator = | course = | type = Pastry, doughnut or fritter | served = | main_ingredient = Dough, almond paste | minor_ingredient= Raisins | variations = | calories = | other = }}

A '''bear claw''' is a sweet pastry originating in the United States during the mid-1910s.<ref name="BC@GGB"/><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105818757/los-angeles-evening-express/ "Hamburger's: Children's Day!---Outfit the Boys and Girls!; Baked Goods"]. ''Los Angeles Evening Express''. April 9, 1915. p.&nbsp;18. Retrieved July 18, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105819030/los-angeles-evening-express/ "Young's Market Co.; The New Store"]. ''Los Angeles Evening Express''. July 2, 1915. p.&nbsp;20. Retrieved July 18, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105819418/lincoln-news-messenger/ "Oatmeal Cookies; Special Every Saturday, Superior Home Bakery"]. ''Lincoln News Messenger''. January 28, 1916. p.&nbsp;2. Retrieved July 28, 2022.</ref> The name ''bear claw'' as used for a pastry is first attested on March 13, 1914 by the Geibel German Bakery,<ref name="BC@GGB">[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105787813/the-sacramento-star/ "Rolls; Friday Special Assortment of French Pastries"]. ''The Sacramento Star''. March 13, 1914. p.&nbsp;6. Retrieved July 17, 2022.</ref> located at 915 K Street in downtown Sacramento.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105791731/the-sacramento-bee/ "Auction Sale by Order Bankrupt Court: Geibel German Bakery, 915 K Street"]. ''The Sacramento Bee''. November 23, 1914. p.&nbsp;8. Retrieved July 17, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://www.colliers.com/en/properties/915-k-street/usa-915-k-st-sacramento-ca-95814-usa/usa1108207 "Retail For Lease — 915 K St, Sacramento, CA 95814, USA"]. Colliers. "915 K Street is in the heart of a hip and diverse Downtown Sacramento." Retrieved July 17, 2022.</ref> By the next year, bear claws were on the breakfast menu at German-owned Hamburger's Los Angeles, which was then the largest department store west of Chicago.

In Denmark, a bear claw is referred to as a ''kam''<ref name=":1">Roufs, Timothy G., and Kathleen Smyth Roufs. [https://link.gale.com/apps/pub/8NLE/GVRL?u=wash_main&sid=GVRL ''Sweet Treats around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture'']. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Gale eBooks. Accessed 16 Oct. 2020.</ref> and in Germany as ''Kamm''. France also has an alternate version of that pastry: ''patte d'ours'' (meaning ''bear paw''), created in 1982 in the Alps.

== Ingredients and shape == Most Danishes include the same basic ingredients such as eggs, yeast, flour, milk, sugar, and butter.<ref name=":1" /> The bear claw is also made with "sweet dough" which is "bread dough with more shortening than usual".<ref>“Frozen Cakes and Pastries.” ID : the Voice of Foodservice Distribution, vol. 29, no. 11, 1993, p. 113.</ref> One of the differences between most Danishes, besides taste, is seen in their shape.<ref name=":1" /> A bear claw is usually filled with almond paste,<ref name="fran">{{cite web |author=FrancesC |title=Almond Bear Claws |url=http://allrecipes.com/recipe/almond-bear-claws/ |publisher=Allrecipes.com |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> and sometimes raisins, and often shaped in a semicircle with slices along the curved edge, or rectangular with partial slices along one side.<ref>{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qU0WBQAAQBAJ|title = J'eat? Playful Cookery|last = Della-Piana|first = Patricia|publisher = Lulu|isbn = 9781300921059|page = 356|language = en}}</ref> As the dough rises, the sections separate, evoking the shape of a bear's toes, hence the name.<ref name="joe">{{cite web |last=Pastry |first=Joe |title=The Bear Claw |url=http://www.joepastry.com/2008/the_bear_claw/ |publisher=Joe Pastry |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> A bear claw may also be a yeast doughnut in a shape similar to that of the pastry.<ref name="joe" />

== Production == A bear claw can be made by hand or by machine.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|last = Le|first = Conie Stiles|title = Production of coffee cakes|date = Jan 13, 1948|url = https://patents.google.com/patent/US2434339|access-date = 2016-03-24}}. US Patent US 2434339 A. Filed 1944-03-22. Granted 1948-01-13.</ref> Bear claw can be hand-made by using a bear claw cutter that was invented in 1950 by James Fennell.<ref>C, Fennell James. “Bear Claw Cutter.” 1950.</ref> A 1948 patent describes the process of assembling the bear claw as rolling out the dough, layering filling onto it, folding the dough over, cutting small incisions to create the claw-like look, and finally cutting the dough into separate pastries.<ref name=":0" /> The pastry can be curved into a half-circle at this point, which causes the "toes" to separate.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7O5YpNRnpNoC|title=The Art and Soul of Baking|last=Mushet|first=Cindy, Sur La Table|date=2008-10-21|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|isbn=9780740773341|page=118|language=en|chapter=Bear Claw}}</ref>

== Health and nutrition == Similar to other pastries, the bear claw is typically high in carbohydrates and fats. Example nutrition information can be seen from a version produced by the restaurant chain Panera Bread.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Panera Bear Claw Nutrition Facts|url=https://fastfoodnutrition.org/panera-bread/bear-claw|access-date=2020-10-29|website=FastFoodNutrition.org|language=en}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Food}} * Banket, an almond-stuffed pastry from the Netherlands * List of almond dishes * List of pastries * List of regional dishes of the United States

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Pastries}} {{Doughnuts}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bear Claw (Pastry)}} Category:Pastries Category:Almond desserts Category:American doughnuts Category:Viennoiserie