Sweet Dough

Sweet Yeast Dough for cardamom/walnut buns etc.

Time: 1hour 30 minutes, Plus at least 4 hours for chilling I Difficulty: 2 (Easy Makes enough dough for 12 large buns or 2 babkas

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk (8 oz / 227g)
1½ teaspoons active dry yeast (0.18 oz / 5g)
4½ cups all-purpose flour (20.6 oz / 585g), plus more for the work surface and bowl
⅓ cup sugar (2.3 oz / 66g)
1½/ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (0.16 oz / 5g)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (5 oz / 142g), cut into 1-inch pieces, chilled
3 large eggs (5.3 oz / 150g)

This is a versatile dough that can be used to make all types of sweet buns and breads

Steps

Warm the milk and proof the yeast: In a small saucepan, gently warm the milk over low heat, swirling the pan, just until it's lukewarm to the touch but not hot (about 105°F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour about ¼ cup of the warm milk (2 oz / 57g) into a small bowl and whisk in the yeast until it's dissolved. Let the yeast mixture sit until it's foamy, about 5 minutes.
Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and butter and toss to coat the butter pieces. Make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in the eggs, yeast mixture, and remaining warm milk. Set the bowl on the mixer and attach the dough hook. Mix on low speed until all the flour is moistened, then increase to medium and continue to mix until the butter is incorporated (the warm milk will soften it eventually) and you have a soft, sticky dough, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium-high until the dough pulls cleanly away from the sides, gathers almost completely around the hook, and is very smooth and supple, about 5 minutes longer. It will still be very soft and might start to stick to the bowl when the mixer is at a lower speed, but if the dough sticks on medium-high then add more flour by the tablespoon until it pulls away and is slightly tacky but no longer sticky. Alternatively: mix in a bowl until it's a wet dough, then slap and fold for 10 minutes until tacky but no longer sticky.
Proof the dough and then chill: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather it into a ball. Dust the dough all over with a bit more flour, then place inside a medium bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature until it's about 50 percent expanded in size. 1 to 1½ hours. 2 Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator where the dough will finish the first rise, eventually doubling. Chill until cold, at least 4 hours, though 8 to 12 is better (not only will refrigerating the dough make it firmer and easier to handle, it will improve the flavor as well).

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Last updated 3 years ago

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk (8 oz / 227g)

1½ teaspoons active dry yeast (0.18 oz / 5g)

4½ cups all-purpose flour (20.6 oz / 585g), plus more for the work surface and bowl

⅓ cup sugar (2.3 oz / 66g)

1½/ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (0.16 oz / 5g)

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (5 oz / 142g), cut into 1-inch pieces, chilled

3 large eggs (5.3 oz / 150g)

This is a versatile dough that can be used to make all types of sweet buns and breads

Steps

Warm the milk and proof the yeast: In a small saucepan, gently warm the milk over low heat, swirling the pan, just until it's lukewarm to the touch but not hot (about 105°F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour about ¼ cup of the warm milk (2 oz / 57g) into a small bowl and whisk in the yeast until it's dissolved. Let the yeast mixture sit until it's foamy, about 5 minutes.

Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and butter and toss to coat the butter pieces. Make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in the eggs, yeast mixture, and remaining warm milk. Set the bowl on the mixer and attach the dough hook. Mix on low speed until all the flour is moistened, then increase to medium and continue to mix until the butter is incorporated (the warm milk will soften it eventually) and you have a soft, sticky dough, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium-high until the dough pulls cleanly away from the sides, gathers almost completely around the hook, and is very smooth and supple, about 5 minutes longer. It will still be very soft and might start to stick to the bowl when the mixer is at a lower speed, but if the dough sticks on medium-high then add more flour by the tablespoon until it pulls away and is slightly tacky but no longer sticky. Alternatively: mix in a bowl until it's a wet dough, then slap and fold for 10 minutes until tacky but no longer sticky.

Proof the dough and then chill: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather it into a ball. Dust the dough all over with a bit more flour, then place inside a medium bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature until it's about 50 percent expanded in size. 1 to 1½ hours. 2 Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator where the dough will finish the first rise, eventually doubling. Chill until cold, at least 4 hours, though 8 to 12 is better (not only will refrigerating the dough make it firmer and easier to handle, it will improve the flavor as well).