Old Fashioned Basic Sweet Dough Recipe
With a wooden spoon, create this old fashioned basic sweet dough recipe that is versatile and can be made into coffee cakes, rolls, dough braids (fruit filled or meat & cheeses). You can add fruit, nut, raisins, spices, shredded toasted coconut flakes or drizzled honey to add a creative twist in flavors after you make the basic sweet dough recipe. Golden brown & deliciously sweet aroma will make this recipe a favorite.
Makes enough for one (10-inch) Apricot Tea Ring and 16 sweet rolls.
Ingredients:
2 envelopes active dry yeast
1/2 cup very warm water
1 cup milk, scalded
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
2 teaspoons salt
5 to 5 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
Directions:
Sprinkle yeast over very warm water in a large bowl (very warm water should feel comfortably warm when dropped on wrist). Stir until yeast dissolves.
Combine scalded milk with sugar, butter and salt, stirring until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Cool mixture to 105° – 115° F.
Add milk mixture to yeast, then beat in 2 cups of the flour. Beat in the eggs, lemon rind and mace. Mix in the remaining 3 to 3 1/2 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, to make a soft but manageable dough. If weather is humid, you may need slightly more flour.
Turn dough out on a well-floured surface (you’ll find the dough very sticky at first, so keep your hands well floured, too). Knead lightly for about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Place dough in a warm buttered bowl; turn buttered side up. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in volume–about 1 1/2 hours.
Punch dough down and let rest for 10 minutes. Divide the dough in half, then use half for preparing an Apricot-Pecan Tea Ring and the other half for your favorite sweet rolls.
