Sweet Dough

Summary
Prep time	30 min + rising time 2+ hours
Cook time	n/a
Source	100 Morning Treats by Sarah Kieffer (pg 266)
Yield / serves	~2.5 lbs dough
Rating	Very good

This is a base recipe for a number of recipes in 100 Morning Treats such as Cherry Rhubarb Streusel Buns

Ingredients

• 3/4 c warm whole milk (100-110F)
• 2 1/4 t active dry yeast
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 honey
• 2 t salt
• 4 c all-purpose flour
• 10 T unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, at room temperature

Preparation

Grease a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, combine the milk and yeast on low speed, then let sit until the yeast has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, honey, and salt and mix until well combined. Add the flour, mixing on low speed until incorporated, 1-2 minutes. Add the butter, one piece at a time. When all the butter has been added, increase the speed to medium and beat the butter into the dough until all the little butter pieces are incorporated, 1 minute. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl. The dough will be very sticky and you will need a spatula to scrape the dough into the bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 30 minutes. Place your fingers or a spatula underneath the dough and gently pull the dough up and fold it back over itself. Give the bowl a quarter turn and fold the dough over again. Repeat six to eight more times, until all the dough has been folded over on itself. Re-cover the bowl with plastic and let dough rise for 30 minutes. Repeat this series of folding the dough three more times, every 30 minutes, for a rise time of 2 hours.

Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. (The dough needs to be chilled after folding it, which will help with the rolling-out process. If you don't chill the dough, it will be hard to roll out because it will be sticky.)