My Favorite Bread Dough

If you have a Kitchen Aid this recipe is twice as easy but if you don’t…making it the old fashioned way is fun too.

½ c milk

¼ c sugar

2 tsp. salt

3 T butter

6-7 c flour

Place milk, sugar, salt and margarine in small sauce pan. Heat over low heat until margarine melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm.

3 pkg. yeast (6 & ¾ tsp)

1 ½ c warm water (105^o to 115^o)- slightly stings to the touch

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a mixer bowl. Until foam appears on top.

Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 ½ c flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn To speed 2 and mix 1 minute.  (Stir with a spoon about one minute until fully combined)

Continue on speed 2, add remaining flour, ½ c at a time, and mix about 2 minutes, or until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl. (Add flour and stir by hand until ball forms and dough sticks together) Dough will be slightly sticky to the touch but appearance will be smooth and elastic.

Place dough in a large bowl grease with butter, turning over to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warmed oven for 20 min. (Quick Rise: while making the dough I preheat by oven to 170^o before placing the dough into the oven I turn the oven off while the dough rises) Dough will be double in size.

Punch dough down and use for:

 

Dinner Rolls: Grease a 9x13 baking pan. Make dough into 1 ½ ” balls with greased hands. Place balls about 1” apart. Let rise on preheating (400^o) stovetop until double in size. Bake for 20 min. Brush with butter when you remove them from the oven.

Homemade Hamburger Buns: Grease 2 cookie sheets. Preheat oven to 400^o. With buttered hands make dough into 3” balls. Place on the prepared cookie sheets 3” apart. You do not want them to touch. Bake for 15-20 minutes until brown brush with butter.