Sweet Doughs
Mom's recipe,
from Betty Crocker Cookbook, 1950 edition
The Sweet Dough recipe is excellent for dinner rolls and basic breakfast breads. Use the Richer Sweet Dough for coffee cakes and breakfast rolls such as Cinnamon Buns. Mom used to make these breads to take to market - see her technique for forming them at the bottom of this page.
Sweet Dough
2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp.salt
2 cakes yeast
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
7 - 7 1/2 cups flour
Makes 4 dozen dinner rolls or 1 coffee cake and 2 dozen rolls.
Richer Sweet Dough
1 cup warm milk (for 2 coffee cakes: 1 1/2)
1/2 cup sugar (for 2 coffee cakes: 3/4)
1 tsp.salt (for 2 coffee cakes: 1 1/2)
2 cakes yeast
2 eggs, beaten (for 2 coffee cakes: 3)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted (for 2 coffee cakes: 3/4)
4 1/2 - 5 cups flour (for 2 coffee cakes: 6 1/2)
Makes 3 dozen dinner rolls or 1 coffee cake and 1 dozen rolls.
Mix the milk, sugar, and salt. Add the yeast and dissolve. Add the eggs and the melted butter. Add flour until you have a soft dough. [Be careful not to add too much flour. You may not need to use all of the flour. The dough should be tacky.] Use to make dinner rolls or breakfast pastries.
Mom's Coffee Cake:
Use Richer Sweet Dough. After the first rising, press the dough into a greased 8" square baking pan making deep indents in the dough to hold the butter, sugar and cinnamon. Let rise the second time. Drizzle melted butter on top, sprinkle with sugar, then with cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees.
I have since thought this may have been her version of Moravian Sugar Cake. James Beard’s recipe has you mix 1/4 C brown sugar, packed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle the mix over the dough in the pan before proofing. Melt 1/4 C butter, cooled slightly and pour over the top. Proof, then bake.
Cinnamon Buns:
Use Richer Sweet Dough and add 1/2 cups raisins. Follow the Cinnamon Buns recipe for the filling and glaze.
Sticky Buns:
Use Richer Sweet Dough. These are similar to Cinnamon Buns but instead adding raisins to the dough and icing the rolls after they have baked, Sticky Buns have a pecan, butter and brown sugar topping that is added to the pan before placing the buns in and baking them. Once the buns are done, the pan is inverted so the "sticky" mixture flows down onto the buns creating a nice topping.
