Basic Bread Dough

Ingredients

Instructions

Created on November 12th, 2002

Rinse medium saucepan with water. On medium heat, cook 1 cup of milk until a skim forms on top. This is called scalding. DO NOT bring milk to a boil. Remove from heat once skin is formed. Add 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup sugar, and 3/4 cup butter. Stir well. Set aside.

Mix with a fork 1/4 cup HOT tap water, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 pkg of yeast in a medium-sized glass. Set aside until yeast bubbles up.

Beat 3 eggs in a small bowl.

Once the milk mixture has cooled and the butter is completely melted, in a large mixing bowl, add risen yeast. Mix well. Add beaten eggs. Mix well. Add 2 cups flour, mixing well. Add 1 more cup of flour. Mix well. Add the final cup of flour. Mix well. Cover bowl with saran wrap and let rise. The dough will double in size. This takes from 4 to 6 hours.

Once the dough has risen, remove saran wrap and stir dough about 3 times. Replace saran wrap and refrigerate overnight (at least 6 hours).

Remove dough from refrigerator. Melt 1 stick of butter in the microwave. Divide dough into 3 parts. On a floured surface, roll out dough like a pie. With a pastry brush, spread melted butter over dough. Cut into 8 pieces with a pizza cutter.

Roll dough into crescent shape and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let rise till doubled in size (about 2-3 hours).

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven when golden brown. Brush with melted butter. Serve immediately or let cool and place in a Ziplock freezer bag. Rolls can be frozen for up to 1 month. To use after freezing – let rolls thaw at room temperature in the bag. Heat on cookie sheet at 300 degrees for 4-8 minutes.

This is usually a 2-day process. You can make the bread the night before the day you want it. Let it rise that evening and refrigerate it overnight. It can stay in the refrigerator for up to 18 hours. You can make it that next morning or wait until about 3 hours before dinner.

Tips...

This bread freezes great. When finished baking, let cool completely and place in Ziplock freezer bags. Freeze for up to 1 month. To reheat, remove from freezer and let thaw at room temperature. Place thawed rolls on a cookie sheet and reheat at 300 degrees for 5-10 minutes.