KS Quotient
Fairly Easy: Two-stage mixing. Very versatile.
This is a versatile, slightly sweet dough suitable for making coffeecakes, various enriched loaves, and dessert breads. For a very easy yet festive loaf, simply stir in ¾ cup of diced mixed candied fruit and 1 teaspoon anise seeds into this dough before the second rise. (Follow the baking instructions for Cornish Saffron Bread.) Then top the loaf with the Powdered Sugar—Lemon Drizzle).
This dough is used in the Simple Streusel Coffeecake, Cornish Saffron Bread, Spiced Cranberry Bundt-Style Coffeecake, Holiday Cranberry-Apple Coffee Ring, and Apple—Cream Cheese Pinwheel Pastries recipes.
Since the dough can be put to different purposes, you can adjust the amount of sugar slightly to suit your taste. However, for proper gluten development and yeast growth, be sure to add the sugar in two stages, as directed, and don't add more than the maximum called for.
Yield: Enough dough for 1 generous loaf or coffeecake or batch of pastries
2 1/3 cups (11.66 ounces) unbleached all-purpose white flour, plus 2/3 cup (3.33 ounces) plus more as needed
5 to 7 tablespoons granulated sugar, to taste, divided
1¼ teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast
1¼ cups ice water, plus more if needed
Flavorless vegetable oil for brushing
1/3 cup good-quality instant nonfat dry milk (do not use a generic brand)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled just slightly
2 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
First Rise In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together 2 1/3 cups of the flour, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the salt, and yeast. Vigorously stir in the water, scraping down the bowl and mixing until the dough is thoroughly blended. If the mixture is too dry to incorporate the flour, a bit at a time, mix in just enough more water to blend the ingredients. If the mixture is soft, stir in enough more flour to make it firm, but not hard to stir. Evenly brush the top lightly with vegetable oil. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours. Then let rise at cool room temperature for 12 to 18 hours.
Second Rise In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining 3 to 5 tablespoons of sugar, the milk powder, and butter, then mix in the eggs until well blended. Gradually add the egg mixture, then 2/3 cup flour, to the dough, mixing until evenly incorporated; this will take several minutes so it's best to use a dough hook and heavy-duty mixer on low, if possible. If necessary, add in enough more flour to yield a hard-to-stir dough, scraping down the bowl sides carefully. Proceed with the dough as directed in the individual recipes.
