Yeast dough is an incredibly versatile and truly wonderful basic to master. It can be used to make everything from delicious pizza and buttery dinner rolls to cinnamon buns and monkey bread, so it’s definitely something that you want to have in your arsenal. That’s why today, we’re giving you a basic, fail-proof recipe for yeast dough, plus 5 truly adorable things you can make with it. Start churning out adorable butterflies, flowers, and even little piglets like a pro baker, right from the comfort of your own home!
Homemade Yeast Dough Recipe
You’ll Need:
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup milk, lukewarm
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 egg, room temperature
- ¼ stick butter, softened
Here’s How:
Mix the flour, sugar, and yeast before adding in the lukewarm milk. Start kneading the dough with a mixer before adding the egg and butter, and continue to knead until a smooth dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and use your hands to briefly knead the dough. Form the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl, cover it with a dish towel, and let it rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes.
Extras:
- chopsticks
- bench scraper
- Morello cherries, pitted
- round cookie cutters in different sizes
- new comb
- spoon
- sugar pearls
1. Butterfly
1.1 Roll some of the dough into an oval shape and use a bench scraper to create vertical lines in the dough.
1.2 Turn the dough over and fold it in towards the middle.
1.3 Turn the dough over again and use a bench scraper to create one line on either side.
1.4 Pull the dough in towards the middle using chopsticks.
1.5 Decorate the butterfly you just created by carefully pressing dots into the dough with chopsticks and placing a Morello cherry in the middle.
2. Leaf
2.1 Roll out the dough and cut out 3 circles. Stack the circles on top of one another and press down in the middle with a chopstick.
2.2 Now fold the dough along the pressure line.
2.3 Use a chopstick to press down into the dough again and pull the ends of the dough together.
2.4 Carefully remove the chopstick from the dough, and voila – a pretty dough leaf, ready to go in the oven.
3. Flower
3.1 Form the dough into a roll and cut it into 3 equal pieces.
3.2 Make a slit in the dough on either side.
3.3. Spread the dough out at the slits, put a cherry in the space in between, and press the ends together again.
3.4 Use chopsticks to pull the dough together in the middle to form a flower.
4. Kissing Fish
4.1 Roll out the dough, cut out a large circle, and press a comb into 3 sides of the circle.
4.2 Use a bench scraper to cut the dough as shown in the video.
4.3 Pull the dough apart in the middle and press it in with your fingers on the outside to create fins. Then press the ends of the fins together.
4.4 Use sugar pearls for eyes and create contours and scales using a spoon.
5. Piglet
5.1 Roll the dough into an oval shape and use a knife to cut into it twice diagonally.
5.2 Roll the dough that’s in between the 2 incisions downwards.
5.3 Twist the ends and lay them together to create a hole.
5.4 Form a small dough ball and press it into the hole before using a chopstick to create 2 small pig nostrils.
5.5 Use the chopstick to also make holes for the eyes and place a sugar pearl in each one. Now fold down the ears and your piglet is done.
Whisk 1 egg and brush the egg wash over all your yeast dough creations before putting them in a preheated oven set to 350°F for 20 minutes.
Slather some butter, jam, or even Nutella on these bad boys, and you’re in for a real treat! There’s just nothing like homemade baked goods, and it’s even better when they look this cute!
Get the instructions for the 8 Fun & Tasty Ways To Use Yeast Dough featured in the bonus video.