This master sweet dough recipe is all you need to make tons of different desserts like cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, homemade panettone, and strawberry cinnamon rolls.
I like to divide my sweet dough recipe in half and make two different things. This is great for the holidays because you can prep a lot of dough and then make multiple desserts. For an even richer enriched dough experience, try my brioche bread recipe, which uses a sponge method for an incredibly soft, buttery loaf.
What's In This Blog Post
Master Sweet Dough Ingredients
Instant dried yeast is the best kind of yeast to use for sweet dough because it rises quickly.
Bread flour is the best for making this type of dough because it has a high enough percentage of gluten to make the perfect chewy dough.
Sugar is used in this recipe to make it sweet. You can replace the sugar with brown sugar or any type of sugar replacement such as lakanto monkfruit sugar to make this bread sugar free.
What is sweet dough?
Sweet dough is an enriched dough which means it has things like eggs, butter and sugar added. These ingredients make the dough very soft and moist! It also means that it can take longer to rise. So plan ahead so you have enough time.
How to make the sweet dough
Mixing bread is not difficult but the added butter and eggs can get in the way of the yeast consuming the flour, resulting in a very slow rise. Follow these steps to ensure your sweet dough rises as quick as possible.
You can also substitute active dry yeast for instant yeast which rises much faster. Follow the directions on the package for substitutions.
- Warm your milk to 110ºF and combine with 1 Tablespoon sugar and your yeast to activate your yeast
- Put your flour in the mixing bowl with the milk/yeast mixture and stir until combined with the dough hook
- Add in your eggs one at a time, then the sugar, salt and butter and mix until combined
- Mix on medium speed for 5-10 minutes until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and the dough bounces back when you touch it.
- Proof in a warm area for 90 minutes or until dough doubles in size
- Shape dough according to the recipe you are following
- Proof for another 60 minutes or cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight until you need to bake the bread.
How do you know when the sweet dough is kneaded enough?
The dough needs time to develop the gluten. But how can you tell when it'd developed? You can do a few tests along the way.
When your ingredients first start mixing, notice the texture of the dough is rough and tearing a lot. It might be sticking to the sides of the bowl too.
After a few minutes, the dough will clean the sides of the bowl. Touch the dough, does it feel really soft. When you press your finger into it, does it make an indent that does not spring back? If you pick the dough up does it ooze between your fingers? This means there isn't enough gluten yet. Keep mixing on medium speed.
You can also take a small piece of dough and stretch it between your fingers to make a "window". If you can make the dough very thin, almost to the point you can see through it (like a window) then you know enough gluten has been developed and you can now place your dough into the bowl to rise.
***optional warm oven technique** I pre-heat my oven to 170ºF for five minutes then TURN THE OVEN OFF. It should be barely warm inside. Place a bowl of warm water in the back of the oven and your covered bowl of dough into the oven and shut the door. This creates a nice warm/moist environment for the dough to rise. But don't forget about it and turn on your oven! High heat will kill your yeast.
How do you know your sweet dough has proofed long enough?
Press two fingers down into the top of the dough to make a hole. Does the dough bounce back right away or does it slowly move? If it's moving slowly but mostly holds its shape then you're good to go.
If it's been 90 minutes and your dough has not doubled in size it could be for a couple of reasons. Your yeast is not active anymore. You'll have to toss the dough and try again with fresh yeast. Your kitchen could be too cold in which case you need to turn up the heat or try my warm oven technique I mention above.
FAQ
Sweet dough is an enriched dough which means it has things like eggs, butter and sugar added. These ingredients make the dough very soft and moist! It also means that it can take longer to rise. So plan ahead so you have enough time.
You can definitely make sweet dough by hand, it just takes some elbow grease. After your ingredients are combined, take the dough to the workbench and knead with your hands until a smooth elastic ball forms. Kneading dough by hand takes about 15 minutes.
Yes, you can definitely over-knead the sweet dough using a mixer. If your dough becomes so tight that it starts tearing and feels very stiff and hard, it's probably over-mixed. There isn't much you can do to fix this. The bread will probably taste fine. Just not rise quite as much.
I almost always make my sweet dough recipe the day before I want to bake up my dessert. By the time I make the dough, proof it, and shape it into the dessert I want, the day is half gone.
After you shape the dough you can cover it with plastic wrap and place it into the fridge. The cold will slow down the second proof. Take the sweet dough out of the fridge about 1 hour before you need to bake or until it's doubled in size. Then bake according to the recipe!
More Sweet Recipes
Cinnamon Rolls
Sticky Buns
Fast Bread Recipe
Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook
- Digital Kitchen Scale
- Instant Read Thermometer
Ingredients
- 8 ounces milk 110ºF
- 10 grams dried instant yeast (3 teaspoons)
- 25 ounces all-purpose flour or bread flour
- 8 ounces butter softened
- 4 ounces sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs room temperature
Instructions
Before you Begin
- Bring eggs and butter to room temperature before starting. Cold butter and eggs will break the dough emulsion and significantly slow gluten development. Warm the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes if needed.
Sweet Dough
- Warm milk to 110º F. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the measured sugar and the yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes until slightly foamy. If nothing happens, the yeast is dead; start over with fresh yeast.
- Add flour to stand mixer bowl, then add the milk and yeast mixture. Mix on low with the dough hook to combine.
- With mixer on low, add the remaining sugar, eggs, softened butter, and salt. Mix until combined. The dough will look rough and lumpy at this stage. This is normal.
- Increase to medium speed and knead for 8 to 12 minutes until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl, feels smooth and elastic, and passes the windowpane test (stretch a small piece thin enough to be nearly translucent without tearing).
- Shape dough into a smooth ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a clean towel. Let rise in a warm spot for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.***Optional:(I pre-heat my oven to 170ºF for five minutes then TURN THE OVEN OFF. It should be barely warm inside. Place a bowl of warm water in the back of the oven and your covered bowl of dough into the oven and shut the door)
- Poke test: press two fingers into the dough. If it springs back slowly and mostly holds shape, it's ready.
- Shape the dough according to your chosen recipe. Proof for another 60 minutes, or cover and refrigerate overnight for next-morning baking.
Robert says
Best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted!!! And I am a cinnamon roll fanatic!! I like lots of cinnamon so I halved the dough and used the whole filling recipe. Perfect!
Question-can you freeze the dough after first proof to use later?
Great website! I am becoming a SugarGeek aficionado! Thanks for all your work!!!
SHIRLEY C says
Thank you
SHIRLEY C says
When you say milk........is it whole milk or can you use 2% milk too? Thank you
The Sugar Geek Show says
Any kind of milk you have. I use whole milk because that is what we drink.
Eileen says
How would you make chocolate sweet bread? I would like to make chocolate doughnuts with this sweet bread recipe.
The Sugar Geek Show says
I haven't tried that yet but that sounds delicious
Joyce says
Can this be used to make a loaf (or more) of 'loaf' bread?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yep! Just shape it into a loaf or use a loaf pan. You can follow the loaf directions from my fast bread recipe
Cici says
After proofing the yeast. Can you combine eggs, butter (melted and cooled), mix and then add all dry ingredients together, mix & knead (in mixer)?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Sometimes butter gets in the way of the yeast attaching to the flour so ideally, you would add the yeast mixture to the flour first
Becky says
Made a batch this week. I had to add about 1-1 1/2 cups of extra flour to get it to come 2gthr but it was fabulous. Make cinnamon rolls with half the dough and the butter rolls with other. I topped them with honey butter. Amazing!! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Best cinnamon rolls ever.
Pat Salas says
Will regular yeast work? I dont have instant...
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can use regular yeast, just let it rise for longer, until it doubles in size 🙂
Beth says
I have a nut roll in the oven - the dough had a wonderful consistency- If this works well, my Polish in-laws will have something wonderful at Easter
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yummm!! I love nut rolls too
YemaYa Shipp says
Is this a good dough for donuts?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Absolutely!
Jayme says
I’m making this right now and we’re going to make cinnamon rolls with it. In a dough eater though, so I’ve tasted it raw and it’s amazing! lol I’m sure it’ll be just as amazing with the rolls! Thanks for the recipe.
Marco Vang says
Hi Liz,
What kind of mixer do you use? I am looking for something other than a KA that can actually handle hefty bread dough 🙂
The Sugar Geek Show says
Here is my affiliate link to the mixer I use. It's a bosch universal plus. This is the mixer plus all the baking attachments for free 😀 http://shrsl.com/1mrtn
Sue Moore says
Are you using the dough attachment or regular beater?
The Sugar Geek Show says
The dough attachment 🙂
Tam says
Hi i have instant yeast so can i just put it all together instead of making the beginning stage?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can, just let it rise and then bake!
Cherri Hubbard says
I am going to try this recipe. I will let you know if I am successful. 67and have never had yeast dough work for me.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Definitely let me know what you think 🙂 Warm environments are key!