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.
Finally The Perfect Dough! says
Wow I finally made good dough. Actually it is wonderfully delicious and I just ate all but one egg creme bun and cinnamon roll just so someone else can witness the glorious food I have made thanks to this recipe and the Preppy Kitchen dude for his pastry creme recipe. My friend better hurry up and get here before I eat those too..The only thing I did differently was I added the butter slowly later after letting the dough rest about 20 minutes in two intervals after the dough had built up some gluten. I got that tip from Grant Bakes on Youtube. Oh, and I did add the sugar after I kneaded the butter in which made it gritty but it melted into the dough after more kneading. I hope I never lose this recipe and thank you for sharing it.
Kay says
Can this be used for doughnuts?
Elizabeth Marek says
yes it can! so yum!
Quynh Buenzel says
Hi, tried this recipe today to do black sesame roll. Turned out perfectly. May I ask if I can use this recipe also for brioche bun?
Elizabeth Marek says
I have a brioche recipe you can use to make a brioche bun
Lucille says
Can you freeze this recipe?
Sugar Geek Show says
yes! I would recommend making your goodies first, then freezing. So if you're making cinnamon rolls, assemble them and then freeze. They'll just need extra proving time when they come out.
Katia says
This is a beautiful, rich dough. The only glitch I had was trying to figure out what 10 grams of instant yeast converts into teaspoons as my kitchen scale is not sensitive enough. Would you please do the conversion? I weighed all other ingredients.
Elizabeth Marek says
It's three teaspoons, I updated the recipe for you as well.
Shannon enders says
So, if I’m making cinnamon buns for Saturday and I’m making it all in Friday, do I roll it out, add the cinnamon concoction I premade, and roll it and wrap it? Or do I do the previously mentioned and cut it into rolls?
Or leave everything separate until I’m ready to bake it?
Thank you.
Elizabeth Marek says
You make all the rolls, put them in the pan and then cover them in plastic wrap. Take them out and bake when you are ready the next day.
nancy says
To make chocolate dough, substitute 1/4 cup of the flour for 1/4 cup of cocoa powder in the recipe.
Kraig Elliott says
Just used this to make a batch of cranberry cinnamon rolls. They turned out fantastic, making 12 rolls on an 11x17 baking sheet. I think I have found my new "go-to" sweet bread recipe. Thanks much!
Ruth says
Hi! This is the most beautiful sweet dough I've worked with 🙂 Usually sweet doughs are notoriously sticky but this dough took very little additional flour while kneading and the total flour used was under 5 cups. The dough tasted so good! We made cinnamon rolls with caramel sauce!!
Thanks so much!
Lynda Dexter says
I am in the middle of making this but what I do not see is the cooking tmp or the time of the bake???
Sugar Geek Show says
Hi! It depends on what you're making, sweet dough is used for different recipes. Check out my specific blog posts for recipes and baking times: https://sugargeekshow.com/homemade-cinnamon-rolls-recipe/
Dee says
Can I try the dough instead of baking?
Elizabeth Marek says
I assume you mean fry and yes you can
William Gill says
It's confusing when a recipe reads 8 ounces (227 grams) of milk because people assume you mean 8 liquid ounces of milk (1 cup), but then you have grams which is weight, not liquid measure. An 8 ounce cup of milk weighs 8.6 ounces (244 grams). So if 227 grams is correct then you're talking about 8 weighed ounces of milk or a half pound of milk and 8 weighed ounces of milk is only 7.4 liquid ounces. Do you get it? If I use a cup of milk that is 244 grams but if I use 227 grams of milk, that's less than a cup.
Elizabeth Marek says
I think you might be over-thinking some things. All my measurements are by weight. No volume measurements. I use grams for yeast because its such a small amount. Use a scale and all will be well 🙂
SUSAN SHIFMAN says
I tried this recipe and it is the best dough recipe.
Susan Lynn Shifman says
Can you I use a food processor, instead of a mixer? My mixer bounces when I make yeast dough. I need to adjust it properly.
Elizabeth Marek says
You can't use a food processor but you can mix by hand 🙂
chrissy askew says
Use this all the time! Excellent recipe soft delicious bread base for so many things!