Basic Yeasted Coffeecake Dough

You can use this dough for a number of coffeecakes and breakfast treats, including cinnamon rolls and donuts.

Ingredients

2 packages active dry yeast

¼ cup warm (110° F) water

1 cup milk (skim, 2%, or whole milk all OK)

¼ cup of butter

¼ cup sugar

1½ teaspoons salt

1 cup mashed potatoes (yes, actual mashed potatoes, not dry flakes)

1 large egg, beaten

4½ to 4¾ cups all-purpose flour

Directions 

Proof the yeast by mixing it in a small bowl with the warm water and allowing it to develop for five minutes.  Heat milk and butter in a saucepan, but do not boil.  Add sugar and salt, mix well and cool to lukewarm.  Pour into a five-quart mixing bowl and stir in the mash potatoes, proofed yeast and eggs until smooth.  One cup at a time, add four cups of flour, mixing thoroughly each time until the flour is incorporated. Add another half cup of flour and mix with your hands; the dough will pull away from the side of the bowl and forms a single mass.  Remove from bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for six to eight minutes, adding small amounts of flour as needed to form a smooth, elastic dough. You may also use a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment for five or six minutes. Remember that dough for coffee cake should be slightly softer than most bread dough.  Place in a greased bowl and let rise, covered, in a warm place free of drafts until doubled, about one hour. Punch down dough and knead briefly to expel the larger air bubbles. Allow dough to rest for five minutes before shaping.

Breadhead Back Story

---You might wonder why I give a recipe for coffee cake dough that has to be divided in half for most of my recipes. First, I find it difficult to knead small amounts of dough--in this case it would be only 2¼ cups of flour---and the likelihood of adding too much flour becomes greater, resulting in a stiff dough which is difficult to shape and yields a dry, dense loaf. Secondly, if you’re going to the trouble to make the dough, you might as well make a second coffee cake to share with a neighbor, take to work, or pop in the freezer for next week’s book club meeting or church potluck. In addition, you can easily bake two in the same oven, which is more energy efficient. Trust me, this is better.

--Alert Breadheads might be surprised to see two packages of yeast for just over four cups of flour, the usual ratio being one package of active dry yeast for every four cups of flour in a recipe. But this dough uses a larger proportion of sugar, eggs and butter, so it requires the extra lifting power.