Basic Yeasted Dough
This recipe is kind of a universal yeasted dough recipe that you can use to make many Czech pastries. Yeasted dough can be intimidating but if you follow a few rules, it will come out right. *I hardly ever use dried (instant) yeast because I grew up on fresh one (except when I first moved to the U.S. and realized that fresh yeast is not sold in every store). If you can’t find fresh yeast, you can definitely use dried but you will need about half as much. *Make sure the milk is neither cold nor hot. Cold milk would prevent the yeast from rising and hot milk would kill the yeast. *Don’t put salt in the starter as it inhibits growing. *If it ever happens that your starter doesn’t rise, make a new one and incorporate it into the old one. *Mix the dough in a bowl or wooden board, never on a granite countertop. It’s too cold which wouldn’t benefit the yeast. *Use yeasted dough right away or it will dry out. *Make sure you preheat the oven to the right temperature. If it’s not hot enough, the pastry will keep proofing and losing its shape. If it’s too hot, the dough will be burned on the edges and raw in the middle (it’s happened to me before)!
Ingredients
- 250 ml milk lukewarm
- 30 g fresh yeast (preferably) or 45 g dried yeast
- 80 g sugar
- 500 g flour
- 1 egg or egg yolk (save the egg white for egg wash)
- 80 g butter melted
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Sift the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle, crumble the yeast in, add one tablespoon of sugar and about half of the lukewarm milk. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for about 15 minutes.
- Add the rest of the sugar, egg whisked with the remaining milk, butter and salt. Knead the dough with a large wooden spoon until it no longer sticks to the bowl. Leave the wooden spoon in, sprinkle a bit of flour on the dough, cover with the kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. Knead the dough again to incorporate air and let rise for another 30 minutes (or 60 minutes when making heavier dough like Easter bread). The dough will double in size. When you touch it, it should spring back.
- Shape desired pastries and let them rise on a greased baking sheet (or a parchment paper or silicone mat) while preheating the oven. Brush them with an egg wash right before baking.
- The oven should be preheated to 350°F for breads and 400°F for smaller pastries. After about 5-15 minutes (depending on the size of the product), lower the temperature to ensure even baking.
- The pastry is done when golden brown. When making breads, insert a wooden skewer to make sure it’s baked through. Let it cool on a wire rack.