Refrigerator Bread Dough - water

Method

• Boil together the 2 c water, 3/4 c sugar, the tablespoon of salt, 2T butter, and 1T shortening over medium high heat.
• Cool to lukewarm
• proof the 2 pkgs yeast in the 1/2 c warm water (dissolve yeast in water, let rise 5 to 10 minutes)
• lightly beat the 3 eggs, and stir into sugar/water mixture
• Stir in the yeast mixture
• Add flour in 1/2 to 2/3 cup intervals.
• Stir well between each addition to an even consistency.
• After about 5 cups, you can pour the mixture out onto the remaining flour and knead it in.
• You may need more or less flour, depending on humidity, flour used, etc.
• Knead dough for about 7 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
• It's important to do this quickly and lightly.
• Too hard and you get a tough dough.
• The original recipe didn't call for kneading at all.
• But in my opinion, it improves the texture enough to make it worth while!
• Put dough into a greased bowl, turning to cover all sides
• At this point you can leave dough to rise on the counter, or you can let it rise in the fridge, to be shaped and baked as needed.
• Let rise until doubled in bulk.
• (This doesn't need the 2 risings that many bread recipes call for.)
• Shape dough as desired (this is great for rolls, pigs in a blanket, pizza crust, cinnamon rolls, butter horns...not so great for loaves.)
• Place on buttered pan.
• Let rise until doubled in bulk (unless making pizza or pigs in a blanket), bake at 450 until done, 10-15minutes for most of the items I listed.
• The appearance and flavor is largely improved by a quick brush with butter once removed from oven.
• Good to know: dough will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.
• But the longer it's in there, the less it will rise.
• I usually make dinner rolls or cinnamon rolls first, using the stored dough for pizza, pigs in a blanket, pizza pockets, etc.
• The dough becomes much easier to work with if you let it come to room temperature before working with it.
• From start to first rising is about an hour.
• This makes enough to have some every night for 4 days, plus a breakfast of cinnamon rolls for 3 hungry people!