Enriched Doughs
Cooking Skills: Bread 2
Chapter 4 · Enriched Doughs
Skill goal
Make dough richer with milk, butter, eggs and sugar, and handle it so it stays light.
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The basics
An enriched dough has extra ingredients beyond flour, water, salt and yeast: milk, butter, oil, eggs, sugar. These make the bread softer, richer and golden, and keep it fresh longer. They also slow the yeast, so enriched doughs need longer to rise and more kneading.
What each ingredient does
| Ingredient | Effect |
|---|---|
| Milk | Softer crumb, golden crust, a little sweetness |
| Butter or oil | Tenderness and softer keeping; coats the gluten so the crumb is less chewy |
| Eggs | Richness, colour, a tender cake-like crumb |
| Sugar | Feeds the yeast a little (a lot slows it), browns the crust, keeps the crumb moist |
| Honey | As sugar, with flavour, and keeps the loaf moist |
Working with enriched dough
- Knead for longer: fat gets in the way of the gluten, so 10 to 15 minutes by hand, or use a mixer.
- Add a lot of butter late: build the gluten first, then work the butter in gradually.
- Resist adding flour: the dough is soft and sticky; it firms up as it kneads and chills.
- Be patient with the rise: expect about 1 hour 30 minutes for the first rise.
- Chill rich doughs before shaping, because cold butter makes them easier to handle.
- Bake cooler: sugar and egg brown fast, so use about 180 to 190°C (160 to 170°C fan) and cover with foil if needed.
Eggs, icing and allergens
Eggs and glazes: use eggs with the British Lion mark, wash your hands after handling raw egg, and make sure the buns are baked through. Don't taste raw dough or batter.Cream cheese icing: use pasteurised cream cheese, keep iced buns covered in the fridge, eat within 2 days and don't leave them out for more than a couple of hours in a warm room.
Allergens: wheat (gluten), milk, butter and egg. Label them if you share the bread. Nuts, seeds and dried fruit may be added in some variations.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Soft milk bread
The gentlest enriched dough: milk instead of water, a little butter and a little sugar. It stays soft for longer and is lovely toasted.
Ingredients (12 portions)
- 500 g strong white bread flour
- 1 sachet (7 g) sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 8 g fine salt
- 50 g caster sugar
- 40 g butter, softened
- 300 ml lukewarm whole milk
- 1 tbsp milk for brushing
- Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Rub in the butter, then add the milk and mix to a soft dough. Knead for 10 to 12 minutes until smooth and elastic. It will be slightly sticky: don't add much flour.
- Prove in an oiled bowl for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until doubled (enriched dough is slower than lean dough).
- Shape into a loaf in an oiled 900 g tin and prove for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it has risen above the rim. Brush with milk.
- Bake at 190°C (170°C fan) for 30 to 35 minutes, covering with foil if it browns too fast. Cool on a rack.
Allergens and flour
Allergens: wheat (gluten), milk, butter and egg. Label them if you share the bread. Nuts, seeds and dried fruit may be added in some variations.Raw flour: flour is a raw ingredient and can carry bacteria such as E. coli, which are killed only by baking or cooking. Don't taste raw dough, don't let children eat or play with it, and wash your hands, bowls and surfaces after handling flour and dough.
Level 2 · Rich
Brioche buns
Brioche has about 30% butter. The trick is to build the gluten first, then add the butter slowly. The dough is soft and sticky: chill it before shaping so it is easy to handle.
Ingredients (10 portions)
- 500 g strong white bread flour
- 1 sachet (7 g) sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 10 g fine salt
- 60 g caster sugar
- 3 Lion-marked eggs
- 60 ml lukewarm milk
- 150 g butter, softened and cut into cubes
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for glazing
- Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add the eggs and milk and mix to a sticky dough. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes until it begins to pull away from the bowl and stretch.
- Add the butter a few cubes at a time, kneading until each addition is absorbed. Knead for another 5 to 10 minutes until the dough is glossy and stretches thin (it will be soft and a little sticky).
- Prove in an oiled bowl for about 1 hour 30 minutes. Then chill, covered, for 1 hour or overnight.
- Divide into 10 pieces (about 90 g each), shape into tight balls and place on lined trays, 4 cm apart. Prove for 1 hour 15 minutes until puffy. Brush with the egg glaze.
- Bake at 190°C (170°C fan) for 18 to 20 minutes, until deep golden. Cool on a rack.
Eggs and raw dough
Eggs and glazes: use eggs with the British Lion mark, wash your hands after handling raw egg, and make sure the buns are baked through. Don't taste raw dough or batter.Allergens: wheat (gluten), milk, butter and egg. Label them if you share the bread. Nuts, seeds and dried fruit may be added in some variations.
Level 2 · Plait
A plaited challah-style loaf
A challah-style loaf has eggs and oil but no milk or butter, which gives a golden, tender crumb and a shiny crust. Make a three-strand plait as in Cooking Skills: Bread 1, chapter 3.
Ingredients (12 portions)
- 500 g strong white bread flour
- 1 sachet (7 g) sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 10 g fine salt
- 50 g honey or caster sugar
- 2 eggs + 1 yolk Lion-marked eggs, plus 1 yolk
- 60 ml vegetable oil
- 150 ml lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp poppy or sesame seeds (optional)
- Mix the flour, yeast and salt. Add the honey, eggs, extra yolk, oil and water and mix to a dough. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth.
- Prove for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until doubled. Divide into 3 equal pieces and roll into ropes about 40 cm long.
- Plait loosely, tuck the ends under and place on a lined tray. Prove for 45 minutes. Brush with the leftover egg white beaten with a little milk and scatter with seeds.
- Bake at 180°C (160°C fan) for 30 to 35 minutes, until deep golden. If it browns too fast, cover with foil. Cool on a rack.
Eggs and allergens
Eggs and glazes: use eggs with the British Lion mark, wash your hands after handling raw egg, and make sure the buns are baked through. Don't taste raw dough or batter.Allergens: bread contains wheat (gluten). Check the recipe for milk, butter, egg, sesame and other seeds, and nuts, and label them if you share the bread. Gluten-free bread uses different flours and methods and isn't covered in this course. Contains egg and (if used) sesame.
Level 3 · Swirl
Cinnamon rolls
Soft, buttery spirals with a cinnamon filling and a tangy cream cheese icing. Roll the dough into a tight spiral and use a thread or a very sharp knife to cut clean slices.
Ingredients (12 portions)
- 500 g strong white bread flour
- 1 sachet (7 g) sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 8 g fine salt
- 80 g caster sugar
- 50 g butter, softened
- 1 Lion-marked egg
- 250 ml lukewarm milk
- 75 g soft butter, for the filling
- 100 g soft light brown sugar, for the filling
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon, for the filling
- 100 g pasteurised full-fat cream cheese, for the icing
- 40 g butter, softened, for the icing
- 100 g icing sugar, for the icing
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, for the icing
- Make the dough: mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Rub in the 50 g butter, then add the egg and milk and mix. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth. Prove for about 1 hour 15 minutes until doubled.
- Roll the dough out to a rectangle about 30 x 40 cm. Spread with the soft butter, then scatter with the brown sugar and cinnamon, leaving 2 cm clear along one long edge.
- Roll up tightly from the long edge opposite the clear strip, finishing seam side down. Cut into 12 slices with a sharp knife or unflavoured dental floss.
- Place cut side up in a lined or greased 30 x 20 cm tin or tray, 1 cm apart. Cover and prove for 45 minutes, until puffy.
- Bake at 190°C (170°C fan) for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and the middle roll is cooked through. Cool for 15 minutes.
- Beat the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and vanilla until smooth, and spread over the warm (not hot) rolls.
Egg, icing and hot sugar
Eggs and glazes: use eggs with the British Lion mark, wash your hands after handling raw egg, and make sure the buns are baked through. Don't taste raw dough or batter.Cream cheese icing: use pasteurised cream cheese, keep iced buns covered in the fridge, eat within 2 days and don't leave them out for more than a couple of hours in a warm room.
Allergens: wheat (gluten), milk, butter and egg. Label them if you share the bread. Nuts, seeds and dried fruit may be added in some variations.
Hot filling: the melted sugar inside a cinnamon roll is very hot straight from the oven. Let them cool for 15 minutes before eating.
Experiments
Experiment
Lean or enriched
The butter effect.
- Make half the quantity of the Cooking Skills: Bread 1, chapter 1 white loaf dough. Split it in two and knead 20 g of soft butter into one half. Bake both.
Look for: The enriched half is softer, has a finer crumb and a golden crust. The lean half is chewier with a crisper crust.
Experiment
Butter early or late
When to add the fat.
- Make two small brioche doughs. In one, add all the butter at the start; in the other, knead first and add the butter gradually.
Look for: The late-butter dough develops more gluten and rises better; the early one is slack and slow, with a denser crumb.
Experiment
Sugar and yeast
How much sugar is too much.
- Make three small doughs with 0%, 10% and 30% sugar (of the flour weight), the same yeast. Compare how long each takes to double.
Look for: Moderate sugar helps; a lot slows the rise a lot. This is why very sweet doughs need more yeast and more time.
Experiment
Glaze
Egg, milk, or sugar syrup.
- Brush identical buns with egg wash, milk or a sugar syrup (1 tbsp sugar dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water) before baking.
Look for: Egg gives the deepest, glossiest finish. Milk gives soft gold. The sugar syrup gives a thin sweet shine and browns quickly.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft milk bread | ||||
| Brioche buns | ||||
| Challah-style plait | ||||
| Cinnamon rolls | ||||
| Lean or enriched | ||||
| Butter early or late | ||||
| Sugar and yeast | ||||
| Glaze |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dough very sticky | Normal for rich dough | Knead longer; chill it; use a scraper instead of more flour |
| Slow rise | Lots of sugar and fat | Allow more time; use a warm place; add a little extra yeast |
| Buns brown too fast | Sugar and egg burn | Lower the temperature; cover with foil |
| Buns greasy, not fluffy | Butter added too fast or melted | Add soft butter gradually; keep the dough cool |
| Cinnamon rolls unwind | Rolled loosely or not sealed | Roll tightly; finish seam side down |
| Dense, heavy loaf | Under-kneaded or under-proved | Knead until it stretches; prove until puffy |
Eggs, hot sugar and allergens
Eggs and glazes: use eggs with the British Lion mark, wash your hands after handling raw egg, and make sure the buns are baked through. Don't taste raw dough or batter.Cream cheese icing: use pasteurised cream cheese, keep iced buns covered in the fridge, eat within 2 days and don't leave them out for more than a couple of hours in a warm room.
Hot ovens, trays and steam: use dry oven gloves, pull the shelf out rather than reaching in, and put hot trays and tins on a heatproof surface. If you put a tray of boiling water in the oven for steam, pour it carefully with the oven door open a little and your face well back: the steam is far hotter than the water.
Allergens: wheat (gluten), milk, butter and egg. Label them if you share the bread. Nuts, seeds and dried fruit may be added in some variations.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I know what milk, butter, eggs and sugar do to a dough.
- I can knead a rich dough and add butter gradually.
- I can chill a rich dough to make it easier to shape.
- I can roll, fill and cut a spiral.
- I store iced buns safely.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Bread 2, chapter 5 is Pizza and Friends: stretching, topping and baking at the hottest oven heat.