Wednesday, 26 August
The Do-Everything Dough
The one freshly milled dough on repeat in my kitchen. Whether you're after soft sandwich loaves, pillowy dinner rolls, burger buns, cinnamon rolls, or cardamom twists — this dough has you covered.
Every kitchen has one recipe it leans on more than any other. In mine, it is this: a soft, freshly milled dough I have made so many times my hands know it by heart. I call it the Do-Everything Dough, because that is precisely what it does — it is the one recipe I reach for whether the children need sandwich bread for their lunches or I want something sweet for a slow Sunday morning.
It begins with freshly milled whole grain — flour ground that very morning, still holding every bit of the bran and germ, the way bread was always meant to be made. And yet it is not the heavy, dense loaf people fear when they hear "whole wheat." It rises soft and high and pillowy, with a tender crumb and a gentle, nutty sweetness that store-bought bread simply cannot touch.
One dough, so many shapes
What earns it the name is this: it becomes almost anything I ask of it.
- Sandwich loaves — soft enough for the pickiest little eaters, sturdy enough to hold a good smear of butter and jam.
- Dinner rolls — the softest, most pillowy rolls, the kind that disappear before the meal is halfway through.
- Burger buns — golden and sturdy, made for summer suppers on the porch.
- Cinnamon rolls — swirled, glazed, and worth waking early for.
- Cardamom twists — fragrant and just a little fancy, the very thing I would prescribe for a weary afternoon and a strong cup of tea.
One bowl, one method, and a whole week of baking comes out of it. Once it is in your hands, you will wonder how you ever kept five different recipes for five different things.
The Do-Everything Dough
Makes 3 loaves — or 2 loaves and a dozen buns
You will need
- 450g (3½ cups) hard red wheat flour
- 600g (5 cups) hard white wheat flourfreshly milled together on the bread setting
- 600g (2½ cups) warm water, 130°F
- 100g (7 tbsp) olive or avocado oil
- 40g vital wheat gluten
- 2 eggs
- 100g (½ cup) evaporated cane juice or sugarany granulated sugar works — not honey (it turns the crumb gummy)
- 21g (2 tbsp + 1 tsp) instant or active dry yeast
- 18g (1 tbsp) salt
The method
- Mill the hard red and hard white wheat berries together on the bread setting.
- In a stand mixer with the dough hook, combine the flour, warm water, oil, vital wheat gluten, eggs, and sugar — no yeast or salt yet. Knead on low until it comes together into a shaggy ball.
- Rest 20–30 minutes. This lets the bran fully hydrate for a tender dough — don't skip it.
- Add the salt and yeast. Knead on low 8–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic (it should pass the windowpane test).
- Cover and let it rise about 1 hour, until doubled.
- Deflate gently and divide into 3 portions (about 650g each). Shape and place in greased pans.
- Cover and rise 30–45 minutes, until doubled.
- Bake at 350°F — loaves 30 minutes, buns and rolls 20–25. Cool before slicing.
One tip from many a soupy batch: right after the first mix, the dough should pull together into a cohesive ball. If it is still soupy, add flour a tablespoon at a time until it holds — that one step saves a lot of frustration.
A word before you begin
This is the very dough at the heart of my little guide to freshly milled bread — the backbone of our table, and I hope it becomes the backbone of yours. Make it once, freshly milled and still warm from the oven, slathered in butter, and I do not think you will go back.