Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Refrigerator Dough Part One: Making The Dough

As of late, I have been particularly engrossed in reading a book I picked out at the library called, "The Complete Tightwad Gazette", by Amy Dacyczyn. The book brings together thrifty ideas from the monthly newsletter, The Tightwad Gazette", that Amy wrote from 1990-1996. The book is full of all kinds of thrifty, frugal ideas! If you are looking for ways to save money, pay off debt, and live within your means, you must check out this book.

After reading the article about how versatile "refrigerator dough" is and how easy it is to make, I've decided to give it a go! I have to say, it was fairly easy to mix up. I also love that you simply put it in the fridge after mixing, where it rises on it's own. Another plus is that the dough will last up to 5 days. I would assume that this would work great for someone who likes to bake fresh bread or have fresh rolls with their meals. It's easy to pull some dough from the fridge, let it rise a bit, and then pop it in the oven! I'm sure you can start experimenting and coming up with all kinds of uses for this dough....cinnamon rolls, pizza crust, donuts....etc!

Refrigerator Dough Recipe
from Betty Crocker

Ingredients:
* 1 package regular active dry yeast (2 1/4 t)
* 1 1/2 cups warm water
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 t salt
* 2/3 cup butter, softened
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup lukewarm mashed potatoes
* 7 – 7 1/2 cups flour

 Directions:
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, butter, eggs, potatoes, and 4 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make the dough easy to handle.

2. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place dough in greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 5 days.

3. When you are ready to get baking, remove dough from refrigerator and gently push fist into dough to deflate.  Divide dough into 4 equal parts.  Let rise 1 1/2 hours before baking.



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So, this was part one of my refrigerator dough experiment. Hopefully if all goes well, I will be able to provide you all with a part two that details what exactly I made with the dough! Perhaps some of you would like to experiment along with me? If anyone else would like to blog about what they've made from refrigerator dough, I would love to read about it!

Happy Baking!

~MaryDeluxe

11 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness this book sounds amazing...golly right up my alley...thx for this post I hope I can find it! Can't wait to try this...huggs

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  2. This sounds like such fun. I've been wanting to make bread lately. Are there any changes for higher altitude? I went from living at 1490 ft to 4500 ft. It's been quite a change.

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    1. I have no idea about that question? I never thought about the difference in cooking due to the altitude it is being done at. That must be quite the challenge!

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    2. Actually it's not too bad. I just need to add some extra flour or change the oven temp. Thanks either way.

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  3. what ARE you supposed to make with it?? I have never even heard of it.

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    1. I did a post with a link to an excellent blog post about refrigerator dough and what can be made with it. It's so easy and convenient to make fresh bread or dinner rolls with this dough because it keeps so well in the fridge.

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  4. I have a similar recipe (my sister gifted me with the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for Christmas) that lasts for 2 weeks in the fridge. I keep planning on trying one of the other recipes from the book, but the plain bread is SO darn good I just keep baking loaves of it!

    I did make what I called "backwards bruschetta" -- most recipes say to use baguettes and add fresh tomatoes, etc. I found a jarred bruschetta topping that was actually pretty good (love Trader Joe's!) and put that on my homemade bread:)

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  5. Amy Dacyczyn's book has been my "bible" for many years! I think it's one of the best money saving guides out there.

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  6. I used to subscribe to that newsletter back in the day and read each one word for word. Do you have one of those old-time dough buckets she talked about? I always wondered about those because I had never seen one. Anyway, good lookin' dough (and rolls that came from them), and the pink Pyrex bowl is beautiful too!

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  7. You should look up the "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" and "Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" books. Someone else mentioned them in the comments. They are amazing and will change your life! The dough is 4 or 5 ingredients, you just mix it and leave it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. When you want to bake bread you pull off a piece of dough, shape it and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour, then bake. Super easy and delicious. Hope all is well with you otherwise - your rolls look delicious, and who doesn't love potato bread?

    Pam

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