Yeast Dough for Motif Pastries, Plaits or Rolls

• Preheat the oven to 35 - 50 °. Sift the flour into a larger bowl. To press a hollow in the middle. Crumble the yeast into it. Remove 1 teaspoon of the sugar and sprinkle over the yeast. Warm milk lukewarm. Remove about 5 tbsp, add to the yeast and stir until it has dissolved. You can also stir in a little flour from the edge. Close the bowl with aluminum foil and place in the warm oven for about 15-20 minutes. The yeast mixture should have bubbles and doubled in volume.
• Put the butter in a small saucepan and also put it in the warm oven. So it slowly dissolves and later has the right temperature.
• When the yeast has risen, add the sugar, egg, salt, the remaining milk and melted butter and knead everything with the dough hook of the hand mixer to a smooth dough. It should turn smoothly away from the bowl wall. Close the bowl again with foil and place in the oven for at least 30 - 40 minutes. The dough volume should have doubled at least.
• Preheat the oven to 180 °. Then knead the dough vigorously on a well-floured work surface and with well-floured hands (it is a bit sticky after it has risen). Knead in just enough flour until it no longer sticks.
• Then can be "formed". I made letters, little lucky beetles and 4 breakfast rolls out of them. The dough is also very suitable for a yeast plait or other "yeast dough handicrafts". Then brush the blanks with milk and - if desired - sprinkle with granulated sugar.
• Slide the tray into the oven on the middle rail. Baking time about 20 - 25 minutes The pastry should be golden brown.

Annotation:

• For yeast dough beginners ..... you can use this dough, which actually makes itself all by itself, as a base for fruit cakes (cherries, plums, apples). Then it should be kneaded briefly in the bowl after it has risen, and then - without additional flour - spread out on the baking sheet. To do this, dip your palms lightly in the flour and press it flat. The respective fruit can be placed on top. But this should be added a little more sugar, as the dough is not very sweet. The amount of dough should be enough for a normal baking tray. If it has been topped with the fruit, it is advisable to let it rest for about 15 minutes before baking. The baking time here is between 20 - 30 minutes. The yeast dough with fruit topping is checked to see whether it is completely baked by running a blunt knife under the edge, lifting it and checking how brown the base is. Golden brown is then perfect.