Is there a reason you couldn't make the dough Saturday night and let it rise overnight in the fridge to shape Sunday morning?

Claire.....I am hosting a large family dinner Saturday. Not only will I be busy all day with prep but by the time dinner is over and visiting is done it will be quite late...and I will have had enough wine that baking isn't an option!

Oh. Well I envisioned dumping all the dry ingredients into a bread machine or mixer, so all it would need was the wet ingredients with the push of a button. You could even butter the proofing vessel ahead of time, about an hour before you give it up for the evening. Once the dough is made, it won't need babysitting overnight. Do you have a bread machine? Or do you usually make dough by hand?

I have kept yeast dough in the fridge for two days, and it was fine. I would skip step 4 and 5 and go ahead with step 6 without a first rise. Then store the dough in the fridge (in the coldest spot) on Friday and take it out Sunday morning. Punch the dough down when you take it out and proceed with step 7, but you will probably need to let the rolls rise a bit longer than usual before baking.

That's what I would do, based on my experience in the past, but others may have better suggestions.

Lars

I agree with Lars, I'd make the dough and refrigerate it. It will rise in the refrigerator, albeit very slowly. Take it out Sunday morning, punch it down, shape it, let it rise, bake it.

Happy Easter!

Annie

Sharon....I regularly make my sweet roll dough a couple of days ahead and refrigerate....
I'll post my recipe so you can see how very similar they are....if it works for me it'll work for you. The main difference is yours has more sugar and proportuionately more eggs.....which should allow it to better stand a few days in the refrig.
The only caveat is to allow enough time for the cold dough to rise before baking.
Go for it!!

2C Scalded Milk, cooled to warm temperature
3T Shortening or Butter, Melted
1/2 C Sugar
1 t salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 pkgs yeast (or 1T bulk yeast)
1/3 warm water
4-5 cups flour

Thanks everyone.

Claire, I do have a bread machine but I'd still have the problem of holding the dough overnight. However the idea of letting the dough do it's first rise while I'm busy with company is appealing.

If I make the dough ahead can I form the buns and then refrigerate so in the morning I would just have to bring the formed rolls to room temp and not wait for the second rise, recognizing they will rise as they come to room temp?

I'm just worried getting the dough to room temp and then forming for the second rise may take too long.

They will rise in the refrigerator. Not entirely sure they might not over rise and fall. Maybe....but for a special occasion I'm not sure I would take that time to try out that technique.
The safest way would be to take the dough out of the refrig when you get up, form the buns ( they will warm up and rise faster than the whole mass of the dough) let them rise and bake.
Linda C

I also can't guarantee that they won't rise and fall, but I make cinnamon rolls that are shaped the night before, refrigerated overnight and then left on the counter to come to room temperature, finish rising if they need more time and then baked.

HOWEVER, and note that this is a big however, mine sit overnight, 12 hours, not a couple of days, so I can't tell you how they might react over that longer period of time.

Annie

Ugh...maybe I should just bake them tomorrow! Actually I'll give it a go what can happen?

I'll make the dough and then form and let rise Easter Sunday. Knowing the "kids" the buns will likely rise before they do anyhow!

Thanks again

Sharon, I spent a lot of energy trying to figure out how to make fresh bread...Fresh...on the day I wanted it whenever I had a day in the kitchen like you're describing. After much experimenting, I realized there are two ways to accomplish this.

1. From dough that has risen once, formed into rolls and frozen. To make this happen, I put the frozen, formed rolls in a buttered pan, cover with plastic wrap and freeze; let the pan of rolls rise overnight on the counter. (I've found the dough shouldn't rise for more than 8-12 hours, otherwise they can over-proof.) Bake in the morning.

OR

2. From dough that has risen overnight in the fridge, having gone through the bread machine the night before. When I do it this way, I start my dough an hour before bedtime, so I can put the dough in the bread machine into a greased pan for the overnight rise in the fridge. The next morning you still have to form your rolls and allow time for another rise, but it works well if time permits.

Either way, you'll have fresh bread and won't wear yourself out getting there. If time is really tight (OR I plan on drinking!), I actually prefer the frozen-overnight-on-the- counter-to-proof method. It doesn't seem to work if you leave your bread in the freezer too long, as I suspect it kills the yeast after a while. For just a few days of make-ahead prep time, however, it works really well. I hope you find it works for you, and you've discovered a new way to get fresh-baked to the table.