Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Flour | 426g |
| Salt | 6g |
| Instant Yeast | 7g |
| Milk | 127g (Cold) |
| Shortening | 30g (Softened) |
| Buter | 30g (Softened) |
| Sugar | 50g |
| Eggs | 100g (About 2 Large Eggs) |
| Milk | 113g |
| Flour | 24g |
Instructions
- 426g Flour
- 6g Salt
- 7g Instant Yeast
Mix Dry Ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, combine 426g flour, salt, and yeast. Whisk together.
Set bowl aside.
- 127g Milk
- 30g Shortening
- 30g Buter
- 50g Sugar
- 100g Eggs
Mix Wet Ingredients
Add 127g cold milk, eggs, sugar, softened butter, and softened shortening to the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk together until combined and lumpy.
- 113g Milk
- 24g Flour
Make Tangzhong
Combine 113g of milk with 24g of flour in a small saucepan. Whisk until smooth. Place the pan over medium heat and cook. Stir regularly with a silicon spatula until it thickens into a paste-like consistency and the spatula leaves lines on the bottom of the pan. This should take 1-3 minutes once the pan has heated.
Combine Ingredients
Transfer the tangzhong to the bowl of stand mixer. Whisk together with wet ingredients.
Add dry ingredients and mix using a spoon or spatula until a shaggy dough forms.
Kneed
Kneed dough in a stand mixer using the dough hook until smooth and elastic (about 5-7 minutes).
Bulk Rise
Form dough into a ball and transfer seam side down to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 90 minutes). Dough should not spring back when indented with a finger.
Shape
Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Punch down dough and roll into a 15x9 inch rectangle.
Position the rectangle so that the long edge is facing you. Spread with Tea Ring Filling covering all of the dough except for about 1/2 inch at the far edge. You will probably have some filling left over.
Tightly roll the dough into a log sealing with 1/2 inch of exposed dough at the end.
Carefully transfer the dough to a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a ring placing the seam side down and pinching the ends together.
Using kitchen scissors, make a cut about 2/3 of the way through to the center of the ring every one inch.
Slightly spread and gently twist each section.
Proof
Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. (About 40 minutes).
Bake
Transfer to the middle rack of a 375° oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. A probe thermometer should register 190° when inserted into the center of the dough.
If the dough is browning too quickly, lightly cover the top with aluminum foil for the last few minutes of the bake.
This is my best replication of my grandmother's Christmas Tea Ring. It is a combination of several recipes from different editions of the Betty Crocker Cook Book, handwritten notes, and my own modifications.