10 Dough Recipes to Turn to When Pillsbury Disappears From Shelves

“Rough puff” is much easier to make than classic puff pastry. It works just as well as the traditional pain-in-the-ass variety and tastes just as good. Regardless of how much experience you have in the kitchen, we promise that you can make this. Read more about the recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cold
• 1/2-2/3 cup cold water

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt with a fork. Use a butter knife to cut the butter into thin pats—about 1/8". As you cut, toss them into the flour, making sure they’re fully coated and not sticking together.

Add 1/2 cup of water while stirring, turning the flour into dough. Don’t try to smoosh up the butter! Just make sure there is no dry flour, adding more water if necessary. It’s okay if it’s a little on the wet side, as you’ll be adding more flour as you roll it out.

Lay out a large sheet of parchment on your counter (at least 2 feet) and dust the parchment, your rolling pin, and your hands liberally with flour. Plop the dough onto the paper and begin smooshing it out with your hands, dusting with more flour when it sticks, then use your rolling pin to roll it out into a rectangle-ish shape about 1" thick.

Fold in the shorter edges of the dough rectangle so they meet in the center, lifting the parchment to help you out. Pat down, and then fold it again once more across the center, like a book. Lift up the dough, add some flour to the underside, then rotate it 90 degrees. Smack the dough with the rolling pin to flatten it out a bit, then repeat the rolling and folding process.

Give it a few more smacks with the rolling pin so all the folded layers are sticking together, then wrap the dough tightly in the parchment and put it in the fridge until it’s time to bake. For longer-term storage, wrap the parchment bundle in plastic wrap. This can be stored in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to six months.

What’s the best way to go about constructing a pizza crust? What’s the secret behind those successful pizzerias? Those of us who have suffered gummy or soggy doughs, not-quite-right sauce, and too much or too little toppings at home would like to know the secret behind perfect homemade pizza. If the least experienced pizzaiolo among us was able to succeed with this recipe, you should have no problem. Read more about the recipe here. 

Ingredients:

• one packet yeast
  
• 200 g warm water (about 3/4 cup)
  
• 300 g King Arthur all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)
  
• 1 tsp. salt
  
• olive oil and extra flour
  

Dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand for 5 minutes. Then mix into flour. Form the dough into a ball, and place in a bowl brushed with olive oil. Put dough in large plastic bag and let refrigerate overnight.

The next day, take dough out and put in bowl topped with tea towel for a few hours. Then roll out the dough with a rolling pin or your hands to desired thickness (put some olive oil on your hands, and extra flour on the rolling pin and table where you’re rolling out). Use your fingers to pinch a crust at the outside edge. Add sauce, then cheese and toppings, taking care not to overload. Bake at 500 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese melts and the crust is browned.

Crust makes up practically half the damn pie, so it matters just as much as everything you dump into it. While mass-produced dough works just fine, it’s simply a fact that no product in the supermarket comes close to the flaky, buttery ecstasy of a homemade pie crust. It’s an easier recipe than people think, and you’ll always taste the difference. Read more about the recipe here.

Makes enough for one double-crust pie, one large crostata, or two 9" pies

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour, plus an additional 1 cup for dusting
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2½ sticks cold butter
  
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ½-¾ cup ice cold water
  
• 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. of water (aka egg wash)

Note: Your kitchen needs to stay cool, so do not have the stove or oven on while you make pie dough.

Prepare your rolling area by laying out a few sheets of aluminum foil to cover your counter, then lay a 2-foot-long piece of parchment down on top of it. Put one cup of flour in a little mound somewhere on the foil to use for dusting; sprinkle a generous amount over the parchment and your rolling pin.

Put the remaining 3 cups of flour in a bowl with the sugar and salt and stir together with a fork. Cut both sticks of butter lengthwise into quarters, then cut the eight butter batons into small pats about 1/4" thick. Toss them into the flour mixture, using your fingers to separate any that get stuck together so every little piece gets coated. Add the salt to the water and stir well, then slowly pour into the flour mixture, gently stirring with a fork. Keep adding water until there are no dry spots, then dump the dough out onto the floured parchment.

Dust your hands with flour and pat the dough down until it’s rectangle-ish and about 1" thick. Roll out the dough until it’s 1/4" thick, dusting the sticky bits with flour as you find them. Your dough will not be a perfect rectangle. There might be crumbly bits around the edges. There will be thick, visible pieces of butter in the dough. This is all normal.

Next, fold the dough into thirds like brochure, lifting the parchment paper to assist you. The undersides of the dough will be sticky and may not come off the paper perfectly; again, that’s normal. Just slap it together the best you can and sprinkle the sticky parts with flour. Once you have your dough brochure, fold the top and bottom up so they slightly overlap in the center, flip the dough over so the seam is on the bottom, and voila! You’ve got a dough square. Now, repeat that same rolling, folding, and flipping process one more time, adding a sprinkle of flour as needed. Once you’re done, use your hands to pat the dough down into a 1" rectangle, wrap in the parchment, then wrap well in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Flatbread doesn’t need multiple risings. Often it doesn’t need any rising at all. It’s super simple and fast—a sustenance bread—and people have been making some version of it since they figured out cooking over a fire. Every culture has its own, from tortillas to chapati, pita to crepes. Plain or adorned, stuffed or topped, flatbread is endlessly versatile and super satisfying. Read more about the recipe here. 

Ingredients:

• plain Greek yogurt
• self-rising flour

Note: If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can make your own. Just add 1½ teaspoons baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt to every cup of all-purpose flour that you’re using. Making your own self-rising flour also means that you can make it with whole wheat flour or gluten-free all-purpose flours, although the texture will be different.

The method could not be easier: Mix the yogurt and the flour at a 1:1 ratio by volume. The easiest way to do this is to empty one small tub of yogurt into a bowl, then fill the tub with the flour. Boom. Done. Knead it till it comes together into a dough, then roll out on a floured surface to the size and thickness that you want.

To cook, you can put it on a lightly greased griddle or in a greased nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and cook until both sides have good browned mottling, have puffed slightly, and don’t feel squishy in the middle, about three minutes per side. You can also grill it on a lightly greased grill pan or a well-seasoned grill for some char and grill marks.

Does this old Thomas’ English Muffins commercial in which beloved 19th-century baker Mr. Thomas impresses everyone with his skill inspire you to give making English muffins a shot? Well now you can be just like Mr. Thomas. You’re welcome. Read more about the recipe here. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2½ cups bread flour
  
• 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
  
• 1 envelope (2¼ tsp.) active dry or instant yeast
  
• 2¼ cups milk
  
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ stick butter, melted
• Cornmeal

Stir the whole wheat flour, bread flour, and kosher salt together in a bowl and make a well in the center.

Melt the butter in the microwave in either a liquid measuring cup or small bowl. Add the honey and 1 cup of the milk, then microwave for 30 seconds, stir well, and pour into the well. Pour the remaining milk into the well, then stir the yeast into the liquid. (If using active dry yeast, let sit for 5 minutes; if using instant, you can proceed to the next instruction.)

Using a heavy wooden spoon, stir the batter until it comes together, then beat vigorously for about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and place it in a cold oven with the light on for 1 hour until puffy. Alternatively, you can refrigerate the dough for 8-12 hours.

Pour the cornmeal onto a wide plate and sprinkle a few tablespoons of cornmeal onto a sheet pan. Put a few tablespoons of cooking oil into a small bowl near your work station. Begin preheating a large dry cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat.

Rub a little oil on your hands, and lightly oil the inside of a large scoop, or a 1/3-cup-sized measuring cup. Scoop a portion of the very sticky dough onto the cornmeal plate, coat both sides, then gently shape with your hands and move to the sheet tray. (It’s fine if they start to lose their shape while resting; you can fluff them up before they go in the pan.)

Once you’ve made six English Muffins, arrange them evenly around the cast iron skillet. Let them cook undisturbed for 5 minutes, though you can shape up the sides with a thin offset spatula if they begin to spread into each other.

After 5 minutes, gently shake the skillet, then turn the heat up to just past medium and cook for another 3-5 minutes until the bottoms begin to brown. Use your offset spatula to flip the English muffins over; if the muffins won’t flip over easily, it means they’re not ready. Leave them alone for another minute, then try again.

Cook the second side of the English muffins for another 3-5 minutes until brown, then move them to a wire cooking rack and leave them alone for at least 5 minutes to set up. Wipe any excess cornmeal from the skillet, return to the stove, turn the heat back down to low, and repeat the cooking process with the remaining batter.

There are few things as satisfactory as home-baked bread: the comforting smell that wafts through your house, the delectable sensation of butter melting into a fresh-baked slice. Baking bread is a worthy enterprise, surely. But where to start? Begin with baby steps: dinner rolls. It’s a low-commitment, high-yield project for bread-making beginners. Read more about the recipe here.

Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:

• 485 g (3 1/2 cups) sifted heritage flour, such as Red Fife or Glenn. If you can’t source those varietals, King suggests Bob’s Red Mill or Whole Foods organic brand.
• 55 g (1/4 cup) sugar
  
• 6 g (1 tsp.) fine sea salt
  
• 7 g (1 1/2 tsp.) instant yeast
  
• 50 g (1 large) egg
  
• 120 g (1/2 cup) water
  
• 120 g (1/2 cup) milk
  
• 113 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cubed
  
• 2 g (1 tsp.) chopped fresh rosemary
  
• 2 g (1 tsp.) chopped fresh thyme

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast and mix on low speed to combine.

With the mixer running on low speed, add the egg, water, and milk. Slowly add the cubed butter, a few cubes at a time, and continue mixing for five minutes, or until all of the butter is incorporated. Fold in the chopped rosemary and thyme.

Remove the dough from the bowl and gently knead with your hands for about 1 minute. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 45 minutes.

Take the dough out of the bowl and divide into 12 equal balls (about 50 g each). Take each ball and place in the palm of your hand and round them on the counter to create skin tension.

Coat a 10-inch cake pan or a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with cooking spray. Place the balls in the pan or skillet, spacing them about 1/4 inches apart. They should fit snugly into the pan and will bake into each other; you can tear or slice them apart after baking.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit in a warmer part of your kitchen for one hour to proof. Don’t let the plastic wrap touch the dough or it will stick when you remove it.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 24 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until golden brown.

Let cool for 10 minutes and serve warm. Or cool completely, cover with plastic wrap, and serve the next day. The rolls can be frozen for up to three months in a resealable plastic bag or an airtight container.

Reprinted from Heritage Baking by Ellen King with permission by Chronicle Books, 2018.

Ever try pairing biscuits and ice cream? In theory, buttermilk biscuits should make for some fantastic ice cream sandwiches. In reality, they just don’t work, since tender biscuits crumble once they make contact with melting ice cream. Traditional buttermilk biscuits are just not strong enough. But angel biscuits work perfectly. They’re essentially buttermilk biscuits that require a little more time, a little more effort, and a little bit of yeast to give them some extra “oomph.” Read more about the recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 10 Tbsp. butter, plus an extra pat for brushing
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 3 2/3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp. buttermilk

Mix the yeast, water, and sugar together in a small cup; set aside.

Cut the butter into tiny cubes and add to the bowl of a stand mixer with the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and shortening. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Add the yeast and buttermilk and continue mixing for one more minute. Put in a large container or zip top bag and refrigerate overnight.

Place the dough on the counter for 30 minutes to come to room temperature. Roll out on top a large sheet of parchment into a rectangle-ish shape that’s about 1/2" thick. Using the parchment to assist you, fold the dough in thirds like a brochure. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, then fold the edges into the center. Flip over and roll out into a rectangle a bit bigger than 9" by 13". Use a pizza cutter to trim off the edges, then cut the dough into squares (size: up to you). Move the parchment to a baking sheet, spread the biscuits out a bit, cover loosely in plastic wrap, and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. When the biscuits have risen, bake for 12 minutes, then brush the tops with a bit of melted butter, sprinkle with salt, and bake for another 3-5 minutes until golden.

Not all vegan biscuits are created equal, and coconut oil isn’t always a perfect replacement for shortening, but lucky for you we’ve got a little trick to solve that. The only way you’re getting a coconut-oil-based biscuit that’s anywhere near the real thing is to make sure it stays solid in the oven for as long as possible, and the easiest way to do that is to freeze the oil until it’s rock solid. And how, you ask, are you supposed to cut coconut oil into tiny, biscuit-friendly pieces if it’s rock solid? You melt it first, pour it out into a thin sheet, pop it into the freezer, and then once it’s set up, it can be broken up into little flakes that are perfect for biscuit making. Read more about the recipe here.

Makes 8 biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut, plus additional for topping
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup guava paste, cut into small cubes
• 1-2 Tbsp. candied ginger, minced
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk

Line a large rimmed plate or pie tin with three layers of plastic wrap. Melt the coconut oil and pour onto the plate, swirling around to make a thin layer. Freeze for 30 minutes until solid.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Put the flour, coconut, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a mini food processor or blender and pulse until the coconut is finely ground. Dump into a large bowl. Add the guava paste and candied ginger and toss well to make sure nothing is stuck together.

Remove the coconut oil from the freezer, then roll up the plastic wrap to shatter the frozen oil into lots of tiny pieces, no bigger than 1/4". If there are any large pieces, stab them with a fork to make them smaller. Use the fork to stir the solid coconut oil into the rest of the ingredients.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the coconut milk. Gently stir together with a fork just until everything is fully combined.

Drop eight biscuits onto the baking sheet, leaving at least 3" of space between them. (They should each be about the size of a mandarin orange.) Sprinkle a bit of shredded coconut on top of each. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

The humble chocolate chip cookie seems so innocent. So straightforward. And yet the mischievous cookie magic too often slips through our fingers, leaving us reliant upon store-bought dough for a quick and satisfying dessert. In a ruthless quest for perfection, staff writer Lillian Stone baked 400 chocolate chip cookies so you don’t have to. More on this recipe (and the journey to perfect it) here.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt (I didn’t have Diamond Crystal on hand, so I used regular ol’ Morton Kosher Salt; if you use Diamond, add a bit more.)
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 226 grams) semi-melted or brown butter, cooled completely (see note below)
• ¾ cup (160 grams) light brown sugar, packed
• ⅔ cup (119 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup (170 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup (170 grams) roughly hand-chopped baking chocolate

Your butter should be the first thing you mess with, since it needs to cool completely before you incorporate it into the dough. There are two roads you can go down here:

• Brown the butter: This is a lot easier than it sounds. Just start melting your butter over medium heat, swirling the pan from time to time. You’ll see the butter start to foam; at that point, keep stirring until the color progresses from yellow to tan to toasty golden brown. Transfer it into a heatproof bowl to cool completely, which could take a half hour or more.
  
• Kinda, sorta melt the butter: I clocked this technique in the Dear Crissy food blog recipe, and it worked great for me. You want barely melted butter, which means you can pull the butter right out of the fridge, plop it in a microwave-safe bowl, and melt it until you have several butter solids swimming in a gorgeous lake of melted butter. Let that cool completely before advancing to the next step.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat together the (cooled!) butter, sugars, vanilla, and vinegar until smooth. Beat in the egg just until combined, then mix the flour mixture into the wet mixture just until combined. Fold in both types of chocolate.

Using a large cookie scoop (mine is only about 1.5 rounded tablespoons—I’d recommend going a little larger than that), drop cookies about two to three inches apart onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet or plate, whatever fits in your fridge for chillin’. Cover the dough tightly in plastic wrap, then chill for at least one hour up to about 24 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and (if you haven’t put your cookies on a baking sheet already) line a baking sheet with parchment paper and plop your chilled cookie dough balls onto the sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies should look golden brown around the edges and underdone and puffy in the center. Don’t freak out! This is good. You want this. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them sit on the sheet for about 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. They’ll finish cooking on the sheet, settling into a gorgeous series of crags and crinkles. For best results, I recommend topping your just-baked cookies with reserved bits of chocolate and a sprinkle of sea salt.

During the holiday season, we set out to make awesome gluten-free, dairy-free cut-out sugar cookies that taste as good as they look. Ali Graeme, the owner of Sweet Ali’s Gluten Free Bakery in Hinsdale, Illinois, who started her shop after her son was diagnosed with celiac, shared her recipe. Read more about it here. 

Ingredients:

• 3⅛ cups Sweet Ali’s Flour Mix (Note: Sweet Ali’s Flour Mix is a proprietary blend made from brown rice flour, potato starch, white rice flour, tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, and xanthan gum, but Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour can be used as a substitute.)
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, or a dairy-free substitute like Earth Balance Dairy And Soy Free Buttery Sticks
  
• ¾ cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 egg (extra large)
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (Lightly grease the sheet before placing the parchment to prevent sticking.)

Measure out your flour by spooning the gluten-free flour into a measuring cup. Unlike all-purpose flour, it’s important not to scoop the flour out of the bag with the measuring cup, because it will become compacted and make the recipe too heavy.

In a large bowl, combine the gluten-free flour and salt. (To get an exact measurement, scrape the top of the teaspoon with the back of a knife to flatten the top and remove any excess salt and “level it out.” It should be flat like a board, not a snow mound.)

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar, beating them until they form a paste. Then add the egg. Beat until combined, then add the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture to the stand mixer bowl, working slowly so you don’t cause a mushroom cloud of flour. Combine the mixture well, for about 3 minutes, until the dough resembles one big, lumpy ball.

Place the dough (still in the mixing bowl) in the fridge and chill for 15 minutes. You can also cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel to prevent it from drying out.

Once the dough is chilled, prep your surface area: Sprinkle powdered sugar (instead of flour) on the table to prevent sticking. Then take a section of dough, about a quarter of what you have, and begin rolling it out. Place the rest in the fridge while you work.

Use a thin, flat metal turner to carefully lift the cookies onto the cookie sheet, not a thicker one with slots that could cause the dough to break. Decorate with all the sprinkles you please. Bake the cookies for 7-9 minutes until they turn just a hint of light brown and allow to cool before serving.