The Perfect Yeast Pastry Dough is your new best friend. From savory to sweet, you can use this recipe to create all your favorite baked goods.
This ultimate guide will have you feeling like a Parisian pastry chef. From poppy seed buns to Russian Cream Cheese Vatrushka Buns, you can use it as the basis for some amazing treats.

Since the dough can be intimidating, we thought it would be a great idea to put everything you need to know in one helpful place. I have spent a lot of time in my test kitchen trying out new methods for making the best dough. I am happy to save you the work (and heartache) and can’t wait to hear your feedback on all my tips and tricks!
Happy baking!
What is Yeast Dough?
Yeast dough only requires a little bit of kneading (10 minutes) and is the perfect basis for sticky buns, monkey bread and all other types of pastries that love a good “rise”. This dough is more yeast-heavy than other doughs, making the end-result more fluffy!
If this dough doesn’t sound like the dough you are looking for, I have you covered. Check out my recipe for puff pastry dough, danish pastry dough, or pizza dough if they will suit your snacking needs a bit better! You know you are European when you have all kinds of dough recipes :).

Tips for The Best Yeast Dough
Making the perfect dough isn’t as hard as you might think. Follow these simple rules to make sure you get lovely, fluffy dough each and every time:
- Pick the right flour: Flour is the key ingredient in this recipe. I use Rogers Brand Canadian Flour because it has a higher protein content. This results in a denser and more flavorful bread. King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill are great options as well!
- Fresh yeast: When yeast stays open for a while or gets old, it deactivates and stops working. Check the expiration date and make sure you are using fresh yeast so that your pastries don’t come out flat.
- Give yeast time to activate: Combine milk, sugar and yeast together and let the mixture sit to activate. This will quicken the baking process.
- Add the oil at the right time: Only add your oil after all the flour is mixed in. This step makes a huge difference in the consistency of your dough.
- Knead the dough. The dough should be elastic, but not sticky, when you are through kneading. If you don’t want to work your forearms here, use a KitchenAid standing mixer to do the hard work for you.
- Add salt to the dough. Contrary to rumors, this doesn’t kill the yeast. It adds another delicious dimension of flavor to the dough.
- Flour that surface: When you are ready to roll your dough out, make sure to do so on a well-floured surface. This will prevent the dough from sticky to the surface and to your hands.
Major Tip: Each flour brand is different, you may need more or less flour depending on the brand. I would suggest adding flour one cup at a time. The dough should be soft, but not runny. After its kneaded, it shouldn’t stick to your hands.




Recipes To Make with Yeast Dough
- Fruit Piroshki Recipe: Piroshki is a wonderfully popular Eastern European dessert! Use your favorite jam here and enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.
- Poppy Seed Buns: Poppy seeds have a wonderfully earthy flavor. These buns are a traditional Ukrainian dessert that is impossible not to binge eat.
- Simply Yeast Buns: Follow the recipe above, but omit the filling. You can pair these savory buns with your favorite pasta, salads or soups!
Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine yeast together with warm milk and one tablespoon of sugar. Let ingredients rest on a counter for about 10 minutes.
- Add eggs, mayonnaise, salt and sugar into the mixture, whisking together to combine.
- Mix in flour using Kitchen aid mixer or a spatula, in small portions. Once the flour is all mixed in, add oil to the mixture. It is important to add oil last, as the texture of the dough turns out better.
- Knead the dough until it is elastic, at least for 10 minutes. Let dough rise for about an hour.
The recipe doesn't state how long to cook it for???
Hi Christina, This dough is a staple that can be used in a variety of pastries. However, the cooking time will vary depending on how and what you use it for. I hope this helps clarify!
I really love this dough! Just what I needed for making cheese danish. I've been trialing different dough and this is the one!
Thank you!
Janice
Hi Janice Emery, I'm so glad this recipe is "the one." That's the best compliment! Thank you. 🙂
You're welcome! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
I absolutely love this recipe and I use this recipe for so many things but first let me tell you I use half all purpose, flour and half bread flour. I know this sounds strange but it comes out perfect with her ingredients. It’s amazing and you can use this with everything cinnamon rolls, caramel rolls bread, it’s tremendous try it you won’t be disappointed my grand children think I’m amazing and all my friends want me to make things every time they come over or I go over there tell them what the recipe is I’m terrible I was so glad that I came upon this site . Thank you so much momsdish
Hi Cathy, Sounds amazing- thanks for sharing!
What is the largest size of bread this can make please? I don’t want the insides to be doughy. 1lb boule? 1 1/2 lb?
Hi Tom, I haven't tried making a loaf of bread with this dough, I use it for buns and such. If you experiment with it, let us know how it worked for you. Otherwise, we have a few different bread recipes you might be interested in.
I am currently making the dough (it has been rising for half an hour) but I forgot to add the oil! 🙈 I am going to add it now (a little less than the called for 3 tbsp) and have it rise another half hour at least. Do you think this will work?
Hi Liliya, I have not tried that before, so I am not aware of the results. Keep me updated. I am interested in the results, so that I know for the future.
Hello! Curious on the mayonnaise but can I use this to make savarin???
Hi Julie. You should be able to make Savarin with this recipe. As for the Mayo, it makes the dough extra fluffy! I hope you love it as much as we do. Wishing you the best of luck!
Can this pastry dough be used to make cinnamon buns
Hi Josephine, You can use the yeast dough to make cinnamon rolls. Thank you for reaching out, dear! If you need a good recipe for cinnamon rolls, check out our version below:
- No-Knead Cinnamon Rolls: https://momsdish.com/recipe/9…
Can I keep this
dough in the
refrigerator?
And how long?
Hi Yana, I have not tried keeping this dough in the fridge overnight. I normally use it right away. If you give it a try, I would love to know what happens.
How many sections should the dough be divided into to make your poppyseed buns?
Hi Holly, you can divide the dough into 24 pieces or adjust the size to your liking. Thank you for reaching out. Wishing you the best of luck!
Can you make donuts with this recipe?
Hi Gerrie, I would not recommend this recipe for traditional donuts. Although I have not tried it. If you give it a try, I would love to know the results!
is this for 2 separate pies or 1 DOUBLE CRUST PIE
PLEASE RUSH ANSWER
Hi there Cassandra, I have not used Pastry dough as a pie crust. If you try it, I would love to know how it turned out. If you are interested, we do have a Pie crust recipe. https://momsdish.com/recipe/3…
Hi, would this dough work for making khachapuri?
Hi Mark- Typically I would recommend using my pizza dough recipe for khachapuri since that's the only dough I've used for khachapuri in the past, but I think that you could use this yeast pastry dough with some modifications. Instead of using the 1/2 cup of sugar called for, reduce to 1/4 cup of sugar so that the dough is less sweet.
Hi! Love the recipe, but I cannot have mayonnaise. What would you suggest? Thank you!
You can substitute mayo for white vinegar the equivalent amount is usually good I know this because I found out I could use mayo when I needed vinegar in a recipe and didn't have so it works the other way around to , I've done this and it worked great in a few different recipes
Hi Tiasha, that is the coolest tip! Thank you so much for sharing that!
Hi Marcella- I haven't tried omitting or substituting the mayo in this recipe; it helps make the dough extra fluffy and perfect. If you decide to omit it please let us know how the dough turns out! Enjoy!
So I've used mayo to substitute for white vinegar on a recipe like this but it works vis versa to , the equivalent amount of white vinegar to replace the mayo in the recipe has worked for me in other recipes similar to this one
Thank you so much for this tip!! Seriously the best thing I have read all day! I will definitely write this one down.
Try Hellmans Veganaise
Kim- that's such a great tip, thank you!
Hi Natalya! This recipe was a total success! I had three струдлi filled with Dad's most favorite filling...apples! Dough raised beautifully, was so easy to work with. After I filled it with diced apples and sugar, I let it sit for another rise before they went into the oven. This recipe is so easy to work with. I've been craving poppy seed filled ones but didn't have time to prepare it. Now that ypu posted a recipe for that, I will make it my next assignment! Great job!
Lena, thank you for the sweet comment! I'm glad you enjoyed your apple strudel. Poppyseed filling recipe came out at perfect timing 😊
Hi Natalya! I would like to make струдлi оut of this dough. Do you know how many рулеты this recipe would yield? Thanks in advance. Trying to plan accordingly.
Hi Lena - It depends on how large you make them, so anywhere from 2-3. You've got us inspired! We want to make some рулеты now too. Let us know how it turns out!
Can this dough be used to make pizza, cinnamon rolls and babka?
And what should be the baking temperature for it?
Hi there - You can use the yeast dough to make cinnamon rolls and babka, but it's a little too sweet for pizza. In terms of baking temp, it really depends on the recipe you're using. If you need a good recipe for cinnamon rolls or babka, check out our versions below:
- No-Knead Cinnamon Rolls: https://momsdish.com/recipe/9…
- The BEST Chocolate Babka Recipe: https://momsdish.com/chocolat…
thanks!
Thanks so much ❤️
You're welcome, enjoy the recipe!
Why are you using Mayo? I’ve always skipped any recipes that called for Mayo.... sounds so wrong in a pastry dough
Hey Mary, a lot of pastries in Easter Europe call for Mayo. It makes the dough extra fluffy. Also, mayo is made out of eggs and oil so no surprise there that it's great for the dough. Hope this helps!
Would this work without eggs as a vegan option please?
Hey Hoff, I don't believe that the outcome would be the same. I wouldn't make it without eggs.
Can I use this dough to make cinnamon swirl bread loaf??🍞
Nada, for sure! That sounds so delicious!
I live in high elevation 4100 feet in Oregon. Is there a resolution to the rise as mine turned out a bit flat.
Hi dear, I dont have experience baking in high elevation. I would suggest googling for some tips. I am sorry, don't want to be misleading.
This recipe looks very enticing, would like to try making it but find converting “cup” volume measures rather iffy to get a good result right away. I have learned theres a wide range of possible amounts, depending on which procedure an author uses to measure, and especially with different flours
Do you have a weight measurement for how you normally measure your flour?
Thank you
Hi, We dont weigh our flour for the recipes. We have always used cups to measure it. Even if we were to weigh it, it wouldn't be exactly accurate because each brand would react differently. I would suggest watching the texture.
Since science is in baking weighing is more accurate even if flours vary.
Many site give the option so we can choose.
US Customary - Metric
Hey Cathrine, this recipe is very forgiving. I think the result will be great either way!
Hello Natalya. if I want to bake the whole dough in one container, what should the temperature and bake time? Thank you
You would still want to break it down into small pieces of some sort. This a huge amount of dough and it will collapse after raising time. I would use one of the linked recipes.
Hello. I want to try, but could you say how much fresh yeast is needed, please?
Hey Maryna, I would google for that answer because every brand of fresh yeast would work slightly different.
Making these second time right now in less than a month, such a great recipe!
Inna, I am so glad you enjoy this recipe!
Making piroshki alwYs seemed like one of the hardest things to make until i came across this recipe. Super east, much faster rising time than most other recipes that i have and ppl keep asking me what recipe i used. HIGHLY recommend trying this out. I will deff be making these again and again. Spasiba Natashenka za zamechatelni recipe
Olesya, thank you so much for sharing this amazing feedback!
I don’t see bake time and temperature
Hey Edith, I added links to recipes and they all have a baking temperature. Hope this helps.
This was all cool until there was no time or temperature. It’s not awesome to have to go to another link. It’s a neat way to make people jump around the internet so you can…make money or something? But wow. A recipe with no temp or time. Cool.
Hey Ali, you realize this a recipe for the dough? Just like we have a recipe for pizza dough and puff pastry. Similar concept. Hope this helps to clear the air! Have a wonderful day!
Where are the links to tell you how long to bake bread?
Hey Irene, the very top, next to the photo, we have several recipes you can you the pastry dough for.
Is there a tweak to this recipe or another that will make my pastry dough less light and airy? I’m wanting one that gives a bit denser, compact or chewy texture. I’ve had no luck in finding one so far.
Hey Gina, it sounds like butter got too warm. You have to work quickly to avoid butter melting. If it melts into flour, you will lose the bubbles.
It really is the perfect pastry. My family loved them. So soft on the inside and crisp on the outside. I especially love that the filling didn't disappear during baking. Perfect!
Hey Rae-Anne, I am so glad to hear this feedback. I really appreciate the time you took to share this. Thank you!