To keep sweet dough products moist, you have to use eggs in the dough, and let the dough rise TWICE before shaping. ALL liquid milk needs to be scalded (95'C) to kill the enzymes before you mix it into yeast dough. You can mix with a machine making a slightly wetter dough--the flour hydrates completely during those two risings. The baking does not completely dry out the structure. Sweet dough MUST be baked at a lower temperature and it helps to cover with foil except for the last 10 minutes. You can use a little flour mixed with the cinnamon and sugar--the big mistake is to brush the dough with fat before sprinkling. I grew up letting all yeast dough rise twice before shaping--and the buns stayed moist 3 days. I started cutting back to one rising--and the buns need to be et within 24 hours. Same flour, same mixing, same proportion of milk and eggs, the rising time is the only thing I changed. The extra rise actually makes sense, Irene, in keeping dough soft - the yeast fermenting produces alcohol and acids, which tenderize the gluten. I disagree about scalding though (and this is a BIG discussion in the test kitchen) - milk being pasteurized means you don't have to scald it for baking yeast bread. I'll try what you say, though - egg, lower temperature, maybe add some Cake Enhancer or starch for softness/ moisture retention. Thanks for the great input! PJH

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