Cheese zombies: bread "dough" is runny!

Here are the proportions:

4 cups of flour
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 1/2 t. salt
2/3 cup shortening (I used butter -- don't like transfat)
1/8 cup yeast (???)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs (opt)
2 cups water


Put it all in a bowl and it's runny. I didn't even add the eggs yet and it looks like pancake batter. I've added over two cups of flour and it's just starting to thicken up.

What are proper proportions for a bread dough? What is the correct texture of a cheese zombie?

Hi Annie,

I'm not sure exactly what a cheese zombie is (bread? some kind of roll?) but 2 cups of water sounds like a lot of liquid to me.

I'd start with 3/4c. of water and work towards 1cup. I think that's slightly more reasonable. I've never heard of these cheese zombies before but I've been following the other thread in request a recipe

:sigh: I think I'm just going to use a different recipe. It looks like any roll dough would work with it.

There are about 500 calories per serving.

Aside from the water being excessive, the fat is also. 3/4 cup is a LOT of fat for a bread dough (unless you are making danish).

How much is typical?

Annie, it varies a lot by recipe and personal preference but somewhere in the range of between 2 Tbsp. and 1/3 cup for a 4 cup-flour recipe. I generally use about 1/4 cup because more fat makes a softer bread that stays soft longer. Most loaf breads that are not sweet doughs typically call for between 2 and 3 Tbsp. You don't have to use any fat, but the bread will dry out very quickly without it.

Oooo, that makes sense. :sigh: So it might be one of those recipes that someone "shared" but "adjusted" before sharing? Thank you very much for your help. It'll certainly help you id a good/bad bread recipe in the future.