Kuchen Dough

Foundation dough for yeast-raised coffee cakes

1/3 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup very soft butter,  margarine, or other shortening 
1/4 cup granulated sugar (a   little more may be used, but dough
                          will take longer to rise) 
1/2 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted shortening, increase salt to 1 teaspoon) 
2 small whole eggs well beaten with egg beater about 1/2 minute
1 teaspoon vanilla
Several drops yellow food coloring if eggs are light in color
1 package dry yeast combined with 1/4 cup warm water (about 110° F.) and                    allowed to stand at least 5 minutes
About 2 l/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour or enough to prevent dough from                     adhering to hands

Pour scalded milk over butter, sugar, and salt. 
When completely melted, add well beaten eggs slowly and vanilla. 
When liquid is lukewarm, add dissolved yeast. 
Mix well, and add flour gradually, 
beating until dough is smooth and too stiff to mix with a spoon. 
After beating in flour, turn dough out onto a floured pastry cloth and knead several minutes, adding only enough more flour to manipulate dough. 
Place kneaded dough in well greased 7-inch bowl, 
cover with wax paper and towel, and let stand in a warm place. 
Best temperature is about 85° F. 
Place bowl in a pan of lukewarm water, about 100° F., if your kitchen is cooler than 80° F. 
When dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto very lightly floured cloth and knead again about 1 minute. 
Place in greased bowl, cover, and let double in size. 
After second rising turn dough out onto lightly floured cloth and shape as desired.

Very important: Do not permit dough to become overlight after second kneading. As soon as dough has doubled in bulk the second time, roll, fill, and shape as desired. Now allow shaped coffee cake to stand in warm room about 80° F. to 85° F. (or place pan holding coffee cake in a utensil with lukewarm water, about 100° F.) 40 to 60 minutes or until light, depending on weather conditions.

During extremely cold weather 2 packages of yeast combined with 1/2 cup warm water may be used in each recipe, and milk reduced to 2 tablespoons. It is seldom necessary, however, to use more than 1 package yeast if your kitchen is warm.

In preparing more than one recipe at a time, it is important to work as quickly as possible when rolling and shaping coffee cakes, and to store in refrigerator the portion of dough that is not being shaped. This will prevent overfermentation. 
Many failures are caused by overlight doughs.

This is from "The New Antoinette Pope School Cookbook"
chapter YEAST   BREADS page 499.