Sometimes I absolutely love making dough. When I made this babka and the dough felt smooth and elastic as it should and it rose in the pan and then in the oven, I was beyond happy with myself. I felt like a baking goddess when I lifted the three hefty, chocolatey loaves from the oven. And I felt even more impressed with myself when my family ate the babka on Christmas Eve, even when faced with an entire table full of other delicious desserts that also wanted their attention.
Then other times I find myself sitting on my kitchen floor in agony, heart beating rapidly, because I have just tried to make dough – in this case pierogi dough – and it didn’t work. The dough was too dry to roll, so, after cutting out discs with a cookie cutter, I had pierogi shells that were much too thick. I also neglected to cover the dough with a towel, so a lovely flaky film was forming on top, one that felt a lot like dry skin.
