The Best Basic Bread Recipe

 Now, I call this the "BEST" basic bread recipe because of a few reasons:

1. It is delicious.

2. It is very simple to make (None of those overnight sponge or Tang Zhong fancy stuff)

3. It uses a few simple ingredients (Most probably you would have these in your kitchen right now. Wait no more…)

4. It is delicious (repetition intended to drive a point)

 

I have been making breads or buns for close to 5 years now and I have tried out many, many, many recipes. Very few are like this one that always works, always yummy that I am very assured every time I make this. I KNOW it will turn out good. You know that feeling that you get when you see well-kneaded dough? Dough that looks so smooth, pliable and the not-sticky kind? You just know that it will bake well. This is definitely my go-to recipe for any buns that I want to make.

See how smooth the dough is? 

The recipe is taken from one of my favorite food blogger, and her recipes are always a guaranteed success. Here, I am sharing this recipe that is inspired by the super famous “Wu Pao Chun Champion Bread” from Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It is reported that the queue at this small bakery during their freshly baked bread release can be very looooong. Amazing right? Well, being a foodie myself, I will go the extra mile for delicious food. :D But, only and only if the calories are WORTH the time and effort. 

This bread is definitely worth your time and effort. Not only it uses very simple ingredients, there is no extra waiting time and (yes, there is more…) guess what? The bread stays soft for up to 4-5 days (IF it lasts so long).

Perfectly square!

I am not sure what exactly it is that makes this bread so good, but, I am guessing the higher amount of full cream milk used along with the butter have something to do with it. The aroma that’s fills the kitchen as it bakes is really wonderful. 

Here are the ingredients:

375g bread flour

30g sugar

3/4 teaspoon fine salt

20g butter (salted)

1 teaspoon instant dry yeast

240g milk ( I use cold milk from fridge)

*Yes, this recipe uses salted butter and hence more flavorful. I have used unsalted butter with good results as well.

Steps:

1. Put all the wet ingredients (except butter) into the mixer or breadmaker pan.
2. Followed by the dry ingredients with the yeast put in last. 
3. Turn on the “Dough” function of your breadmaker or if you are using a stand mixer, just mix with the dough hook on low speed until the dough is well combined. Add the butter after about 10 minutes in the breadmakerand allow the kneading program to complete.
4. If you are making those square loaf bread, let the dough rise until it doubled in size (about 1 hour), punch it down to release the air bubbles.
5. Knead the dough for a few times, divide into 3 portions and flatten the first piece of dough. Fold the opposite sides towards the middle of the flattened dough. It’s kinda like folding an envelope. The roll the dough up from the unused side. It will look like a rolled towel. 
6. Place the seams down into a greased Pullman pan. Repeat with the other 2 pieces. Close the Pullman pan lid and leave about 1cm space at the end.
7. Let the bread rise until you can see some dough peeking out from 1 cm space that you have left. Press the dough back into the pan or you can tear off the excess dough and close the lid completely.
8. IF you are making buns, you can divide the dough into 16-20 pieces and shape as desired. You can use any fillings as preferred. Place the shaped dough balls into a greased baking pan and let it rise for another 20-30 minutes or doubles in size.
9. For Pullman tin: Preheat the oven to 160 C and bake for 35-40 minutes. 
10. For buns: Preheat the oven to 180 C and bake for 20 minutes. You may egg wash prior to baking but it’s not necessary, I like the buns matte-looking. ;)