This is my go-to basic white bread recipe. I've used it for regular loaves, pullman loaves, dinner rolls, hamburger buns, cinnamon swirl bread, pepperoni rolls - really anything that uses a basic white dough as a base.
It's based off this recipe from farmgirlfare.com. I say "based" because I started with that recipe and I think I adjusted a couple of the ingredient weights over time, but it should be pretty close.
The Dough
Start with about 800g of the flour in a bowl (not the mixer bowl) and add the sugar and yeast, giving it a quick stir to incorporate. Microwave the milk for 2 minutes and pour into the mixer bowl. Add the flour, sugar, and yeast to the mixer bowl and start the mixer.
Leave the mixer running and weigh out the remaining flour into your now empty bowl. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to the mixer to get a shaggy dough that's still fairly wet, you should have flour leftover that will be added later. Stop the mixer, cover with a towel, and let it sit for 15 minutes or so to hydrate the flour. While you are waiting, weigh the salt and heat the butter in the microwave so it's just melted but not boiling.
After the rest period, turn the mixer back on and add the salt. Slowly add most or all of the remaining flour until the dough looks good and is cleaning the sides of the mixer bowl. Add the melted butter and continue to mix for 8-10 minutes after the kneading action gets going again.
Remove the mixer bowl from the mixer, cover and let rise until double, about 60-90 minutes. Turn out the dough and form into loaves or rolls and let rise again, about 45 minutes. Bake and enjoy.
Most of the time I use a USA Pans 13" Pullman pan for loaves using 1020g of dough per pan. I usually do a mix of loaves and rolls. I can get 32, 75g rolls if I do all rolls.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Bread Flour | 1360g |
| Sugar | 32g |
| Salt | 22g |
| Yeast | 12g |
| Milk | 4 Cups |
| Butter | 2 Tbls |
The Finished Product
Here's a few pics from different batches I've made. Rolls I bake at 375F for about 15 minutes, turning the pan once mid way through the bake. The pullman loaf usually bakes for about 30 minutes before I pull the lid - then it goes another 10 minutes or so. Let the color determine when you pull things out.
