Basic Sweet Buns Recipe
Slightly sweet, soft and fluffy, these recipe for basic sweet buns yield a versatile bread perfect for dinner rolls, cinnamon buns and other filled bread recipes. If you love basic buns like this, you need to check out Milk Bread and Japanese Milk Buns. If you want to try a sweet , non-yeast treat, check out this simple churros recipe.
I know I have quite a number of bread recipes on the blog. We have lots of varieties of cinnamon rolls, milk bread, braided bread and sweet, filled ones. However, if you would like to play with a basic sweet dough recipe, or you just want a plain sweet bun as a dinner roll or with your coffee, then this is the one for you.
A Basic Sweet Bread For Beginners
Clear instructions, simple method and simple ingredients. This basic sweet bun recipe can be made into another bread creation. Fill it, glaze it, shape it or have them plain as is, the notable thing is that this recipe is kind of geared towards a beginner yeast baker, and the idea is that with just this one recipe, you are set to turn it into any other sweet rolls creation. You can use it any of these Cinnamon Rolls for all Occasions recipes.
Basic Sweet Buns Ingredients
A basic dinner roll recipe has simple ingredients. No milk powder, and no separate starters to prove beforehand.
- Active Dry Yeast
- Warm Water
- Warm Milk
- Eggs
- Melted Unsalted Butter
- Salt
- White Sugar
- All-purpose Flour
Step by Step Process
Proof the Yeast. Proof the yeast by mixing warm water, a teaspoon of the sugar and the yeast. Allow this yeast mixture to become foamy, about 5 minutes. Then, add the rest of the ingredients, except the flour. Stir this with a wooden spoon.
Add the Flour. Add 3 cups of flour, cup by cup while stirring. Add another half and stir it to form a shaggy, sticky mass of dough.
Knead the Dough using the Dough Hook Attachment. Knead for 5 minutes, then start to sprinkle the remaining half cup of flour gradually while kneading. You will knead for about 10-12 minutes in total.
The Kneaded Dough
- It should be cleaning the sides of the bowl, and as the kneading progresses, the dough should be released from the sides and is starting to make a slapping action.
- As the mixer runs, it may still cling at the bottom of the mixing bowl, but a quick nudging with a spatula can release it.
- The dough is smooth and stretchy. If you perform a window pane test (see recipe notes in the recipe card), a small portion of dough should be so stretchy that it forms a translucent film as it stretches. Also see How to Knead Bread Dough?
First Rise and Shaping. Gather the dough , place it in bowl. Cover and allow it to rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Then Gently Deflate, and divide into 16 equal pieces.
Shape each portion into a smooth ball, and arrange in a parchment-lined baking pan, evenly spaced. Cover and let rise for another hour, or a little bit more. The dough portions should be puffy, smooth and touching.
Brush with Egg Wash and Bake. Make the egg wash by beating an egg with a tablespoon of milk in a small bowl. Brush this over the risen buns. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes, until the tops are nicely golden.
Storage and Re-Heating
These buns can keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, in a sealed container. To re-heat, warm them in the microwave for 8-10 seconds.
More Bread Recipes
- Easy Sandwich Bread
- Basic Fried Donuts
- Cheese Loaf Bread
- Spelt Oatmeal Bread
- Whole Wheat Buttermilk Loaf
Basic Sweet Buns Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer Affiliate link
- 9 x 13 inch baking pan Affiliate link
Ingredients
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
- ¼ cup (62.5 ml) warm water 105-115℉
- ¾ cup (187.5 ml) warm milk
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup (57 g) butter melted
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup (105.67 g) sugar
- 4 cups (528.34 g) all-purpose flour
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Proof Yeast. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes, until it is foamy.
- Add the Other Dough Ingredients. Add the warm milk, the eggs, salt, the remaining sugar and melted butter. Stir with a wooden spoon until the eggs are dispersed and the ingredient are incorporated.
- Add 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, stirring with the wooden spoon after each addition. Then, add the half cup of flour and stir it in. The dough should begin to form a shaggy, sticky mass.
- Knead the Dough. Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer. Start to run the mixer at medium-high speed to knead the dough. Knead for 5 minutes, then start to sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of flour gradually as the mixer runs, kneading for another 7-10 minutes. The dough will first gather in the center while still attaching to the sides of the bowl. As the kneading progresses, the dough will start to release from the sides of the bowl. The gradual sprinkling of flour will greatly help in this process.
- Eventually, the dough will start to slap the sides of the mixing bowl. It should be smooth, stretchy and passes the windowpane test (see note 1).
- Let the Dough Rise. Gather the dough into a ball. Place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel, allow it to rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
- Shape the Dough. Take the dough out of the bowl and gently deflate it. In a lightly floured surface, cut the dough into 4 equal portions, then cut each portions into 4 more equal portions, for a total of 16 dough portions. Shape each dough into a smooth ball. Place each portion into a parchment-lined 9×13 inch baking pan, evenly spaced from each other (see note 2).
- Let the Shaped Dough Rise Again. Cover the pan loosely with a clean towel or plastic film. Allow the dough to rise for 1 to 1½ hour, they are soft, puffy and touching.
- Egg Wash. Lighty beat together egg and 1 tbsp of milk. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 ℉. Brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash.
- Bake. Bake the buns at 350 ℉ for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden.
Notes
- Window pane Test. Take a small portion of dough from the bowl. First, shape into a ball, then using your four fingers, gently ad slowly stretch out the dough in 4 directions as if to form a square in the air. The dough should stretch so thinly that it forms a translucent film of dough in the center of the square (see the photo inn the post). If the dough tears easily and doesn’t stretch so thin, run the mixer for a few minutes more and try the windowpane test again. If the dough is still very sticky and not even cleaning the sides of the bowl, then gradually add more flour but only 3 tbsp. max.
- Dough Placement in the Pan. Arrange them 4 buns in one row, for a total of 4 rows, with equal spaces in between.
This is a beginner friendly sweet buns recipe!