Know what’s the best part about baking your own bread? You can customise it by adding extra nuts or fruits and at the end of the day, have your kitchen smell like a piece of heaven! There are a variety of bread recipes in Singapore waiting for you. While baking yeast bread may take a little bit of time and a whole lot of patience, the recipes below are simple and easy to follow.
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Easy bread recipes in Singapore
1. Hokkaido Milk Bread (Shokupan)
Light, soft and fluffy — that’s the perfect bread to have at any time of the day! The Hokkaido milk bread recipe is popular among all bakers, even beginners. Using the tangzhong (also known as water roux) method, this pillowy and lightly sweetened bread tastes good on its own or with a spread of butter. Once you’ve tasted this, you’ll never see sliced white bread in the same light anymore. If it’s your first time baking bread, this is one of the best bread recipes in Singapore to start with. Once you’ve mastered the original soft bread recipe, go ahead and experiment with other flavours like matcha and sweet potato!
Pro tip: This recipe makes Hokkaido milk bread rolls but can be easily converted to loaves if you prefer!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 25 – 30 minutes
Resting Time: ~2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8 bread rolls
Recipe Ingredients:
Tangzhong (starter)
- 43g water
- 43g milk
- 14g bread flour
Dough
- 298g bread flour
- 14g dry milk
- 50g sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp instant yeast
- 113g milk
- 1 egg
- 57g unsalted butter, melted
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp milk
Recipe Instructions:
- In a Carote non-stick frying pan (available on Carote Official Store), mix all the tangzhong ingredients together and whisk until no lumps remain.
- Place the pan over low heat and constantly whisk the tangzhong mixture until it thickens and you can see the whisk marks on the bottom of the pan.
- Transfer the tangzhong to a Zebra small mixing bowl (available on ToTT Official Store) until it cools to room temperature.
- Combine the dough ingredients and tangzhong with a KitchenAid stand mixer (available on KitchenAid Official Store). Use the dough hook to knead until a smooth and elastic dough is formed.
- Roll the dough into a ball and let it rest in a lightly greased and covered bowl for 60 to 90 minutes. This initial rest should allow your dough to proof until it becomes puffy.
- Gently punch the dough to deflate it. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball.
- Place the eight balls into a CHEFMADE 9-inch cake pan (available on CHEFMADE Official Store) and rest for 40 to 50 minutes until puffy.
- Preheat the oven at 180-degree Celsius. Make an egg wash by combining one egg and one tablespoon of milk.
- With a SWEEJAR silicone brush (available on Sweejar Official Store), lightly brush the egg wash over the top of all the rolls. Place the rolls into the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
- Remove your rolls from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before enjoying your soft pillowy goodness!
2. Garlic Rosemary Focaccia
https://youtu.be/xZHqgxHlbfw?t=42
If you’re a fan of garlic bread, then you’ll definitely love this garlic rosemary focaccia! Originating from Italy, this soft and chewy bread is often baked in sheet pans. Paired with a crisp exterior and delicious herbs, this garlic and rosemary focaccia will keep you coming back for more. You can even choose to add other toppings such as cherry tomatoes (available on GrocerKing Official Store) to customise your very own focaccia! For beginners, this is one of the best easy bread recipes in Singapore to bake. Substitute the flour with some whole wheat flour and it may just be one of the healthiest bread recipes you’ve tried!
Prep Time: ~1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Resting Time: 3 – 24 hours
Servings: ~24 pieces
Recipe Ingredients:
Focaccia
- 480ml warm water (between 38 to 43-degree Celsius)
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp instant or active dry yeast
- 60ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp salt
- 570 – 630g all-purpose flour or bread flour, plus more for hands
Toppings
- 45ml extra virgin olive oil or more as needed
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 – 4 tbsp chopped fresh herbs such as basil, thyme, and rosemary
- Sprinkle of coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Recipe Instructions:
- Prepare a bowl of the stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. In the bowl, whisk 240ml of warm water, two teaspoons of SIS fine sugar (available on Lim Siang Huat Your Groceries Store) and two teaspoons of yeast together until combined. Cover the bowl and let the mixture rest for five minutes.
- In the same bowl, add the remaining water, 60ml of Royal Miller extra virgin olive oil (available on Lim Siang Huat Your Groceries Store) and 130g of flour. Beat the mixture on low speed for about 20 seconds before adding another 440g of flour. Continue beating on low speed for another two minutes. At this point, your dough should not be sticking to the side of the bowl. If it still sticks, add the remaining 60g of flour and continue beating for another 20 seconds or until the dough doesn’t stick to the side of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for three to four minutes. If the dough feels too sticky while kneading, you can add one tablespoon of flour at a time. When the dough bounces back against your touch, it’s ready!
- Using the same bowl you used earlier, lightly grease it with a tablespoon of oil and place the dough in. Gently turn the dough to coat it all sides with the oil. Cover the bowl with Glad cling wrap (available on S-Mart by Shopee Official Store) or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise for two to three hours or until it doubles in size.
- Use a pastry brush to generously grease a 12x17inch baking pan with two tablespoons of olive oil.
- Once the dough is ready, gently punch it down to deflate the dough and release any air bubbles. Place the dough on the oiled baking pan to stretch and flatten the dough to fit the pan. If the dough shrinks, cover the dough and let it rest for another five to ten minutes before stretching and flattening it again.
- Once the dough is stretched to fit the pan, cover it tightly with cling wrap. Let the dough sit in the refrigerator for one hour to up to 24 hours. The longer the dough rests, the more flavourful your bread will be.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit to room temperature. In the meantime, preheat your oven at 232-degree celsius for 10 – 15 minutes and prepare your topping mixture.
- For the topping, whisk 45ml of olive oil with minced garlic and the herbs. Set aside.
- With your fingers, poke into the dough gently enough so that it creates a bump but not hard enough to create a hole. This will help the dough absorb the topping mixture better.
- Drizzle the toppings and use a pastry brush to spread it all over the bread. If you’re all for a crisp exterior, make sure the olive oil covers every part of the top! Sprinkle some salt and black pepper to taste.
- Bake the focaccia in the oven for 20 – 23 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Allow it to cool till room temperature before slicing and serving it. They can be stored at room temperature for two days and in the refrigerator for up to a week. These flavourful pieces are great for breakfast or as a snack!
3. Brioche
Next on the list of soft bread recipes in Singapore to try is the brioche, commonly used as hamburger buns and in french toasts! Created by the French, this buttery, golden goodness is worth every calorie. Brioche is a traditionally sweet yeast bread that’s filled with loads of egg and butter that lend it its rich and flavourful taste. This is one of the best easy bread recipes in Singapore you can’t miss out on! Bake some brioche for your breakfast today!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour – 1 hour 30 minutes
Resting Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 2 8-inch loaves
Recipe Ingredients:
Sponge starter
- 128g all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 120ml lukewarm milk
Dough
- 6 large eggs (320g), room temperature
- 384g all-purpose flour
- 100g granulated sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 227g butter, softened
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp milk
Recipe Instructions:
- Set up a bowl for the stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix the ingredient for the sponge starter with a KitchenAid silicone spatula (available on Joseph Joseph Official Store) until well combined. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let it rest for 45 minutes.
- Add in the egg, flour, sugar and salt for the dough ingredients into the bowl. Begin mixing on medium speed until well combined, then increase the speed to medium-high. While mixing, scrape the dough consistently every five and ten minutes with the silicone spatula. Mix until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
- Lower the mixer’s speed to medium and add in 227g of butter, one tablespoon at a time. Let each tablespoon of butter fully incorporate into the dough before adding the next tablespoon. Once all the butter is added, continue mixing the dough on medium-high speed for about five to seven minutes.
- At this point, the dough should be pliable and elastic. To test if your dough is ready, use both hands to pull a section of the dough. It’s ready when it’s thin enough that you can see the light through it. Cover the bowl again and let it rest for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently punch it down to remove air pockets. With a bench scraper (available on jiamy1.sg), divide the dough into half. Further divide each half into six equal pieces. With your fingers, flatten each piece into a rectangle. Take the short end of the rectangle and fold it towards the middle, and fold the other short end over again such that the rectangle is folded into three equal parts. Flatten it out again into a rectangle, then roll it up tightly starting from the short end. Repeat for all pieces.
- Grease two Vesta 8-inch loaf pans (available on Nam Shiang & Co. Official Store) with some butter. Place 6 rolled-up dough seam-side down in one straight row into each loaf pan.
- Cover both loaf pans with cling wrap to let the dough proof for one hour to one hour thirty minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 190-degree Celsius.
- In a small bowl, whisk together one egg and one tablespoon of milk to create an egg wash mixture. Brush a generous amount of egg wash on top of the loaf.
- Pop both loaf pans in the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes. You’ll know it’s almost done when the top of the buns start appearing to be golden brown.
- Let the loaves cool and before serving!
4. Ciabatta
If you’re looking to try your hand at easy bread recipes in Singapore, then the ciabatta bread may just be what you’re looking for! Great for making paninis, garlic bread or to dip in stews, this rustic Italian bread is also one of the healthiest bread to make. As an 80% hydration bread, you’ll find the centre of the ciabatta to be chewy and containing irregular holes. The high hydration in ciabatta also gives it its super soft texture. You can’t find any rustic bread that gets better than this!
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 22 – 27 minutes
Resting Time: 14 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 2 12-inch loaves
Recipe Ingredients:
Sponge starter
- 200g bread flour
- 240ml water
- 1/4 tsp instant or active dry yeast
Dough
- 353g bread flour
- 240ml water
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
Recipe Instructions:
- Combine the ingredients for the sponge starter in a 27-cm Nadir Sempre mixing bowl (available on Nam Shiang & Co. Official Store). With a Vesta wooden spoon (available on Nam Shiang & Co. Official Store), stir well until there are no more lumps.
- Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and place it in the refrigerator to rest for 12 to 24 hours.
- Once rested, remove the sponge starter from the refrigerator and add 240ml of water. Using a silicone spatula, gently run it across the side to release the starter from the bowl.
- Transfer the mixture to the stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add in 353g flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt to beat on low speed for one minute. Increase the speed slightly and beat for another minute.
- Increase the speed by one notch and beat until the dough is released from the side of the bowl. This should take about four minutes. Using a silicone spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time to allow the dough to mix together properly.
- Prepare another large mixing bowl and grease it evenly with olive oil. Wet your hands and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let it rise for 45 minutes.
- Grease a Walfos scraper (available on Walfos Official Store) and gently use it to fold the dough over onto itself. Cover the bowl back with cling wrap and let it rise for another 45 minutes. Repeat this step again and let the dough sit for a final 45 minutes.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface gently. Be careful not to put pressure on the dough as we don’t want to get rid of all the air in the dough.
- Dust the top of the dough with flour. Using two well-floured bench scrapers, shape the dough from the sides to form a square.
- With the bench scraper, cut the dough in half. Gently shape each half into a rectangle loaf so you’ll end up with two loaves.
- Prepare a Walfos linen cloth (available on Walfos Official Store) over a large Lamart baking sheet (available on lamartshopee Official Store) and dust it with flour
- Carefully slide two bench scrapers under both ends of the dough to transfer them onto the prepared towel. Fold the towel up in the middle to separate both loaves. Repeat with the other loaf.
- Cover both doughs with another lint-free towel and let it rest for 20 minutes. The dough should rise slightly and will be full of gas.
- Preheat the oven to 230-degree Celsius. Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and place an inverted rimmed baking sheet on the rack.
- Prepare a large piece of RedMan parchment paper (available on S-Mart by Shopee Official Store) and place it on another inverted rimmed baking sheet
- Using the cloth, gently roll the first dough loaf over so the bottom side is now up. Carefully slide your fingers under each end of the dough and transfer it to the parchment paper. Repeat for the second loaf.
- Dust off any excess flour from the loaves and spray them lightly with water.
- Carefully slide the parchment with loaves on the heated baking sheet in the oven to bake them.
- Bake your ciabatta for about 22 – 27 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown. During the first five minutes, spray the loaves with water — do this twice.
- Take the ciabatta out of the oven and leave it to cool completely before serving. You can add toppings and enjoy it as a sandwich or dip in your favourite soup!
5. Baguette
Bonjour! We know travelling isn’t the easiest thing right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t immerse yourself (or your taste buds) in other cultures. This classic French baguette will give you a taste of France! Baguette is a long oval-shaped crusty bread that you can eat on its own or with sauces. You can even use baguettes for delicious homemade bruschetta! The baguette is not too difficult to make and is definitely one of the best easy bread recipes in Singapore to attempt.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Resting Time: 2 hours
Servings: 4 long loaves
Recipe Ingredients:
- 52.5ml warm water
- 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 448g bread flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 300ml cool water
Recipe Instructions:
- Prepare warm water into a small bowl and pour in the yeast. Set aside to rest till the yeast dissolves and becomes foamy.
- In a mixing bowl, stir in salt with bread flour. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and stir in the dissolved yeast until well combined.
- Add the cold water to the mixture, a little at a time. Mix well every time the cold water is added. Repeat until the dough comes together into a stiff lump, you don’t have to use all the cold water.
- Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes
- Prepare a floured surface and turn the dough onto it. Gently press the dough into a rectangle shape and fold into thirds. Turn the dough 90-degree and repeat this step again.
- Prepare a large mixing bowl by greasing it. Place the dough into the bowl, rubbing it against the sides of the bowl to ensure that every part of the dough is covered in grease. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let it rise for about one to two hours or until doubled in size.
- Place the dough onto a well-floured surface. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Shape each piece into a 15-inch long loaf (about 1 1/2-inch in diameter) with pointed ends.
- On a floured lint-free towel, gently place all four pieces down, lifting up the towel between each piece so there is a “wall” between each dough. Cover them with an oiled cling wrap and let it rise for 30 to 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the Mayer built-in oven (available on Gain City Official Store) to 232-degree Celsius and place a pan of water on the bottom rack.
- Transfer the risen baguettes onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Sprinkle the baguettes with flour. With a Tefal Comfort slicing knife (available on Tefal Official Store), make four diagonal slashes down each baguette.
- Bake the baguettes for about 30 to 45 minutes or until crusty and brown and voila, your baguettes are ready!
6. Challah
Combine Rapunzel’s hair and a sweet, buttery loaf and you’ll get challah! While it’s a special bread to Jewish culture and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions, challah has gained popularity among the baking community for its rich and spongy texture. With a little bit of honey, this sweet tangy bread is one of the best bread recipes in Singapore that you’ve got to try!
Prep Time: ~30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 – 50 minutes
Resting Time: 2 hours
Servings: 1 loaf
Recipe Ingredients:
- 515g bread flour
- 2 eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 102g warm water (between 32 – 35-degree Celsius)
- 78g honey
- 60g vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt or to taste
- 2 tsp instant yeast
Egg wash:
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp of milk
Recipe Instructions:
- Mix instant yeast with the warm water and stir it until the yeast is dissolved. Let it sit for five to eight minutes.
- In another large mixing bowl, combine sea salt (can be reduced to 3/4 tbsp if needed) and bread flour.
- Prepare your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix the sea salt and bread flour mixture on low speed. Add in the yeast mixture and honey. Once combined, mix in the eggs, egg yolks, and vegetable oil on medium-low speed and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Continue mixing for about four to six minutes or until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If needed, place the dough onto a floured surface and continue kneading until it becomes smooth.
- Grease a medium-sized mixing bowl. On a floured surface, shape your dough into a ball. With your hands on the side of the ball, gently rotate the ball around its base such that you’re only rounding the dough.
- Place the dough into the greased mixing bowl and cover with cling wrap. Let it sit at room temperature (~24-degree Celsius) for one hour.
- With the dough still in the mixing bowl, grab one edge of the dough and lightly pull it and sit it over the top. Repeat the steps all along the edges of the dough.
- Overturn the dough so that it’s seam-side down in the bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let it sit at room temperature (~24-degree Celsius) for one hour.
- Place the dough onto a well-floured surface and divide into four equal pieces (you could divide the dough into more, depending on how many strands you’d like to braid).
- Shape each piece into a rectangle, then fold the longer end towards the middle and fold the other end over like folding a letter. Gently seal that and turn the dough over so it’s now seam-side down. Gently round the dough into a loaf shape and repeat for all other pieces.
- Cover all four pieces with a damp BANFANG lint-free towel (available on Banfang Home Official Store) and let it rest for about 15-minutes.
Braiding Instructions:
- Place a piece onto a floured surface and gently roll them out with your hands into 13 to 14-inches strands, with pointed ends. Start from the middle and roll out towards the ends. Repeat for all the other pieces, ensuring that they are all of the same lengths.
- Start your braid but meeting all four strands at one end (furthest away from you), and seal these ends together. Spread the strands such that they now resemble a fan, with the wider side closest to you.
- To braid four-strand challah: label the strands A, B, C and D from left to right. Move A between B and C, move C to the far left, move D to the centre (between A and B now), then move B to the far right. Move C to between A and D, move A to the far left, move B between C and D, then move D to the far right. This will bring you back to where we started. Repeat until you’ve reached the end of the strands, leaving about 1/4 inch of the edges. Seal the edges together under the loaf so that they won’t come undone. For visual reference, do refer to the video above.
Baking Instructions:
- Lightly grease your baking sheet and place your parchment paper on top of it. Then gently move the challah loaf onto the parchment paper. Brush the top with egg wash (combine egg wash ingredients).
- Place the dough into the oven with just the lights on and let it rise for two hours. During this, brush the top with egg wash every 40-minutes. This will help to prevent the dough from drying out.
- To tell if your dough is ready: dip your finger into the egg wash and lightly poke the challah loaf. If it bounces back, it’s good to bake! If it doesn’t, let it sit a little more.
- Preheat oven to 190-degree Celsius. Brush your challah loaf once more with egg wash and sprinkle it with Chung Hwa roasted sesame seeds (available on Food People Official Store) or poppy seeds.
- Once your oven is preheated, reduce the temperature to 162-degree Celsius and bake your challah loaf for 45 to 50-minutes or until golden brown.
- Take your challah loaf out of the oven and leave it to cool and it’s ready to be served!
Enjoy freshly baked bread with these must-try easy soft bread recipes in Singapore!
There is a multitude of bread recipes in Singapore out there that you can try to make! For starters, try some of the easy bread recipes in Singapore that we’ve compiled above. If you’re fond of baking, challenge yourself with these easy durian cake recipes! Looking for ideas to spend time with your children? We recommend baking with kids to bond over cute tools and delicious bakes!
