After several iterations, I think we've settled on a recipe. This one is nice because we can do everything in the bread machine. However we have to add the more expensive vital wheat gluten to boost the gluten development.
Ingredients:
170g milk
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp vital wheat gluten (4 tsp)
271g bread flour
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast
2 1/3 Tbsp butter cut into small pieces
Directions:
Add all ingredients to your bread machine bowl in the order provided. This order is important. Adding the vital wheat to the milk first maximizes the gluten development via autolyse. Try to sprinkle the sugar and salt in a ring evenly around the edgest of the mound of flour. Before adding yeast, make a little crater in the mound of dry ingredients and add the yeast into it. Collapse the sides of the crater in to cover the yeast with flour. Then evenly distribute the butter over the top of the mound. These steps ensure we get even distribution of ingredients which leads to a nice consistent texture of the bread.
