Buttermilk Bread baked fresh in your kitchen with this easy recipe! Buttermilk Bread is soft, has incredible flavor and can be made in your bread machine!
Buttermilk Bread is made with just a handful of ingredients and is one of my favorite bread recipes. It has such a delicious, soft texture and fantastic flavor. My kids get so excited when they walk in to the smell of freshly baked bread! Bonus too- this recipe is perfect for a bread machine!
If you’ve never baked homemade bread before, here are a few tips:
- Remember to fully knead. The recipe below kneads for 10 minutes and it’s worth it! Kneading dough helps to develop the flavor and texture of the bread, so don’t skimp on kneading time.
- Weather can affect your ingredients. If you live in a moist climate, chances are you’ll need at least the recommended amount of flour, maybe even 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup more. Bread dough should be sticky, but still manageable, especially after the first rise. While you’re kneading, the dough should come together and pull away from the sides of the bowl, leaving the bowl mostly clean. (I try not to add too much flour because your bread will be more dense.) When you pick the dough up, some will stick to your fingers. After the first rise, it will be easier to handle!
- In the wintertime when my house is cooler than normal, I like to turn the oven on for 2-3 minutes, then turn it off and let the bowl of dough rise in there. The oven traps the heat for a longtime and it’s the perfect atmosphere for rising dough.
- After the first rise, don’t overwork the dough. I usually knead and shape my dough in about 1 minute, then it’s back in the pan to rest, for the 2nd rise. I like to have the pan rise in the oven for this second rise so that I don’t have to worry about moving risen dough. I just turn the oven on and set the timer to bake!
- How can you tell if bread is fully baked? I like to use a food thermometer. Mine is digital, so it’s very easy to use. Fully cooked bread will be 190-200 degrees F. Since this bread contains a lot of milk, I don’t take it out of the oven until it reaches 200 degrees F. The top will be golden brown.
- Cool baked bread in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then overturn pan and turn loaf out onto a cooling rack or folded towel to finish cooling.
Can you make this Homemade Buttermilk Bread in a Bread Machine?
YES! I’ve had wonderful results making this Buttermilk Bread in my bread machine. You don’t have to make any ingredient changes either- simple add them to your bread machine pan in the order listed below. I used the “Basic White Bread” setting with a light crust and it turned out beautifully.
Homemade Buttermilk Bread
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk*
- 2 TBSP melted butter
- 2 TBSP sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
- 1 TBSP yeast
How do you make homemade bread from scratch?
- Combine buttermilk, butter, and sugar in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients, including yeast. Whisk dry ingredients together to combine, then add to buttermilk mixture in the mixing bowl. (I use a Kitchenaid Mixer.) Mix ingredients until well combined. I like about a quarter sized amount of dough to be sticking on the very bottom. If your dough looks a bit dry, add in another splash of buttermilk. Once you’ve achieved a good consistency, mix the dough on low for about 6-7 minutes. (Or knead by hand about 10 minutes.) Proper kneading is critical to great textured homemade bread!
- Once dough is done kneading, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour; until dough has doubled in size.
- Punch dough down and knead several times. Shape dough (I like to roll mine, then tuck the ends under) and place in a greased bread loaf pan. My all-time favorite bread pan is the Norpro 12″ Bread Pan. Place dough back in the warm spot and let it rise for another 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake dough for about 30-35 minutes- until top is golden brown. Let cool and slice.
*You can substitute regular milk + lemon juice for buttermilk, but you won’t quite get the full texture and flavor of this bread. So add buttermilk to the grocery list; you’ll love it!
Enjoy this bread recipe? Here are even more recipes for homemade bread to try:
HOMEMADE BUTTERMILK BREAD
Buttermilk Bread baked fresh in your kitchen with this easy recipe! Buttermilk Bread is soft and has incredible flavor. Simple bread recipe that everyone loves.
Print Pin RatePrep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 1 loaf
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk*
- 2 TBSP melted butter
- 2 TBSP sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
- 1 TBSP yeast
Instructions
- Combine buttermilk, butter, and sugar in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients, including yeast. Whisk dry ingredients together to combine, then add to buttermilk mixture in the mixing bowl. (I use a Kitchenaid Mixer.) Mix ingredients until well combined. I like about a quarter sized amount of dough to be sticking on the very bottom. If your dough looks a bit dry, add in another splash of buttermilk. Once you've achieved a good consistency, mix the dough on low for about 6-7 minutes. (Or knead by hand about 10 minutes.) Proper kneading is critical to great textured homemade bread!
- Once dough is done kneading, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour; until dough has doubled in size.
- Punch dough down and knead several times. Shape dough (I like to roll mine, then tuck the ends under) and place in a greased bread loaf pan. My all-time favorite bread pan is the Norpro 12" Bread Pan. Place dough back in the warm spot and let it rise for another 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake dough for about 30-35 minutes- until top is golden brown. Let cool and slice.
- *You can substitute regular milk + lemon juice for buttermilk, but you won't quite get the full texture and flavor of this bread. So add buttermilk to the grocery list; you'll love it!
Notes
Yes you can make this recipe in a bread machine! No changes needed either. Add the ingredients to your bread machine pan in the order listed above. Before you add in the yeast, make a small well in the flour and place it there. I used the "Basic White Bread" setting with a light crust.
Tried this recipe?Mention @jessicalovesbutter or tag #jessicalovesbutter!
Nikki says
December 18, 2018 at 8:00 amI don’t have a 12″ bread pan. Would 2 8×4 bread pans work? Thanks
Jessica says
December 18, 2018 at 10:56 amYou can always bake the bread in one of your 8″ pans and just have it be a tall loaf. That or yes, two of those pans would work well too!
Reba L Scharer says
January 6, 2019 at 9:38 amWOW!!!!! WHAT A GOOD BUTTERMILK BREAD RECIPE. I HAVE MADE BUTTERMILK BREAD IN THE PAST BUT DECIDED TO TRY THIS RECIPE. EASY AND QUICK TO MIX DOUGH; GREAT TASTE AND OVERALL BEATS MY RECIPES. WILL ONLY USE THIS RECIPE IN THE FUTURE.
Anne says
January 21, 2019 at 11:55 pmHello just curious if you used regular yeast or instant yeast
Jessica says
February 1, 2019 at 9:36 amI use instant yeast.
Diane Novak says
February 1, 2019 at 2:11 pmUsed “whole buttermilk “ and saf instant yeast.
Peggy says
February 1, 2019 at 4:06 pmWhat is the difference between instant and regular yeast?
Diane Novak says
February 18, 2019 at 7:16 pmMost of the yeast sold to home bakers is active or instant. I buy saf in a 16oz. pkg. and store in the fridge because I bake breads frequently…..I have not had it go in-active even after a year. It also can be stored in the freezer if you’re not a frequent baker.
Bill Wilkat says
February 14, 2019 at 2:33 pmThanks for posting this–we had some leftover buttermilk from pancakes that we made and I decided to give it a go using the bread machine. The only change I made was to replace 1/2 of white flour with 1/2 whole wheat flour. However, it rose too much and collapsed producing an unsightly loaf (I’ll call it rustic LOL!). Nonetheless, it tastes great. In the future, I’ll try reducing the amount of yeast and/or sugar or bake it in loaf pans–yours look terrific. I’ll blog about it and refer people back to your blog for the recipe should they want to try using the bread machine. Generally, I’ve found that I prefer to bake bread in a conventional oven and let the bread machine do the kneading and first rising. Thanks again!
Bill Wilkat
Alison says
February 14, 2019 at 9:03 pmBill, really as long as it tastes good looks are secondary 😉 glad you could enjoy this recipe!
Ben Wilkat says
February 17, 2019 at 4:35 pmThanks for posting this, I’ll give a try, once our summer weather has passed and bread baking is back in my sights!
Alison says
February 18, 2019 at 12:20 pmBen, something to look forward to for sure!
Jo says
March 20, 2019 at 3:43 amCan you use gluten free flour and if so, would it require the same quantity as the all purpose flour
Jessica says
March 26, 2019 at 11:24 amI don’t have a lot of experience working with gluten-free flour, sorry!
Bill Wilkat says
March 26, 2019 at 11:54 amYou might try “Cup for Cup” gluten-free flour brand as that’s what it is intended to do (i.e. be a direct replacement for regular flour). However, from my experience testing a few gluten-free bread recipes, there’s no guarantee that the end result will be perfect. It takes a lot of testing and I’ve never tried it with a buttermilk bread recipe of any kind. America’s Test Kitchen gluten-free flour blend (recipe is online) might be another good choice.
Good luck!
Bill Wilkat
Michael says
April 4, 2019 at 11:44 amUse real buttermilk if you can find it. What most grocery stores sell is milk mixed with enzymes. I use powdered buttermilk with great results. For the love of God, don’t mix milk with vinegar.
Jessica says
April 17, 2019 at 9:42 amTHanks Michael!
Duck says
April 30, 2019 at 5:52 pmI have a Zojirushi bread machine that makes 2 pound loaves. I’m wondering if anyone has increased the recipe by 1/4 and how it worked out in the machine??
Jessica says
May 22, 2019 at 8:52 amI’ve made this recipe in my Zojirushi before as is and it turned out great!
Donna says
May 1, 2019 at 3:55 pmOk, in one place you say you use instant and in another place you say you use active dry yeast….which is it? Also, do you usually use all purpose flour or bread flour?
Donna says
May 1, 2019 at 4:12 pmAlso, my questions are for making this in my bread machine.
Donna says
May 7, 2019 at 9:13 pmIs it really a tablespoon of instant yeast for 3 1/2 cups of flour?