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!
If you love Bread as much as we do, find all of our Best Bread Recipes Here!
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. 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:
- Honey Wheat Bread
- How to Make Bread
- Homemade Hawaiian Bread
- Honey Oat Bread recipe
- Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Parmesan Garlic Dinner Rolls
- Fabulous French Bread
- Sweet Orange Dinner Rolls
- Homemade Hawaiian Bread
- Easy Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks
- Tomato Parmesan Flatbread
- Potato Bread Recipe
- Soft Cornmeal Dinner Rolls
- White Bread Recipe
Best Bread Pan?
I bake a lot of bread and the pans I prefer are either ceramic, glass or cast iron. These pans will bake bread more evenly and release the bread more easily after baking. I don’t like using dark or nonstick pans because the bread cooks unevenly. It darkens on the outside before the bread is cooked on the inside, so the coloring is uneven. Read more about which bread pan is the best here!
HOMEMADE BUTTERMILK BREAD
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. 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
Sara says
YAAASSSS Queen! Sourdough has been my game since we started quarantine, and she’s still my pretty princess, but this here easy peasy delicioso bread is my new queen! I used a combo bread / AP flour, kneeded by hand – had to watch a video tutorial on how, but turns out its pretty simple and a lot of fun! It’s so light and fluffy and the flavor is heaven on a plate! I could make this and eat it all day! Thanks for the great recipe – and it doesn’t say this but if you want that shiny top, brush with butter right out of the oven!
Jessica says
So glad to hear you enjoyed it Sara! : )
Atul Maru says
Thank you so much for your recipe. It turned out super super soft and flavorful. Just loved it!!!!
Jessica says
So glad you like it Atul!
Jacqueline says
Just made the buttermilk loaf .. simply the best recipe I have cooked
Thank you
Jac
Nellie says
Thanks so much for the kind comment Jac! So glad you enjoyed the bread!
Nena Lim says
Hi jessica
Just made this bread and it was so great, however the dough comes sricky , hard to mold it on the 2nd rise.
I just have question, on.the first rise towasrds one hour , my dough somewhat.shrink for its double size, could you tell whats the problem? But on thethis.2nd rise it did rise, can I put it in.81/2 pan?
Jessica says
How warm is your house? Dough likes a warm environment to rise in. You’ll shape the bread after the first rise, then put it in an 8 or 9″ bread pan for the 2nd rise and baking.
JEANETTE THOMPSON says
Try turning on your oven light, if your oven is electric. It gives a nice warm environment for your rise.
Rosie says
Do you warm up the buttermilk with sugar
Jessica says
It’s not necessary to warm it up! Crazy, right?!
Lindsay says
As to the yeast… Would you please clarify for me if it’s A Dry or Instant that you are using?! I used SAF Instant yeast yesterday (I have both types on hand) and the top completely sunk in on me, it smelled amazing so it was a real bummer. Please and thank you in advance.
Jessica says
Types of yeast isn’t the cause of sunken bread. I’ve used both kinds in this recipe- the rise time will vary, but that’s about it. Most often my bread sinks when the inside of the loaf isn’t fully cooked. Different bread pans will need to be baked different times, which is why I recommend using a cooking thermometer to test the inside to see if it’s fully baked. You aim for 200 degrees.
Rose Jackson says
I just made this recipe in my bread machine and got to say, some of the best bread ever. So easy to make, I don’t want store bought ever again. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Alison says
I’m so happy this worked so well for you Rose!
Ximena says
So easy to make. It came out perfect 😊😊
Jessica says
So glad to hear that you enjoyed it!
Zap says
Want to try this recipe but what’s the replacement for the buttermilk?
Nellie says
Real buttermilk works best in this recipe, but if you don’t have any, you can make your own. To make a buttermilk substitute, you just need to add 1 tablespoon of either white vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk and let it sit for a few minutes before adding to the recipe.