Homemade Buttermilk Bread made easy at home with 6 ingredients! This buttermilk bread recipe creates a soft loaf that has incredible flavor & can even be made in your bread machine.
Making this quick bread recipe is so simple, made with just a handful of ingredients that are most likely already in your kitchen and pantry. Buttermilk bread has such a delicate texture and tastes incredible too, give it a try today and see how amazing it is!
If you love Bread as much as we do, find all of our Best Bread Recipes Here!
Tips to create the BEST bread every time
If you have never baked homemade bread before, here are a few tips that will help you make the most delicious and soft bread ever.
- Remember to fully knead. The recipe below kneads for 10 minutes and it is worth every minute. 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 will 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 are 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!
- Kitchen too cool to rise? 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 is 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 is 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!
Can I made this Homemade Buttermilk Bread in a Bread Machine?
YES! I have 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 Ingredients
Buttermilk: You will need 1 ½ cups of buttermilk* to create the most amazing homemade bread.
Butter: Adding in 2 tablespoons of melted butter will make this bread rich in taste.
Sugar: Use 2 tablespoons of sugar to help sweeten this bread up perfectly.
Salt: You will want to add in 1 teaspoon of salt to help balance the flavors in this bread well.
Flour: The base of this recipe is 3 ½ cups of all-purpose or bread flour.
Yeast: To make the bread rise properly, you will need 1 tablespoon of yeast.
How to make Homemade Buttermilk Bread from scratch
Dough prep
Start by combining the buttermilk, melted butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. *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!
Then, in a separate bowl, combine the salt, flour and yeast. Whisk the dry ingredients together to combine, then add them to the wet buttermilk mixture in the mixing bowl. Mix all ingredients together until well combined (I use a KitchenAid Mixer.)
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 have 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!
First rise
Once the dough is done kneading, proceed to cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour; until the dough has doubled in size.
Second rise
After the first rise, punch the dough down and knead several times, then shape the dough (I like to roll mine, then tuck the ends under) and place in a greased bread loaf pan. Place the dough back in the warm spot and let it rise for another 30-45 minutes.
Bake
Get the oven preheating to 350 degrees F. Once the second rise is complete, bake the dough for about 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
Let the bread cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes after baking is complete, then overturn the pan and turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack or folded towel to finish cooling.
When ready to enjoy, slice, serve and enjoy!
HOMEMADE BUTTERMILK BREAD
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk*
- 2 TBSP melted butter
- 2 TBSP sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose or bread flour
- 1 TBSP yeast
Instructions
- Dough prep: Start by combining the buttermilk, melted butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.*
- Then, in a separate bowl, combine the salt, flour and yeast. Whisk the dry ingredients together to combine, then add them to the wet buttermilk mixture in the mixing bowl. Mix all ingredients together until well combined (I use a KitchenAid Mixer.) 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 have 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!
- First rise: Once the dough is done kneading, proceed to cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour; until the dough has doubled in size.
- Second rise: After the first rise, punch the dough down and knead several times, then shape the dough (I like to roll mine, then tuck the ends under) and place in a greased bread loaf pan. Place the dough back in the warm spot and let it rise for another 30-45 minutes.
- Bake: Get the oven preheating to 350 degrees F. Once the second rise is complete, bake the dough for about 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes after baking is complete, then overturn the pan and turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack or folded towel to finish cooling. When ready to enjoy, slice, serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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HOW TO AVOID SUNKEN BREAD
The easiest and best way to avoid sunken bread is to use a cooking thermometer to check the inside of the loaf. Fully cooked bread will register 200°F on a thermometer. My all-time favorite thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great cooking thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!
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!
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.
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
Homemade Buttermilk Bread can now be baked easily and fresh from the comfort of your own kitchen! This buttermilk bread recipe creates a lovely delicate loaf that has wonderful flavor and can be made in your bread machine.
Brenda says
You don’t dissolve the yeast in warm water first? How does it activate?
Jessica says
Crazy right? It does activate!
Cyndie says
I love this recipe. I do have a question. I use a kitchen aid mixer. You say you can need in the mixer 6 to 7 minutes or knead by hand 10 minutes. My wrists aren’t holding up well so I want to try kneading in the mixer. Do you use the dough hook or regular mixer blade?
Thanks
Nellie says
You can definitely use your mixer- just use the dough hook!
Cyndie Purdy says
Do you use a kitchen aide dough hook to knead in the mixer?
Jessica says
That’s what I use, yes!
Judy U says
Delicious
Alison says
Thank you Judy!
Ryan F says
Nice rise and crumb. Soft but able to stand butter and jam. I scored the top so it would get that signature slice of bread shape. Also bake time was about 38m to get to 190°F. Goes great with homemade jam or jelly!
Jessica says
So glad you enjoyed it Ryan!
Elizabeth Scott says
Instant yeast okay?
Jessica says
Yep!
Corinna says
I made this recipe for the first time today; never had buttermilk bread before and didn’t get to try this loaf either because it was a gift for a friend who made my family some face masks. She said it was wonderful! I normally don’t have bread flour at home, but have been experimenting lately and used bread flour in this recipe. Your recipe states that all purpose flour can be used here too. How do either of these flours affect the tatste / texture?
Roger Martin says
for bread machine – what loaf size to select?
Jessica says
I use the 1-lb loaf option on mine.
PItollie says
I made this in my Cuisinart bread machine. After the first rise it looked perfect. I knew this would be sticky dough so I kept an eye on it. When it was time to remove the paddle, the dough seemed to get real sticky and was no longer in a nice ball, but I left it alone. I left it alone to see what it would do. It rose real well and I thought all was good, then it fell at the end and the top caved in a bit. I ate it anyway. It was delicious. In hindsight, when I removed the paddle, I wish I had added some flour and kneaded it a bit on the counter and then put it back in the machine (I set these up when I’m working from home). The bread is nice and light and real tasty. I will make again. Has anyone substituted honey for the sugar?
Debby says
I would like to try this bread recipe with whey discard from yogurt making. Has anyone substitute whey for the buttermilk and had success?
Jo Anne Stegall says
I have used this recipe as my go to recipe for bread I make once a week. I have been looking for a good recipe for buns but have not found the one. I improvised this recipe for making quick hamburger buns by using double the yeast, two tablespoons. After kneading, shape into twelve buns. Let rise ten minutes and bake at 425 degrees. This made a great bun recipe!
Con says
Would you have rough estimates on calorific intake (I make this for some family members as a treat at times but they were asking!)
Thanks
Jessica says
I added the info- about 177 calories per slice, if you slice it into 12. : )
Haley says
This is SO good! My only problem was that I forgot the salt. I used homemade buttermilk. I made butter the other day with heavy whipping cream, and I used the buttermilk that was left over from that. I also had an open and partially used packet of rapid rise yeast. It used what was left, about 3/4 of the tablespoon, so I add enough of the yeast I had on hand which was active dry yeast to equal the whole tablespoon. It worked! The rise on this bread was awesome. I’m so proud of myself cause it turned out so good. Amazing recipe, great job!
Desiree Gadd says
How long would I bake it if I formed into buns instead?
Jessica says
Depending on the size, I’d bake them for 20-25 minutes.
Jo Anne Stegall says
Another comment on this great recipe: I counted the calories in the ingredients, 1,372 calories a loaf. An average loaf of bread has twenty to twenty four slices, so about fifty seven to sixty nine calories.
Carolyn says
I have to admit I was a bit nervous about trying this recipe, as I’ve never made bread; but it was so easy and it turned out perfect. I made it simply because I had buttermilk and needed to use or waste it. I’m definitely keeping this recipe.
Alison says
This is so great to hear Carolyn! I hope you continue to enjoy this recipe!
Rebecca D. says
For anyone interested in making this recipe in a bread machine using the Express/Quick setting…I heated the buttermilk until it was warm. Also added just a little extra Active Dry yeast (because I didn’t have Rapid Rise yeast). I used the “Express Bake/1.5 lb” setting on my machine, which took only 58 minutes!! The sides were golden and the top soft. Perfect!
Nellie says
Thanks so much for sharing Rebecca! So glad the bread turned out so well in your bread machine!
Pam F says
This bread is delicious and so easy! Talk about a pillowy soft texture–yes! My husband and I love it!
Alison says
Thanks so much Pam! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed this!
Kim Z says
Can you use this recipe to make cheese bread? It is delicious bread and really easy to make.
Jessica says
I haven’t ever made a cheese bread with this one, but I agree, I think it’d be wonderful!
Virginia Smith says
Can whole wheat flour be used in this recipe? Or perhaps 1/2 all-purpose and 1/2 whole wheat?
Jessica says
Try a 1/3 whole wheat to 2/3 regular ratio first! Then adjust to more ww if you’d like.
Ruth S. says
I found this recipe when I did a search for buttermilk bread. As so often happens, I had a lot of leftover buttermilk and was looking for something that would use up a lot of it. I also happen to love making bread, so your recipe was the perfect solution. I subbed whole wheat for a quarter of the flour, but otherwise pretty much followed your recipe, mixing the dough in my KitchenAid mixer, then finishing kneading by hand. I did refrigerate the dough for a few hours, punched it down and let it rise again before putting the dough in a loaf pan for a third rise. The bread had a great rise. I brushed a little melted butter on top and sprinkled a mix of seeds on top, though most of them fell off when I took the loaf out of the oven. However, it was a beautiful golden brown loaf. I imagine it will taste as good as it looks, but as it’s still cooling on the rack, I can’t answer yet. Thanks for the recipe!
Alison says
Thanks for sharing Ruth! I hope you enjoyed it!
Katy says
Brush the top with beaten egg before sprinkling on the seeds and baking. I use a whole egg with excellent results, but you can use just the white if you wish. The egg wash sticks the seeds to to crust and gives the crust a beautiful shine.
SHIRLEY WILLIAMS says
Can you please be more specific in your recipe, what kind of yeast do I use?
Nicole says
You can use any yeast for this recipe but because we do not proof the yeast beforehand the best yeast to use may actually be rapid-rising, instant yeast, or even bread machine yeast (note that you do not need to use a bread machine in order to use bread machine yeast, it’s just a live yeast kept stored in the fridge).
Mike says
What type of yeast do you use?
Nicole says
I just use regular instant yeast but any active yeast will do just fine
John Walters says
What a simple and delicious recipe! I love the texture and the flavor. I do have one question. Did you warm the buttermilk to a certain temp to help the yeast bloom? And did you use rapid rise or active dry yeast?
Nicole says
Warming the buttermilk up so that it is slightly warmed to the touch is ideal. Yeast likes temperatures of 100-110 degrees F. Any yeast will work just fine in this recipe.
Jessica Brown says
I just made this. And I have dry yeast. And I mixed it with a tsp of sugar and 1/4 cup water to activate. And it was perfect!
Jason says
Can you freeze the dough? If so, how do I cook it after freezing it?
Thanks so much! My kids and I love the bread!
Nicole says
You can freeze the bread dough before the second rise and keep stored well wrapped in plastic wrap and in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in a bread pan in the fridge and let sit on the counter for an hour before baking or let thaw and rise in a few hours in a bread pan on the counter. Bake as directed.