This is my go to recipe for buttermilk bread, it’s easy to make and uses regular, run of the mill, all purpose flour. It has a light texture and a wonderful tang to it. It’s a great bread for sandwiches, or you can eat it the way I do – warm from the oven, slathered in butter, standing over the sink!
- 1/4 cup water, warm – about 115º
- 1 pinch sugar
- 1 packet active dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, warmed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 egg
- Mix the warm water, yeast and sugar together, let stand for 10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl – EXCEPT for the egg – in a mixer with a dough hook until it forms a ball. Knead on a floured surface for a few minutes, shape it into a ball, and place in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise until it’s doubled in size – about an hour.
- Punch down the dough, form it into a loaf and place in a well greased loaf pan and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for another 45 minutes, it should almost double in bulk.
- Beat the egg, and lightly brush on top of the dough. Bake in a preheated 375º oven for 45 minutes until the loaf is browned and sounds hollow when tapped. You may want to check on it after 25 minutes, if it looks like the top is browning too quickly, cover it with foil.
Makes one very BIG loaf of bread!
