Years ago, buttermilk was the liquid left in the churn after making butter. Today it’s made by adding a bacteria culture to low- and nonfat milks, which thickens the milk and gives it a slightly tangy flavor. Buttermilk is used often in quick breads, muffins and pancakes. This loaf is a light and chewy bread with a hard crust. Terrific for toast and sandwiches.
James Beard’s Buttermilk White Bread
This recipe, adapted from Beard On Bread
2 packages active dry yeast
1 Tbls. granulated sugar
1/2 c. warm water
4 c. unbleached white or whole wheat flour
1 Tbls salt
3 Tbls. melted butter
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
Combine, yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl; allow to proof*. In a mixer with a dough hook attached, mix flour, salt, melted butter, and buttermilk together into a smooth dough. Add yeast mixture and knead with dough hook for about 5-6 minutes. Remove dough to a floured board and knead by hand for about 2 minutes.
Place dough in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the dough with butter. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm spot to rise until more than doubled in size.
Punch down dough, remove to a floured board, and knead for two minutes. Form into a loaf (about 9×5″) by patting flat to a rectangle, folding in ends, and then folding in sides. Put in a greased 9 x 5 x 3″ bread pan, cover, and place in a warm spot to rise again to double the size.
Bake in the center of a preheated 375 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes. Remove from pan, five minutes before cooling, and return loaf to oven to brown the bottom a bit. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack before slicing.
*Note: To proof is to dissolve yeast in a warm liquid, then set it aside for 5-10 minutes until it swells and becomes bubbly. This technique proves that the yeast is alive and active and capable of leavening.
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