If you have some buttermilk kicking around consider putting it to good use by making this bread. If you’re not afraid of baking with yeast, and you shouldn’t be if you use this very forgiving yeast, this bread recipe is a winner. The recipe makes enough for a loaf of bread and a pan of dinner rolls. Our boys inhaled the rolls at dinner when they were fresh out of the oven. The loaf of bread was used for sandwiches the next day.

All-Purpose Maple Buttermilk Bread
Recipe from Taste Cooking

1 packet active dry yeast (7 g)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup water, warmed
4 3/4 cups + 1/2 to 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups buttermilk, warmed
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 egg, lightly whisked
Flaky salt

Mix the yeast and sugar with warm water and let it proof for about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 4 3/4 cups of the flour and the kosher salt.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the buttermilk and stir gently until it is warmed through. Remove from heat and stir in maple syrup and yeast mixture.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour and, using a spoon or your hands, stir to form a shaggy dough. It will be very sticky.

Once it is cohesive, scrape it out onto a work surface dusted with flour and knead in 1/4 cup of flour at a time. Continue kneading until it becomes smooth, elastic, and bounces back when poked. (Note: You may not need to use the entire 3/4 cups of flour.)

Form into a ball and transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel (or plastic wrap), and let it rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Gently punch the dough down, to make both rolls and a loaf, divide the dough in half and place one half in an oiled 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Divide the remaining dough into small balls, about 1.5 ounces each and place them in an oiled baking dish (I used a 7 x 11 inch pyrex dish.) Cover with a damp towel and let them rise until the dough has doubled in volume, about an hour. Toward the end of the rising time, place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 375°F.

When the second rise is complete, brush the top with the egg and sprinkle with flaky salt.

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 30–45 minutes, until golden brown and the loaf is hollow-sounding when knocked on the bottom (190°F).

Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Allow loaf to fully cool before slicing.

Yield: one loaf and a dozen or so rolls



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