Our Thermomix® white bread with buttermilk turns out so soft because the buttermilk relaxes the gluten strands. We have been baking this loaf regularly for years: it stays fluffy inside while still developing a golden brown crust.
The recipe comes from the Mix Baking Book and is one of the most straightforward bread recipes we know. 5 minutes of prep, 1 hour to rise, 40 minutes in the oven. Done.
White Bread with Buttermilk, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 6 ✓
- 300 g buttermilk
- 1/2 cube fresh yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 500 g flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 60 g olive oil + more for greasing
Instructions 0 / 5
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1
Dissolve the yeast.
Add buttermilk, fresh yeast and sugar to the mixing bowl and warm for 3 min / 37°C / speed 1.
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2
Knead the dough.
Add the remaining ingredients, knead for 4 min / kneading mode, transfer to a bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
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3
Preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 200°C top and bottom heat and grease the loaf tin.
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4
Shape the dough.
Flour the work surface, knead the dough briefly by hand and place it in the loaf tin. Cover the tin and leave to rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.
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5
Bake the bread.
Fill an ovenproof dish with water and place it on the floor of the oven. Bake the bread on the middle shelf for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 180°C top and bottom heat and bake for a further 25 minutes.
Tip: This white bread with buttermilk can also be sliced, frozen and toasted straight from the freezer.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why buttermilk instead of water
Buttermilk makes the dough softer than water. The acidity in the buttermilk reacts with the gluten and prevents the protein strands from bonding too tightly. The result is a loaf that stays soft on the second day and does not dry out.
We use regular buttermilk from the supermarket. Low-fat buttermilk or a buttermilk substitute made from yoghurt does not work as well here, because the acid structure is different.
37°C is the yeast threshold
The yeast is dissolved in the buttermilk at exactly 37°C. At this temperature the yeast starts to activate without the enzymes being destroyed. Too cold and the yeast stays inactive. Too hot and you kill it.
The Thermomix® holds this temperature precisely for the full 3 minutes. Monitoring it by hand with a thermometer is considerably more effort.
Kneading mode for 4 minutes, no longer
4 minutes on kneading mode develops exactly the gluten structure this bread needs. Knead for longer and the dough becomes too elastic. Knead for less and it collapses in the oven. Kneading mode works with slow, powerful movements that stretch and fold the dough rather than simply stirring it.
After kneading, remove the dough from the mixing bowl, place it in a bowl and leave it to rise, covered, in a warm spot. We put the bowl on the radiator or in the oven with just the light on.
Second rise directly in the tin
After the first rise, knead the dough briefly by hand and place it directly into the greased loaf tin. Do not knead for too long, or you will knock too much air out of the dough. Ten to fifteen firm folding movements are enough.
Cover the tin and leave the dough to rise for a further 15 minutes. During this time the final crumb structure forms. Without this second rise the bread will be too dense.
Water in the oven keeps the crust tender
Place an ovenproof dish filled with water on the floor of the oven. The steam this creates prevents the crust from becoming too hard. White bread with buttermilk should have a golden brown but soft crust, not a crisp one like a baguette.
Bake for the first 15 minutes at 200°C so the bread gains volume. Then reduce to 180°C and bake for a further 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
The bread is ready when it sounds hollow
After the 40 minutes of baking, remove the bread from the tin and tap the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it is fully baked. If it sounds dull, bake for another 5 minutes.
Leave the bread to cool on a wire rack. Do not slice it straight away, or the crumb will tear. Wait at least 30 minutes.
Freezing in slices
White bread with buttermilk freezes very well. We slice the cooled loaf, place a sheet of baking paper between each slice and freeze the whole lot in a freezer bag. Individual slices can then be toasted straight from frozen, no thawing needed.
Goes well with: butter, jam and cheese.
Stored wrapped in cling film, the bread keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Any longer and it dries out.
More bread and baked goods recipes: Bread with the Thermomix®, spelt baguette and plaited yeast bread.
