Super Soft Sourdough Honey Buttermilk Bread

|Sourdough Honey Buttermilk Bread|

Do you have a childhood food that you love that you just can’t quite shake?

For me it’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I know, it’s the simplest food ever and not necessarily a balanced meal but I just love them.

It’s not just any old peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I love, though.

It has to have super soft white bread (I’m talking like the cheapest, white, Kleenex bread in the supermarket), creamy natural peanut butter and some homemade grape jelly.

However, ever since we have switched our diets to aim for more naturally and traditionally prepared foods I have not bought store bread. And especially not the white, Kleenex stuff with all it’s dough conditioners and preservatives.

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So I set out to create a peanut butter and jelly worthy soft SOURDOUGH loaf of bread.

When you eliminate dough enhancers and artificial yeast, working with only the wild and unpredictable yeast of sourdough, this becomes quite a task.

But alas I have persevered!

This bread is the softest loaf to have come out of my oven. It is almost too soft to slice! It is the peanut butter and jelly sandwich bread of my dreams. And now it can be yours too!

You could even take your bread to the next level by making your own homemade, cultured buttermilk but it should work just fine with store bought 🙂

There are two VERY important points to ensure this bread turns out its absolute best.

1. Make sure to knead it sufficiently! It needs to pass the windowpane test. To check for this simply take a small section of dough and stretch it between two fingers as thin as you can before breaking it. If it has been kneaded properly you will be able to stretch it so thin that you can see light through it before it tears and when it tears it should leave a clean round hole. If you can’t see light through it before it tears, keep kneading!
2. A long slow second rise is best! It takes me 5 hours for the second rise at room temp. You want the dough to be about an inch to 1 ½ inches above the edge of the bread pan. If it isn’t let it rise for more time.

Also this dough is going to be slightly sticky. Do not fret! Resist the urge to add more flour. Simply use your dough scraper to help you maneuver it. (Don’t have a dough scraper? This is the one I use. It is essential to handling dough.)

And if the dough scraper still doesn’t help you, you can wet or lightly oil your hands to help.

As always, weigh your ingredients if possible. A kitchen scale is a very small investment that could take your baking to the next level.

Because this dough requires SO much kneading, I highly recommend using a stand mixer.  I have this Kitchenaid and love it, however I use to have the smaller Kitchenaid and it could not handle bread doughs very well.  So I definitely recommend the Professional Series if you choose to go with Kitchenaid.

Sourdough Honey Buttermilk Bread

Yield: 2 Loaves

Ingredients

150g fed sourdough starter

440g buttermilk

105g honey

8g salt

600g flour

55g butter, room temp

Instructions

1. Add the starter, buttermilk, honey, salt and flour to a stand mixer bowl and knead for 7-10 minutes or until the ingredients are well incorporated and the dough begins to ball up.
2. Next add the butter in small chunks, one at a time, while the mixer is still running. Do not add another chunk of butter until the last one has been incorporated into the dough.
3. Once all the butter has been added, knead for another 7-10 minutes or until the dough passes the windowpane test. (If I follow my Kitchen Aid’s manual instructions and only knead on speed 2 it really takes more like 15 extra minutes of kneading to achieve windowpane. But I like to live on the edge and speed things up so for the last 5 minutes or so I kick the speed up to around 8 and watch for signs of overheating the motor. Try it at your own risk 😉 )
4. After windowpane has been achieved move the dough to a bowl to rise in. Cover and let rise for 6-8 hours or until double, puffy and does not bounce back when poked.
5. When the dough has fully risen oil and flour two 5”x 9” bread pans. Set aside.
6. Lightly flour the counter and dump dough out on the floured counter. Divide in two.
7. Shape the dough into loaves. Place in the prepared pans and place them in a plastic bag being sure the plastic does not touch the dough. Alternatively you can oil the tops of the dough and drape plastic wrap over the pans. The goal is for the dough to not dry out.
8. Let rise again 4-6 hours or until 1-2 inches above the edge of the pans.
9. When the dough is finished rising preheat the oven to 400*F.
10. If you would like shiny, deep brown tops beat one egg yolk and a splash of cream together and brush over the tops. Alternatively you can brush melted butter on them.
11. Bake for 25 minutes then turn the oven down to 350*F and bake another 25 minutes or until the bread is deep brown (but not burnt!) and smells done.
12. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pans then gently run a butter knife around the edges of the pans to loosen the loaves. Take them out of the pans and cool on a rack. Try to let them cool for at least two hours before cutting into them or they may turn out gummy inside.

Now we can enjoy the health benefits of sourdough AND the deliciousness of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

5 from 3 votes

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Sourdough Honey Buttermilk Bread

Super soft Sourdough Honey Buttermilk Bread perfect for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or the toddler in your life!

Servings 2 Loaves

Ingredients

• 150 g fed sourdough starter
• 440 g buttermilk
• 105 g honey
• 8 g salt
• 600 g flour
• 55 g butter room temp

Instructions

1. Add the starter, buttermilk, honey, salt and flour to a stand mixer bowl and knead for 7-10 minutes or until the ingredients are well incorporated and the dough begins to ball up.
2. Next add the butter in small chunks, one at a time, while the mixer is still running. Do not add another chunk of butter until the last one has been incorporated into the dough.
3. Once all the butter has been added, knead for another 7-10 minutes or until the dough passes the windowpane test. (If I follow my Kitchen Aid's manual instructions and only knead on speed 2 it really takes more like 15 extra minutes of kneading to achieve windowpane. But I like to live on the edge and speed things up so for the last 5 minutes or so I kick the speed up to around 8 and watch for signs of overheating the motor. Try it at your own risk 😉 )
4. After windowpane has been achieved move the dough to a bowl to rise in. Cover and let rise for 6-8 hours or until double, puffy and does not bounce back when poked.
5. When the dough has fully risen oil and flour two 5”x 9” bread pans. Set aside.
6. Lightly flour the counter and dump dough out on the floured counter. Divide in two.
7. Shape the dough into loaves. Place in the prepared pans and place them in a plastic bag being sure the plastic does not touch the dough. Alternatively you can oil the tops of the dough and drape plastic wrap over the pans. The goal is for the dough to not dry out.
8. Let rise again 4-6 hours or until 1-2 inches above the edge of the pans.
9. When the dough is finished rising preheat the oven to 400*F.
10. If you would like shiny, deep brown tops beat one egg yolk and a splash of cream together and brush over the tops. Alternatively you can brush melted butter on them.
11. Bake for 25 minutes then turn the oven down to 350*F and bake another 25 minutes or until the bread is deep brown (but not burnt!) and smells done.
12. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pans then gently run a butter knife around the edges of the pans to loosen the loaves. Take them out of the pans and cool on a rack. Try to let them cool for at least two hours before cutting into them or they may turn out gummy inside.

Recipe Notes

Yield: 2 Loaves

As always, see my resources page for any additional questions, information or resources you may need!

Do you have a childhood favorite food that you still make? Have you made it healthier in any way? I’d love to hear about it, leave a comment telling me about it!