If you're craving homemade bread but don’t want to mess with yeast, proofing, or long rise times, here's a recipe to consider. It's a very easy bread with a tender crumb, chewy crust, and tons of flavor from the buttermilk and sour cream.
I am not sure why it took me so long to try this bread. I've seen various iterations of it, but maybe in the back of my mind I imagined it as a giant biscuit. (?) Either way, it's now in the permanent collection because it's a lifesaver when you need a quick loaf to serve with salad or soup.
Texture and Flavor
Because the crumb is so tender, it's not ideal for dipping in olive oil like you would Italian of French bread, but it's excellent with butter. I've never really been into making compound butters, but this bread makes me want to try it because I can imagine serving it with a little array of flavored butters.
Steps Couldn't Be Easier
The steps for making this bread are 1. Mix everything 2. Spread on a parchment lined tray and 3. Bake. That's it. If you have a pizza stone, you can bake it on a piece of parchment paper set on the stone, but that's not a requirement. I did top mine with sesame seeds and feel like part of the fun of this bread is sprinkling some sort of seeds on top, so if you have sesame seeds, Nigella seeds or Everything Bagel seasoning, have at it.
Variations
- This bread is a tiny bit sweet. Feel free to reduce the sugar to 1 ½ teaspoons. I personally would not, but if you don't like any sweetness in bread then go ahead.
- About ½ cup of shredded cheese, maybe a peppery cheese, can be added to the batter.
- You could try using a full fat yogurt in place of the sour cream. It should work just fine.
- Using homemade buttermilk (1 tablespoons lemon juice plus enough milk to make 8 oz) works perfectly. Actual buttermilk will give you an even better flavor, but I used the lemon soured milk and was very happy with the results.
Recipe
Simple No-Yeast Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk (not too cold, not too warm)
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds or any choice of seeds or toppings
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Have ready a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Add the buttermilk and the sour cream and stir until mixed.
- Scrape onto the parchment lined pan and shape into an oval or a round. Sprinkle top with some sort of seeds (like sesame).
- Put the bread in the oven. Bake at 400 degrees f. for the first 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 25 minutes or until golden brown.
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