This Sourdough Buttermilk Bread (in Finnish, Piimalimppu..literally, buttermilk bread) is a soft and deeply flavorful whole grain sandwich-loaf-style bread. I guess I can’t call it 100% whole grain, because I feed my sourdough starter primarily all-purpose or bread flour, but it’s pretty close! This delicious bread gets its flavor from rye and whole wheat flours, in addition to buttermilk, caraway and anise seeds, and a healthy dose of golden syrup (it will seem like a lot, but it’s not sweet).
This bread rapidly became one of my favorites to have on hand. It’s so aromatic and flavorful that all you really need to do is lightly toast it, slather on some good butter, and lo and behold, a crazy good snack.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
Tools & Equipment for Sourdough Buttermilk Bread (Piimalimppu)
- Stand mixer fitted with dough hook
- Kitchen scale
- Liquid measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Small glass bowl
- Two 9×4 (approximately) loaf pans or Pullman pans
- Spice grinder
Ingredients for Sourdough Buttermilk Bread (Piimalimppu)
- 50 g ripe, active sourdough starter
- 100g + 320g rye flour, separated: this King Arthur medium rye is a terrific option
- 100g + 400 g whole wheat flour, separated
- 200 g room temperature filtered water
- 400 mL (412g) buttermilk: I use piima, Finnish buttermilk (I originally purchased the culture from Cultures for Health here!) Other cultured milks will work as well, such as milk kefir, or just the regular buttermilk from the store. I make my piima with whole milk, but lowfat cultured buttermilk should work fine too.
- 150 g golden syrup: I buy golden syrup on Amazon, but I’ve also made this bread with honey (use the same amount!) with really great results. I haven’t tried maple syrup yet: I suspect it would work just fine, though it may alter the flavor a touch.
- 12g fine sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp caraway seeds, crushed
- 1 Tbsp anise seeds, crushed
- 50 g unsalted butter, at cool room temp
The Process: How to Make Sourdough Buttermilk Bread (Piimalimppu)
I’ve included a sample baker’s schedule as a guideline, but feel free to re-time your bake however works best for you! Remember to feed your sourdough starter so that it is ripe and active when you want to build your levain.
7 pm: Build your levain
Place 50 g ripe, active starter, 100g rye flour, 100g whole wheat flour, and 200g room temperature filtered water in a small/medium glass mixing bowl and mix until fully combined. Lightly cover and place on the counter for 12 hours/overnight.
7 am: Mix your dough
Check your levain for readiness. It should have risen appreciably, have a cracked appearance on top, and have small bubbles throughout the bottom and sides of the bowl. The top may not look particularly bubbly. If these signs are not present leave the levain for another 30 minutes in a warm place and check again.
If not already done, lightly crush your seeds, I use a manual spice grinder for this.
Fit a stand mixer with the dough hook. To the bowl of the stand mixer, add the entire ripe levain, remaining rye flour, remaining whole wheat flour, buttermilk, golden syrup, salt, caraway seeds and anise seeds. Mix on low speed until well blended, then increase mixer speed to medium for 3-5 minutes. Decrease speed to low again and add the butter, one pat at a time, until fully incorporated.
7:30 am-11:30 am- Bulk fermentation (first rise)
Either leave your dough in the stand mixer bowl, or transfer to another container or large bowl for bulk fermentation. Lightly cover, with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, and place in a warm area on your counter for bulk fermentation.
After one hour, do one gentle set of stretch-and-folds and return to the counter for the remainder of bulk fermentation, three more hours.
After four hours, assess your dough. It should have visibly risen in the bowl and be a little bit squishy and fluffy to the touch.
If you’re used to baking sourdough bread with white flour, you’ll notice that this dough feels different. It won’t have the extensibility and stretch of sourdough made with bread flour or all-purpose flour: if you try to pull on it it will break. This is due to the rather different nature of whole grain flours!
11:30 am: Shape dough
You’ll need two loaf pans or Pullman pans. Grease them by using a plastic bag to spread a little butter over the inside of each loaf pan. Set aside.
Use a bowl scraper to gently turn your dough out onto a clean work surface. Use your bowl scraper or a bench scraper to divide your dough in two equal parts.
Gently shape each portion of dough into an oblong cylinder the length of your loaf pan. Turn the ends under and transfer each loaf into its pan and cover.
11:40 am-1:40 pm: Proof dough (final rise)
Leave both loaves to proof in a warm place on your counter top for 2-3 hours, until each loaf has risen to within an inch of the top of the loaf pan. It will be very soft to the touch.
1:45 pm: bake dough
Toward the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Place the two pans side by side in the preheated oven and bake for 43-50 minutes, until the tops are golden brown, and the internal temperature of each loaf is at least 204 degrees.
Let the loaves cool for 10 minutes in the pans then remove from pans and place on a cooling rack.
Let the loaves fully cool before slicing. Whole grain loaves take a while to fully set, so I recommend leaving them to sit for as long as 10-12 hours before slicing.
How Should I Serve and Store Sourdough Buttermilk Bread?
My favorite way to enjoy this bread is Scandinavian style: sliced, with butter and slices of cheese (I go for a classic medium-sharp cheddar, perhaps not so Scandinavian). Though this is a soft bread, it’s more than sturdy enough to hold up a good layer of butter, cheese, and even some ham, cucumbers or tomatoes!
Serve with other sandwich fillings according to your tastes as well!
This buttermilk sourdough bread will keep for several days at room temperature, and at least several months in the freezer.
Sourdough Buttermilk Bread (Finnish Piimalimppu)
Soft and deeply flavorful whole grain bread
Ingredients
- 50 g ripe, active sourdough starter
- 100g + 320g rye flour, separated
- 100g + 400 g whole wheat flour, separated
- 200 g room temperature filtered water
- 400 mL (412g) buttermilk (see notes)
- 150 g golden syrup (see notes)
- 12g fine sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp caraway seeds, crushed
- 1 Tbsp anise seeds, crushed
- 50 g unsalted butter, at cool room temp
Instructions
- Build your levain: Place 50 g ripe, active starter, 100g rye flour, 100g whole wheat flour, and 200g room temperature filtered water in a small/medium glass mixing bowl and mix until fully combined. Lightly cover and place on the counter for 12 hours/overnight.
- Check your levain for readiness. It should have risen appreciably, have a cracked appearance on top, and have small bubbles throughout the bottom and sides of the bowl. The top may not look particularly bubbly. If these signs are not present leave the levain for another 30 minutes in a warm place and check again.
- If not already done, lightly crush your seeds, I use a manual spice grinder for this.
- Mix your dough: Fit a stand mixer with the dough hook. To the bowl of the stand mixer, add the entire ripe levain, remaining rye flour, remaining whole wheat flour, buttermilk, golden syrup, salt, caraway seeds and anise seeds. Mix on low speed until well blended, then increase mixer speed to medium for 3-5 minutes.
- Decrease speed to low again and add the butter, one pat at a time, until fully incorporated.
- Either leave your dough in the stand mixer bowl, or transfer to another container or large bowl for bulk fermentation. Lightly cover, with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, and place in a warm area on your counter for bulk fermentation.
- After one hour, do one gentle set of stretch-and-folds and return to the counter for the remainder of bulk fermentation, three more hours.
- After four hours, assess your dough. It should have visibly risen in the bowl and be a little bit squishy and fluffy to the touch.
- You'll need two loaf pans or Pullman pans. Grease them by using a plastic bag to spread a little butter over the inside of each loaf pan. Set aside.
- Use a bowl scraper to gently turn your dough out onto a clean work surface. Use your bowl scraper or a bench scraper to divide your dough in two equal parts.
- Gently shape each portion of dough into an oblong cylinder the length of your loaf pan. Turn the ends under and transfer each loaf into its pan and cover.
- Leave both loaves to proof in a warm place on your counter top for 2-3 hours, until each loaf has risen to within an inch of the top of the loaf pan. It will be very soft to the touch.
- Toward the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Place the two pans side by side in the preheated oven and bake for 43-50 minutes, until the tops are golden brown, and the internal temperature of each loaf is at least 204 degrees.
- Let the loaves cool for 10 minutes in the pans then remove from pans and place on a cooling rack.
- Let the loaves fully cool before slicing. Whole grain loaves take a while to fully set, so I recommend leaving them to sit for as long as 10-12 hours before slicing.
Pin for later:
What Should I Make Next?
Try Sourdough Potato Rye or Sourdough Marble Rye Sandwich Bread!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it went in the comments! If you share on Instagram, please tag me at @sisuhomemaker. And I always love to hear from you- send questions, comments, concerns, etc to carol@sisuhomemaker.com!
Leave a Reply