That looks awesome. I'll have to try that. What size pan did you use?

-M

I used a 12 inch springform pan, I believe.

looks great
Remarkably similar to a traditional Ukranian sweet bread called stuffed with sweetened cottage cheese called boluchkie though it is not made with buttermilk but cream.

Nice Recipe indeed! I too made a few modifications. I used the dried buttermilk powder. I didn't have honey so I used Maple syrup.
They rose beautifully, have a delicious spongy texture and incredible taste.
I for sure will include this recipe in my repitoir!

this is a great recipe I make two small tins of 8 inch diameter

You have an ever growing fan club by all who eat them

Floydm--I baked this last weekend and it was fabulous. I topped the rolls with stell-cut Irish oats, and my family went nuts for them. I'm making them again today to have with soup for dinner tonight--thanks for the recipe and the great photos!

Nancy

I'm going to try this also. I'm new to baking bread, and this will be my first venture. The photos and directions are perfect for someone like myself. I'm going to make them tomorrow.

Floydm --Rolls were very good with incredible flavor but something happened to my top crust which turned out too tough and chewy and shiny-er then your great pictures. My breads seem to brown way too quickly and I have to tent it with foil early in the baking process but never before with the same glaze has it been tough or hard to chew. Assuming my ovens temp is accurate is their other varibles that could be causing it? Such as baking in a darker colored pan, excessive glazing, baking on different rack in oven? In the "lesson" sections you mentioned time and temp are easiest to change...If you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.Thanks,

Always with your recipe... thnk's!

http://www.gennarino.org
http://www.panefattoincasa.net

Looks absolutely fabulous! I tend to go with whole wheat, multi grain breads unless we have company, but this looks so great that I was thinking of making it today, then I checked the fridge and I don't have any buttermilk, though I have sour cream and yogurt. Can these be a substitute, or should I just go ahead and buy the buttermilk?

Thanks,

maggie

Wow!!!!  All the pics are wonderful!!!  I'm gonna have to try this recipe.  YUMM-O!!!

These were the first recipe that I tried from this site in time for Canadian thanksgiving in October.

Mine were very appreciated by the guests and looked wonderful.  I also used buttermilk powder, which was a gift from someone coming to mexico from the states.

Thank you Floyd for the great recipe. 

I'm new to this site but so far I like it. I was searching for some new ideas last night and came upon these rolls so I'm trying them right now. So far they look good, I'll let you know in a little while.

Giovanni

The rolls have been out of the oven for a bit now and they look great and taste great too. Thanks, they'll make a good Thanksgiving bread.
Gio

I'm cooking for just three now, so I made a two clusters, each in a 9" cake pan. Had one for dinner and froze the other for another meal. Good, hearty rolls. Thanks for the recipe.

I tried this yesterday and I don't know if my house was too cold for it to rise properly or I over kneaded.  The outside looked picture perfect while the inside was still dough.  Any suggestions?  I did turn the oven as low as it would go and set the dough on top to rise today.  I am bound and determined to do this!  Thanks.

Thanks Floydm for posting the recipe and pictures that helped me, a newbie, to bake the wonderful rolls for a pre-Thanksgiving potluck at work and another batch for Thanksgiving dinner.  If our visiting guests from Chicago had not seen me the mixing the dough and putting them in the oven to bake, they would not have believed that I had made them with my own hands! By the way, I had some leftover dough from both batches that I froze.  Today I defrosted them to room temp, combined the 2 knobs, shaped and placed them in a 1lb bread pan to proof for about an hour.  I misted with some water, sprinkled some oats on top and baked the loaf.  It made some great sandwich bread.

Regards, wms

I tried this recipe word for word and 1-3/4 cups of buttermilk was not enough moisture for mine by far.  I ended up with like two cups extra of flour sitting in the bowl with dry dough bits all around it.  It was a mess and wouldnt stick together at all.  I'm guessing you didnt mean to have the recipe taken literally but as a feel and judge thing. 

It was so dry and tough.  So I did what you said, I kept adding tablespoon by tablespoon of buttermilk to make it stick together. Eventually I got all of the flour to stick together...I believe I ended my count in like 14 xtra tablespoons of buttermilk.  Yowser.  I also had to knead the dough a lot to throroughly mix the moisture into the dough to soften it. 

The results I got was a heavy bread that still peeled.  Strong flour flavor. 

I swear I'll get this baking thing down someday... 

I tried this recipe yesterday in dry Phoenix, Arizona.  I had to add quite a bit of buttermilk, but the final result was awesome.  I used rolled oats for the topping and King Arthur AP flour.

How do you prepare the baking pan for this recipe, do you have to greased the pan? Thanks a lot.

Started dough at 2pm and by 5pm, I've already chomped 2 pieces of this awesome cluster. Made 1/2 the recipe (yielded 10 pieces)as we're a family of 3. It was most satisfying in taste and look. Will definitely make again with other toppings. I've sprinkled with granulated sugar as I'm having cravings for something sweet. Unfortunately, I'm not good at photography and I cannot show off what I've made. Thanks for the great recipe.

How many loaves would it make?

 Thanks,

Trish

Butter bread: I love this butter bread.  I think this is good for appetizer for almost everything.  The crust is so delicious! This is the second bread I bake and it turned out perfect!

take a bite!

Hi all,

I am so glad I found this website and am learning a lot about baking. Just started baking recently and tried this recipe.  This is my third time baking bread (the first recipe I tried was of simple white bread which came out good, the second was the walnut cinnamon bread which also came out good).

Well this recipe gave me a bit of trouble. Reading the instructions, it seemed pretty easy. I decided to do a half recipe. With the ingredients as listed, my dough was super dry so I added a few tbsp of buttermilk along with a last tbsp of water (about 5 in total) and was able to knead it. The dough was pretty tough (not as easy to knead compared to other doughs I have kneaded, but I don't have much experience).

After the two rises, I baked it. It came out looking really good (nicely browned), but I did not get as much rise (compared to previous posters' pics), mine did not puff up.  It stayed about the same size as when the dough was not cooked. 

When I tasted them, the taste was good, but very dense, not light and fluffy.

Since I am still pretty new to this, can someone please be kind enough to help me troubleshoot. Where did I go wrong?

Could it be that my buttermilk wasn't at room temperature. I took it out of fridge a bit, it wasn't cold, but wasn't room temperature either.

Could I have over kneaded or not added enough liquid to the dough.

Thanks for any advice I could get.

I made this today. It came out really good. Only my fourth try working with dough, two of the other times were making pizza dough.

Anyway, my dough was initially too dry, I added about 3 addtional ounces of water to be able to work the dough properly.

I was really happy with the bread, I topped it with sesame seads. I think it could have baked maybe 5 minutes or so more, the crust was perfect, but had a slightly yeasty/doughy tasting crumb. Although the texture seemed perfect. Maybe I'm not used to eating such fresh bread.

But after it fully cooled, that yeasty taste went away. Am I correct in thinking it should have baked a little more? I should have stuck a thermometer in it, oh well, next time. This bread was pretty easy to make.

Hi all-

I'd just your thoughts on an overnight retard of the buttermilk cluster. I was thinking maybe I could put the rolls in the fridge after the first rise and when it's formed. I'd like to be able to pull it out the next morning, let it warm up and rise and then bake. Do you think this would work?

TIA for your ideas...

Trish in Omaha

Mmm, I think I'll make these this weekend. I was also going to whip up (literally) some homemade butter. Do you think the type of buttermilk matters for this recipe? Fresh buttermilk is lot thinner than the cultured stuff you find in the dairy case. Thanks!
Linda

Stumbled upon the site while looking for help with a kneading bowl.  Astounded by the assistance I've received and totally fascinated by everything!  Haven't totally figured out how to move around, but I'll get there.

Spotted this recipe while exploring.  Really, it was the pictures that made me drool - and just had to have some.  Reminded me of Mom's.  They weren't great but good enough to enjoy and strive for better the next time.  Here are some questions:

• These had great texture but were tough.  Any basic reasons why bread gets tough?
• Is there a purpose for the glaze aside from keeping the toppings in place?  I wiped the tops with soft butter when they came out of the oven, just like Mom used to do.
• Many of the recipes I've viewed use 425 temps.  Had to come down to 350 (my norm) half way through the baking as the tops were on their way to deep brown.  Why such high temps?
• What is the purpose of water in a pan in the oven?  Know it wasn't mentioned in this recipe but for some reason, I remembered it and placed it in there.  Did that contribute to the toughness?
• These rose to over 3 inches - beautiful, but way too much for use as a sandwich bun (hamburger or something).  Any way to get 1 1/2 (approx) inch height or isn't this an appropriate recipe for such?
• Finally, how do I add pictures to my comments? 

Any help will be appreciated.  By the way, I keep dry buttermilk on hand, so that was used.  These were kneaded by hand and baked in a 9x13 cake pan.  I also made fresh fig jam yesterday, so guess what my dessert consisted of?  (I've got a wicked grin on my face right now.)  Finding y'all is not going to be good for my waistline! 

Micki

Been planning to try baking these rolls for a while but couldn't find any fresh buttermilk (which I understand is liquid).  Can I use powdered buttermilk instead, and if so, how much? Thanks! 

catalina in manila

lovely pictures!

Tracey

I'm not sure which type of flour to use...does the bread flour produce a denser biscuit?

 Lu

This looks great and I'll be making it tomorrow.  One question.  I noticed that the same volume (2 1/2 teaspoons) of yeast was quoted whether active dry or instant.  Normally, I'd use only about 2/3 instant if the recipe quoted active dry.  Should I make the adjustment for the formula for this cluster?  Thanks!

Shrike 

Man should live by bread alone!

 This is my first attempt at making bread in years. 

First, I followed the recipe exactly except, I used 5C reg flour & 1&1/2C of light wheat flour.  Also, like others mentioned, I think the liquid measurements are off because I had to about 1/2C more  buttermilk.  I mixed it in my KA; then began kneading it on machine as well.  My machine really seemed to be struggling with the dough...and I don't have one of the small ones either (its a 6qt KA that cost me right at $300 several years ago).  After 5 minutes, I pulled it out of the machine and started kneading it on the counter.  It seemed much harder than bread I've made in the past (many many years ago).  But I did it 5 more minutes.  It seemed solid, but smooth.  I greased a bowl (using spray on olive oil) & covered with plastic.  I put it in my oven with the light on & a bowl of hot water.  I measured the temp & it ranged between 80-85 degrees.  A little high, but not overly, right? 

So, I started checking it at 60 minutes.  It never rose.  I mean it.  Maybe 5% if that.  After 2 & 1/2 hours (I figured I wouldn't rush it), I went ahead and made the balls, put in 2 greased pans, sprayed with a bit of oil & put back into the oven to proof.  Let it sit 1&1/2 hour this time.  They did rise slightly this time...maybe 20%. 

Finally I said, what the heck & pulled them out, heated the oven & baked them.  I baked them about 30 minutes.  They came out hard on the outside; chewy; doughy.  Just really yucky.  I actually took a bite (with a bit of melted butter) and spit it out. 

While all of this was going on, I double checked my yeast.  I had used a single packet from a 3-packet.  I took another packet & tested it with a pinch of sugar & a couple T of warm water.  Within a couple minutes it was bubbly and rising.  So, the yeast is fine.  The white flour was regular Gold Medal, about 2 weeks old.  The light wheat flour was less than 2 months old. 

This is why I stopped baking breads years ago.  I first started in my early twenties & used the BC & BHG recipes from their books & never had a problem with my dough rising.  I always thought my bread was a bit on the bland side; but this was before the internet & all the new ideas available to bakers now; also, I never had a problem with yeast not rising.  Anyway.  I stopped baking for a couple of years when we living in England.  Then came back stateside and have had problems ever since.  I finally gave up about 10 years ago after my 3rd or 4th failed loaf in a row. 

I'm very frustrated right now.  So if it wasn't the yeast, then what?  Not enough moisture?  Maybe I shouldn't have substituted the light wheat (it wasn't much...only 1&1/2 cups)?  Maybe I didn't knead it long enough?  I should mention that after the 2nd rise, when I started making the rolls, the dough was heavy...but it felt smooth and silky soft.  Really nice to the touch.  Very easy to work with actually.  This seemed like such an easy and straightforward recipe. 

Does anyone have any ideas?  Thanks so much.

I made this for the first time a few days ago and it turned out great!

I will definatley make it again...

I baked mine in a 9X9 cake pan and used 12 pieces... I think I will try for more next time though...

Like others, I had to add quite a bit extra buttermilk, about 1/2 C. The dough was still very stiff - as stiff, or stiffer than bagel dough even - so I was worried that they would be too tough. But they rose beautifully (I shaped and let slow rise in the fridge overnight) and baked up perfectly. They had a nice, well browned crust on top and had a soft and perfect crumb. I topped them with a combo of flax and sesame seeds which I think looked nice.

Thanks for the recipe. I'm fairly new to bread baking so this was a great recipe to find in time for the holidays.

Cheers!

Brake for Bread

Did u lukewarm buttermilk? I wonder how ur dough comes perfect by adding one tablespoon of warm water for yeast to prood and then add cold buttermilk.

I made this today and it turned out perfect. It did need more liquid so I just ploped it on the counter and kept working it with water till it came together as a mass then back in the mixed to knead it. I added some buttermilk after a few mins of kneading to get it just right. After about 7 mins of kneading it was nice and smooth and just slighty tacky to the touch. Let it rise untill double, shaped and baked. Only thing I would do next time is cook it a tad longer but they turned out great.

I think it's soft when freshly baked. Will it become soft the next day? How long we can store it? I tried it and it's just a regular bun. Am I correct?

 I´ve tried this recipe, lots of times. I think the asks for 6 and half cups of flour is exagerated.

I done with little less flour and add little bit of extra buttermilk. The crumb turned softly.

With that 6 and a half cups of flour the bread turns dry, heavy, i don´t liked the result.

But it´s really delicious healthy bread, easy to bake!!

Thanks Floyd

It was beautiful. I used the last bit of a bag of bread flour - a little less than 6 cups, and threw in a loose 1/2 cup of whole wheat flower, and a teaspoon of wheat germ for good measure. The added wheat gave it a rich flavor that I thought really added to the buttermilk taste. My audience seemed to agree! The bread was gone in about 20 minutes!

Ten Mintues later:

Sorry for the poor quality pictures. My camera batteries are dead and I took these with my cell phone camera.

I made these just the other day. Mine looked nothing like these because I evidently made the pieces too big when I formed them. They were like the size of baseballs one they rose! >w<

Also I baked them in a glass pyrex dish since I didn't have a metal cake or springform pan *owns a sadly ill-stocked kitchen* T_T. They came out alright although they were light on the bottom. 

My sister used just egg yolks on the wash and the high oven temp gave it like a creme brulee sort of look. Eventually the crust softened once they cooled and the browned tops were pretty. 

All in all very delish with a little melted butter! I can't wait to make these again for our morning coffee (Once I get more flour *used 10 lbs this week* T_T) I'll post a pic of my baseball sized ones!

It

It came out a little dense, but I'm sure it's because I'm a newbie and I also added 3 Tbsp of Vital Wheat Gluten. Tastes great though and I'm enjoying the buns with steak and salad tonight.

i made your buttermilk cluster yesterday and it really turned out great.i made some minor modification like i use sugar instead of honey and i added 1 tbsp of margarine.i also dont have buttermilk at hand so i used low fat milk.I divide the dough into 24 pieces and i use 3 small loaf pan.but still it turned out great.thanks for the recipe its a keeper.

I tried it today and it turned out great!  Thanks for the recipe!

First, this was the prettiest presentation of bread I've ever delivered.  The cluster looked as though baked by someone much more experienced than I.

However, I found the rolls to be somewhat bland and dense.  There was very little flavor in them.  I substituted Bob's Red Mill powdered buttermilk. That is the only change I made.  I would like to make these again but with a bit more flavor.

Also, like other people, I found this recipe to be hard on my KitchenAid.  I ended up having to halve it and knead some by hand and some by machine (switching up every couple minutes). 

Here are a couple of questions for anyone to answer:

1. What can be done to improve the bland flavor?  Did I do something wrong?
2. How to make the crust softer?  Mine was very chewy... still good, but would have preferred softer rolls.  
3. Does powdered buttermilk perform differently than liquid?
4. Could the recipe from Lesson 2 be used to make a cluster like this?

I absolutely LOVE this site.  Thanks for all the hard work Floyd!

Mine turned out looking great, but it had that off beery flavour and wasn`t really fluffy at all. It just came out of the oven, but tastes 2 days old. I used bread flour and instant yeast, as much as called for in the recipe, but i`m under the impression that the dough didn`t rise as much as it should have. I also needed to add about a quarter cup more water to make it workable, but maybe i should have added more, it was still quite tough and hard to knead. This is only my 2nd time making bread (first was bagels, also from this website, and they were great) and i`m not really sure what i did wrong. I`ll try making it again in a couple of days.

I made this today and took it out of the oven an hour ago. I couldn't wait to taste it. It smelled like heaven and tasted delicious; not too yeasty with that wonderful buttermilk flavor. The crust was crunchy and slightly tough with a wonderful packed crumb.

Thanks for posting this recipe.
Reba

Well, I am also a first time user and my wife did make this Cluster bread. Have to say tha since we did not know what to expect texture wise, it took a few bites to appreciate the true value of our baking. Not enough left for a picture   lol We think that it could easily become a raisin and cinamon bread,

Claude