Bread Machine - Butter Bread Recipe - Bread Dad (2024)

This bread machine butter bread recipe creates a delicious bread that tastes sort of like a buttery croissant. My boys love butter bread as a sandwich bread. I like it for breakfast… as I don’t have to spread any butter on top! My family’s verdict – Excellent!

Delicious & Super Buttery Bread!!

Basically, you are taking a regular bread flour & oatmeal bread recipe and stuffing it with extra butter. I don’t know how healthy this bread is but it tastes great. Optional – If this delicious butter bread machine recipe is too bland for you, you can add a tablespoon of your favorite spice to the mix such as onion powder, chives, Italian seasoning, etc. Just remember this is a bread used for sandwiches, etc. It is not a dessert-type bread. However, if you would prefer a recipe without oatmeal, you might like to try our buttery bread machine white bread recipe.

Since this butter bread recipe is done in a bread machine, it is simple & easy to make. It only takes me about 5 minutes or so to prepare and then the bread machine does the rest of the work. For more great recipes, please visit Bread Dad’s main Bread Machine Recipes section. Bread Dad also has a printable and “pin-able” recipe at the bottom of the page.

The Most Important Ingredient – Butter!

Ingredients – Bread Machine Butter Bread Recipe – 2 lb Bread Loaf

• 1 1/3 Cups – Milk (lukewarm)
• 8 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened & sliced) – Slice up the butter for better mixability – Is that a word???!
• 3 Cups – Bread Flour – Not all purpose flour
• 1 Cup – Oatmeal (one minute oatmeal) – Use DRY oat flakes. Do not premoisten the oat flakes.
• 2 Tablespoons – White Granulated Sugar
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Salt
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Bread Machine Yeast – Not active dry yeast

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

Equipment Needed for Recipe– Measuring cup & spoons, flexible spatula, oven mitts, cooling rack… and of course, a bread machine.

Instructions – Bread Machine Butter Bread Recipe

• Bread Machine settings – 2 pound loaf, light color and “basic” bread setting.
• Unplug bread machine & remove bread pan.
• Add all ingredients starting with the milk into the bread machine “bucket” (bread pan). Then place bread pan into the bread machine.

• Plug in bread machine. Enter the correct settings (2 lb, light color & basic bread) and press the “start” button.

• When the bread machine has finished baking the bread, unplug the bread machine. Remove the bread pan from the bread machine. Then remove the bread from the bread pan and place it on a cooling rack. Use oven mitts when removing the bread machine container (bread loaf pan) as it will be very hot!
• After removing the bread, don’t forget to remove the mixing paddle if it is stuck in the bread. Use oven mitts as the mixing paddle will be very hot coming out of the bread machine. Or wait until the bread is completely cooled and then remove the mixing paddle.
• In our Sunbeam bread machine, the baking takes about 3 hours for a 2 pound bread at the light color & basic bread settings. However, some machines can differ and you don’t want to be away from home when the bread machine “finished” alarm goes off! Your bread machine should show you the length of the baking time after you have entered the settings into the machine. This will allow you to know when to be in the kitchen to remove the bread.
• Before using your bread machine, you should read the bread machine manufacturer’s instructions in order to use the bread machine effectively and safely.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common bread machine problems.

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Tips – Butter Bread Machine Recipe

• The tips below are designed to help bread machine “novices” and those who haven’t touched their bread machine in years.
• Click on our “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include our tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Bread Machine Recipes (such as super soft white bread, French bread and banana bread).

• Use DRY oat flakes to make this bread. Do not use already premoistened oatmeal (i.e. cooked/boiled oatmeal). If you use premoistened oatmeal, the bread might have too much liquid (versus what is called for in the recipe) and come out undercooked. Adding too much liquid can also result in bread collapses.
• Do not use cold milk. The main problem with using regular milk is that people tend to use cold refrigerated milk and this can slow yeast growth. Use lukewarm milk (or instant powdered milk mixed into warm water). If the milk is just coming out of the refrigerator and thus is too cold, I like to put the milk in my microwave for 15-20 seconds in order to warm it up. However, you should also be aware that the milk/water should not be too hot because very hot milk/water can kill the yeast.
• Do not add more liquid (i.e. milk & melted butter) than called for in this recipe. Too much liquid can result in bread collapses or misshapen tops.
• Use FRESH ingredients (i.e. flour) for the best results. Ingredients that have been sitting in the pantry for months can become stale or pick up weird smells & flavors.
• Try to keep your ingredients (i.e. flour) in airtight containers in order to extend their shelf life. Moreover, airtight containers will prevent your flour from picking up moisture from the air (which can throw off recipes due to excess moisture being added to the recipe). Airtight containers will also prevent your ingredients from being contaminated by dust, insects, etc.

• Optional – As I said near the top of the page… If this delicious buttery bread is too bland for you, you can add a tablespoon of your favorite spice to the mix such as onion powder, chives, Italian seasoning, etc.
• This recipe uses bread machine yeast (instant yeast). It does NOT use active dry yeast. Bread machine yeast activates instantly whereas active dry yeast can take 10-15 minutes to activate and this will throw off the recipe.
• Many bakers like to make an indent in the top of the flour in order to hold the bread machine yeast in place (looks sort of like a small flour volcano with a yeast crater). This is done to prevent the yeast from falling into the liquid ingredients (and activating prematurely), coming into contact with the salt, etc. until the bread machine is turned on.
• Do not add more yeast than is called for in the recipe. Too much yeast will result in the bread dough rising higher than expected and then collapsing in on itself.

• Do not remove or reduce the amount of salt called for in the recipe or the yeast will grow faster than expected. This will result in the bread dough rising higher than expected and then collapsing in on itself.
• Do not use old or expired yeast (or your bread will have trouble rising). Bread machine yeast loses its potency over time. Generally, bread machine yeast lasts for only 3-4 months after you have opened the bottle. However, if the yeast is exposed to air & moisture (i.e. the bottle not sealed tight) or exposed to higher temperatures, the yeast will expire even more quickly. FYI – Many bakers like to store their bread machine yeast (in a tightly sealed jar) in their refrigerator in order to extend the life of the yeast.
• If you haven’t used your bread machine in a long time, please buy some NEW bread machine yeast before making your bread. Bread machine yeast may not be viable if it has been sitting in your pantry for years.

• FYI – If you want to make a similar bread machine bread but without the bread machine “mixing paddle hole” in the bottom of the loaf, you might like to try our Buttery White Bread (Instant Yeast) recipe. It uses a bread machine to make the dough and then it is baked in the oven.
• If you have a problem with a bread machine recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (i.e. using the correct bread machine settings), you are using the correct amount of an ingredient (i.e. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measurement cup or accidentally add a teaspoon when a tablespoon is called for), you are using the correct ingredients (i.e. bread machine yeast versus regular yeast or bread flour versus all purpose flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• If you start substituting ingredients (i.e. different types of flour), you are experimenting and should not expect similar results to the recipe shown above. Experimenting can be fun. However, you should expect some successes but more potential disappointments when you start to experiment with recipes. For example, if you substitute whole wheat flour for the bread flour, you will probably experience a problem (as whole wheat flour doesn’t rise nearly as well as bread flour). Moreover, whole wheat flour has a totally different flavor.

• Having trouble with bread collapses & misshapen bread tops? Make sure to read Bread Dad’s article on bread machine bread collapses. It has reasons and solutions to potential bread collapses.
• If your bread comes out too dense, it is likely due to one of the following reasons; You are using old or stale yeast, using a cold refrigerator temperature liquid (which slows yeast growth), baking in a cold winter temperature kitchen (yeast likes kitchen temps of 75-80 degree F), using all purpose flour (versus bread flour as called for in the recipe), placing salt on top of or next to the yeast (salt kills yeast so it must be placed away from the yeast in the bread pan), etc.For more reasons, you should visit Bread Dad’s Why Is My Bread Machine Bread So Dense? page.

• Be aware that some bread recipes may differ slightly between different types of bread machines. Therefore, please read your bread machine manufacturer’s instructions for basic bread recipes (i.e. white bread or whole wheat bread) as these are more likely to work on your individual bread machine.
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a bread machine. The bread pan and the rest of the bread machine can get very hot during the baking process.
• For more easy bread machine recipes (i.e. banana bread, pizza dough, onion bread, French bread, whole wheat bread, pumpkin bread, etc.), please visit Bread Dad’s main Bread MachineRecipes section.

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Butter Bread Recipe Questions

What is the purpose of butter in bread?

The main purpose of butter in bread recipes is to add a delicious buttery flavor to the bread. It also adds the great smell of butter to a bread. Moreover, the fat in butter makes the bread softer. The fat will lubricate the dough and helps to make the bread lighter by trapping the gas bubbles created by the bread yeast. In addition, since the days of the caveman, people are “hard wired” to prefer fat in their food. This makes buttery bread even more irresistible.

For more on why people are “hard wired” to prefer fatty foods (like butter), you should read this Cleveland.com article.

Reference Sources

• Wikipedia, Bread Machine
• Wikipedia, Butter

Related Recipes

• Bread Machine – Buttermilk Bread
• Bread Machine – French Bread
• Bread Machine – Oatmeal Bread
• Bread Machine – Pizza Dough
• Bread Machine – White Bread
• White Bread (Instant Yeast) – No mixing paddle hole!

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