Last Updated on October 26, 2024 – Originally posted in June of 2010

Sour milk bread is the recipe that I use most often. We always have it on hand. I love the simple ingredients list and the texture of the bread.

The Man of the House (TMOTH) loves it for breakfast. We don’t have toast every morning, but when we do TMOTH is disappointed if he can’t find milk bread.

What Does Milk Add to a Bread Recipe?

Why would a person use milk instead of water in a bread recipe?

First of all, milk adds nutrition to bread. Beyond that, milk also contributes some great qualities.

The sugar in milk, lactose, isn’t consumed by yeast. So it stays in the bread making it a little sweeter.

Milk improves the bread’s texture and flavor. The bread is softer, fluffier and richer tasting. It enriches the dough with milk proteins and fat.

Should You Scald the Milk?

Some bakers advise that milk should be scalded before it’s used in making bread.

That’s because milk contains glutathione. That’s a chemical that can prevent the dough from rising properly.

However, I’ve never scalded the milk and my bread has always turned out fine. Maybe the preheat cycle helps with this? Maybe scalding milk was necessary before the era when milk was pasteurized?

I’m not sure. I only know that I’ve had no problems with using milk right of out the refrigerator with this recipe.

In a Hurry?

I normally use active dry yeast in this sour milk bread recipe.

If time is short, you can make this recipe with the quick cycle of your bread machine. If you do this, substitute the active dry yeast with three teaspoons of instant yeast, bread machine yeast or rapid rise yeast.

Instant yeast, bread machine yeast and rapid rise yeast can be used interchangeably. If you’d like to learn more about what yeast to use in your bread maker, check out this article.

Sour Milk

Don’t have sour milk, but want that tangy taste?

To make sour milk, add one tablespoon of vinegar to one cup of room-temperature milk. (Adjust amounts as needed for each recipe.) Stir and wait about 5 minutes.

Note that you can use either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to sour the milk.

Type of Milk?

For years I made this recipe using 2% milk. It worked great.

I started wondering if the type of milk might make a difference in the bread’s rise. You never know until you try. So I did an experiment.

These loaves of bread were both made with the quick cycle and rapid rise yeast. The only difference is that the loaf on the left was made with 2% milk and the loaf on the right was made with whole milk.

Here’s another look at the two loaves of bread. The loaf in the front (#1) contains 2% milk. The loaf in the back (it’s #4 but the flag got cut off in the photo) was made with whole milk.

You get a slightly better rise with whole milk. Either way though, I think you’ll be thrilled with this recipe.

Oil is Optional

You’ll notice that I’ve added oil as an optional ingredient.

The bread tastes fine without it. However, we freeze our bread. We noticed that after freezing, the toasted crust is a little tough without the oil.

High Altitude Instructions

Note that this recipe was tested and developed at sea level. If you’re above 3,000 feet you’ll need to make adjustments. I have a page that gives general information about using your bread machine at high elevations.

I have since tested this recipe at about 4,800 feet.

After a lot of testing, I can now get a great loaf of sour milk bread at a high elevation.

Here’s how I did it:

Lowered the amount of yeast to 1 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast.
I had better results using the light crust setting instead of the medium crust setting
Always check the dough after it’s been kneading for a few minutes! About half the time I need to add a little more flour.

FAQ for This Recipe

Here are some questions that come up for this recipe and articles that should help.

Sour Milk Bread Instructions

This is for a two-pound loaf using the basic or white cycle with medium crust.

Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the bread machine first. With most machines, you add the liquids first.

Make sure you check on the dough after five or ten minutes of kneading. It should be a smooth, round ball. If it’s too dry add liquid a teaspoon at a time until it looks OK. If it looks too wet, add flour a tablespoon at a time until it looks OK.

Sour Milk Bread Ingredients

Again, this is for a two-pound loaf using the basic or white cycle. Set the crust at medium.

1 ½ cups sour milk (I make mine with regular, not-sour milk and it works fine. See instructions above for making sour milk.)
4 cups bread flour
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 ½ Tablespoons oil (optional)
1 ¾ teaspoons active dry yeast

Sour Milk Bread - Two Pound Loaf

Sour Milk Bread is our go-to bread recipe. Simple ingredients! Great taste and texture! No wonder this is the recipe that I make the most often. AND you don’t even need to have sour milk!

4.43 from 47 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Bread Machine Recipes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: milk bread, sour milk bread

Yield: 14 slices per two-pound loaf of bread

Calories: 172kcal

Author: Marsha Perry

Recommended Equipment

Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf

Zojirushi Bread Machine

Bread Knife

Measuring Cup

Ingredients

1 ½ cups (354.9 ml) sour milk I make mine with regular, not-sour milk and it works fine.
4 cups (500 g) bread flour
1 ¼ teaspoon (1.2 teaspoon) salt
4 Tablespoons (3.9 Tablespoons) sugar
1 ½ Tablespoons (1.5 Tablespoons) oil optional
1 ¾ teaspoons (1.7 teaspoons) active dry yeast

Instructions

Note that this is for a two-pound loaf of bread. Use the basic setting with medium crust.
Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the bread machine first.
Make sure you check on the dough after five or ten minutes of kneading. Just pop the top of the bread machine and see how the dough is doing. It should be a smooth, round ball. If it’s too dry add liquid a teaspoon at a time until it looks OK. If it looks too wet, add flour a tablespoon at a time until it looks OK.

Notes

This is a recipe for a two-pound machine. You’ll be using the basic or white cycle with medium crust.

If time is short, you can make this recipe with the quick cycle of your bread machine substitute the active dry yeast with three teaspoons of fast-rising (rapid rise) yeast.

Don’t have sour milk, but want that tangy taste? To make sour milk add one tablespoon of vinegar to one cup of room-temperature milk. (Adjust amounts as needed for each recipe.) Stir and wait about 5 minutes.

High Altitude Instructions: Note that this recipe was tested and developed at sea level. If you're above 3,000 feet you'll need to make adjustments. I have a page that gives general information about using your bread machine at high elevations.

I have since tested this recipe at about 4,800 feet. I found that making these changes turn out a great loaf of bread at my altitude:

Lower the amount of yeast to 1 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast
I had better results using the light crust setting instead of the medium crust setting
Always check the dough after it’s been kneading for a few minutes! About half the time I need to add a little more flour.

Metric Measurements: This recipe was developed and tested using US customary measurements. Metric measurements are calculated automatically.

Nutrition

All information presented within this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on breadmachinediva.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. I try to provide accurate information to the best of my ability; however these figures should still be considered estimates.

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