Skillet breads bake quicker than bread in loaf pans, so you get to enjoy this bread sooner rather than later. It's soft, fluffy, chewy, and lightweight with a moist crumb that reminds me of the texture of a moist muffin.
Prep Time3 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Total Time28 minutesmins
Course: Bread, Rolls, Muffins & Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: best whole wheat bread, cast iron bread, cast iron skillet bread, no knead whole wheat bread, skillet bread, whole wheat bread recipe
1 ¼cupsbuttermilk*see Buttermilk Tips below if you don't have it on hand
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F. Spray an enameled cast-iron skillet with cooking spray, grease a seasoned cast iron skillet, or prepare an oven-safe skillet; set aside. My skillet is 10 1/4-inches and I recommend a skillet from 8 to 12 inches in diameter. Alternatively, bake bread on a Silpat-lined or greased baking sheet.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients in the order listed, except the buttermilk, and give a quick stir to mix them.
Pour 1 cup buttermilk over the top. Stir to combine. Dough should be quite loose, shaggy, and very moist. The flour is like a sponge, and if dough is at all dry, add up to 1/4 cup buttermilk so that it's nicely moistened, and stir until just combined (I used 1 1/4 cups buttermilk total). Dough will be lumpy, bumpy, thick, and not at all smooth; don't overmix and don't try to make it smooth.
Turn dough out into skillet in a circular mound that's about 6 inches in diameter and 3 to 4 inches high. Score top of bread with a knife, making a cross.
Bake at 400F for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350F and bake for 10 minutes, or until bread is golden and done. (When I lower the temperature to 350F, I also rotate my skillet by 180 degrees to ensure even baking).
With a large spatula, slide or nudge bread out onto a wire rack immediately to cool. Don't keep it in the skillet because it will continue to cook and bottom will get too browned. Serve after it's sufficiently cooled.
Notes
1. If you're not consuming this bread immediately and it stays on a rack to cool for an hour or two, you may observe a fair amount of water released that's pooled underneath the rack. Mine released about 3 tablespoons in 1 hour. I store all my fully cooled bread by wrapping it in plasticwrap, then placing it inside a large Ziplock where it stays fresh for up to 4 days. Bread may also be frozen for up to 3 months.2. *Buttermilk Tips: Add 2 tablespoons white vinegar (or lemon juice) to 1 cup milk, wait 10 minutes to allow it to curdle, stir; use as necessary. Or, add about 1/4 cup yogurt to about 1 cup milk, stir; use as necessary. Both of these options provide many of the benefits of a cultured milk and for a quickbread like this, will likely be fine. I don't recommend using these shortcuts with a very fancy or fussy recipe that calls for buttermilk; use the real thing.