Soft and fluffy sourdough sandwich bread is the perfect bread to have on hand. Made with all purpose flour, sourdough starter, butter and a little honey, this fermented bread has a lighter texture and tangy flavor.
One of the main complaints I hear about making crusty sourdough from readers is that they miss the soft sandwich loaf style of bread.
Not only is this recipe absolutely delicious (making it really hard to ever go back to store-bought bread), but it is also super simple. No strange ingredients, no stretching and folding every 30 minutes… Just mix, rise, shape, rise again, and bake.
Let it cool, slice and slather it with butter. It’s so yummy and it reminds me of a bread you would get on a breadboard from a restaurant.
Let’s be honest, though, it’s way better since it’s made from scratch and has that wonderful sourdough tang.
Make sure to save this sourdough loaf bread recipe for the future. It will be a go to for sure.
Tips:
- Use really soft butter and cube it up so it blends easier.
- Don’t over ferment the dough. It will turn into a wet sloppy disaster that won’t rise well. Still edible. Maybe. It could also be turned into sourdough croutons.
- When making the dough, using a stand mixer makes the process much easier and hands off. You can also do this with your hands.
- If you are new to sourdough, you can check out how to make a sourdough starter here, find my sourdough conversion chart, and baking glossary of terms.
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Tools you may need:
Measuring cups and spoons. You could also use a kitchen scale
FAQ:
Does sourdough bread make good sandwiches?
Yes. The delightful tanginess adds to the flavor profile of the sandwich, making it a wonderful addition. You can use crusty sourdough bread or this soft sourdough sandwich loaf.
Why is my sourdough sandwich bread not rising?
There could be a few reasons for this. The most likely one is that your sourdough starter may not be active enough or is weak.
Another contributor could be the temperature of the room where you are placing your dough to rise. The cooler the temperature the longer it will take for bread to rise.
Lastly, the water you use in your dough mixture could be a factor. If the water used was too hot, it may have killed the starter. Additionally, if you are using city water the chlorine could potentially kill the yeasts in the starter.
Are sourdough sandwiches healthy?
Sourdough is one of the healthiest breads since the grains are fermented, which makes it more digestible and the nutrients more available for your body to absorb.
Top with your favorite healthy toppings and you can have a wholesome and filling meal in one sandwich.
Ingredients:
Butter (softened) or coconut oil – I prefer using butter for that savory buttery flavor. If you are wanting to make a vegan version, you can use softened (not melted) coconut oil.
Honey or sugar – I like to use honey since it is a natural sweetener.
Salt – This gives the bread so much flavor and skipping it will leave you with a tasteless loaf.
Sourdough starter – You want a nice active and bubbly starter to make bread. Starter that isn’t ripe won’t produce nice fluffy bread.
Water – Room temperature.
All-purpose flour – The best part of this recipe is that it uses good ol’ plain all-purpose flour. Nothing fancy.
How To Make Sourdough Sandwich Bread
To a stand mixer, add all of the ingredients. I like to add the flour last, so I can add a bit less or more depending on my starter’s hydration.
Knead until dough is stretchy and smooth. You want it to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and be smooth and elastic – about 10 minutes. It should pass the windowpane test. Grab a small ball of the dough and stretch it into a square. It should stretch thin enough to see through without breaking.
Tip: This isn’t a super hydrated dough and won’t be very wet like other doughs.
Allow to bulk rise for 10-12 hours in a warm place like on top of a stove or refrigerator. You can go longer if you want the benefit of the fermentation, but if it gets over-proofed the dough will turn into a sloppy mess!
In the summer, I ferment mine more like 8 hours but can get away with longer in the colder months.
Shape The Loaves And Rise
Grease two loaf pans or add parchment paper.
Divide in two equal parts.
Shape by rolling the dough flat into a rectangle and rolling it up.
Add to parchment lined or buttered loaf pans.
Second rise for 2-4 hours at room temperature, or until doubled. Again this depends on the temp! It could be as little as 1 hour if the house is warm and the starter active. Do not skip this step.It adds volume and strength to the dough.
Bake
You can add an optional egg wash for more browning.
Bake at 375 for 45 minutes, or until golden on top.
Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Storage:
Store in an air-tight container for up to five days for best results.
You can also freeze loaves in freezer safe plastic bags for 3-6 months.
Find More Of My Sourdough Recipes:
- Sourdough Zucchini Bread
- Easy Homemade Sourdough Pasta Recipe
- Sourdough Coffee Cake
- The Best Soft Sourdough Pretzels
- Sourdough Brioche
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone .
Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened or coconut oil (113 g)
- 2 tablespoons honey or sugar, 42 g for honey or 24 g for sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt, 17 g
- 1 cup starter, active and bubbly (227 g)
- 2 1/2 cups water, 590 g
- 8 cups all purpose flour, 1120 g*
Instructions
- To a stand mixer, add all of the ingredients. I like to add the flour last, so I can add a bit less or more depending on my starter's hydration.
- Knead until dough is stretchy and smooth. You want it to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and be smooth and elastic – about 10 minutes. It should pass the windowpane test.
- Allow to bulk rise for 10-12 hours in a warm place like on top of a stove or refrigerator.
- Divide in two equal parts.
- Shape by rolling the dough flat into a rectangle and rolling it up.
- Add to parchment lined or buttered loaf pans.
- Second rise for 2-4 hours at room temperature, or until doubled.
- Bake at 375 for 45 minutes, or until golden on top. You can add an optional egg wash for more browning.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- *Some people have said making two loaves is too much for their stand mixer to handle. This depends on the type of stand mixer you have. If you have a standard KitchenAid mixer, you may want to halve the recipe and make one loaf.
- Use really soft butter and cube it up so it blends easier.
- Don’t over ferment the dough. It will turn into a wet sloppy disaster that won’t rise well. Still edible. Maybe. It could also be turned into sourdough croutons.
- When making the dough, using a stand mixer makes the process much easier and hands off. You can also do this with your hands.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m waiting for this to rise in the pan right now! Looks and smells wonderful! I just was wondering if I can score this loaf (just one slash right down the middle) or if that would deflate it. Thoughts?
I would think you could, but I usually do not.
Is there no way to get a third loaf out of the recipe? 8 cups is pretty substantial. Have you tried it??
Hi Jessica,
2 loaves are very big. I switched to 3 loaves after my 1st batch.
Kathy
I made this for the first time and forgot to add the sweetener… any way to salvage it before baking??? I’ve been making my way through your sourdough recipes and it’s been such fun! Thanks for the great recipes!
It should be ok without the sweetener. Still tasty.
I just made this recipe and my question is, how do I prevent the top crust from pulling away from the side of the bread? Is this the results of over proof or could it be my fold before placing into my bread tin to bake? I did use parchment paper instead of greasing my bread tin. Thanks.
The parchment paper could have affected this!
Would it be OK to do a slow ferment and put it in the refrigerator overnight? How long would I need to set it out in the morning before I handled it again to prepare it for baking?
Yes. I like to do the bulk ferment and room temperature, shape, place it in loaf pan, cover with plastic and then place the loaves in the fridge for 12-15 hours. Take straight from the fridge and bake.
I just tried to bake directly from the fridge and would not recommend it. I got almost no rise out of my loaves. I’m sure they will make a good French toast casserole, but they will likely be too dense for the sandwich bread.
Yes, they need to come back to room temperature before baking them.
How long would I be able to leave it in the fridge? I’m thinking it might take us 2-3 days to get through a single loaf? Would the 2nd loaf be ok that long in the fridge? I know I can 1/2 the recipe, but like others, I like the simplicity of making two at a time.
Yes. You could make the dough, bulk rise, shape and place in the fridge (covered) for up to about 5 days before baking. If not doing the second rise at room temp, I recommend the refrigeration rise for at least 12-15 hours. Or the other option would be to bake both loaves and freeze one.
Hello, I’ve never made bread before and am confused on what exactly starter is haha. Do you buy it? Make it?
Thank you so much for any help
You can buy it or make your own. This blog post should help explain it: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/make-sourdough-starter-scratch Hope that helps!
I’ve made this twice now and it turns out absolutely beautiful and delish! My question is, what’s the best way to store/preserve? I make sandwiches daily for my kids but we don’t go thru 2 loaves quick enough? Any recommendations from others?
You can freeze in slices and then just get out a slice and toast when you are ready. I talk more about freezing here: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/how-to-freeze-sourdough-bread
I also just posted a blog about storing options: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/how-to-store-sourdough-bread
Hope that helps!
Hi Lisa! I follow your youtube channel and often come to the website for sourdough recipes. I just wondered if you had plans to write a sourdough cook book?? I know you have an ebook in the past, but I’d LOVE to have a tangible book in my kitchen with All sourdough recipes. 🥰
I am working on a cook book now! More details to come in the future.
Can I freeze the dough after the bulk ferment, Would I just thaw and wait until it doubles in size to bake?
Yes, you can freeze it and just make sure it’s risen properly and back to room temperature.
Will this recipe work as-is (w/out the need for any changes) with the potato flake sourdough starter?