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.
What size is the loaf pan you are using ?
5.8″D x 9.7″W x 3.4″H
Can you bulk rise in the frig and bake the next morning?
After your first ferment, you can keep them in the fridge for up to five days until you’re ready to bake them. Make sure to let your bread warm up to room temp before baking.
Hi there! When allowing the dough to rise, should I cover it with anything? Towel, damp tea towel, or nothing at all?
Thanks!
Yes, you will want to cover it with something. A towel should work just fine.
Lisa I am new to sourdough. When you say ripe starter is that meaning -after it has been fed and it has risen? I fed my starter yesterday and it had been active and bubbly, sitting out on the counter. This morning was looking at this recipe. should I feed the starter again and pull out amount after it has been fed again or can I collect amount of starter that I need now. Starter still has some bubbles but it is not as high as it was last night,
Yes exactly. You will want the starter at its peak. If it starts to fall, it is too late and will need to be fed again, wait until it’s about doubled, then use. You can also scoop out a little bit of starter and place it in a little jar of water. If it floats, it is really to use.
New to Sourdough baking and this has been my best loaf of bread yet. Previous attempts using a dutch oven and a wet dough have resulted in a chewy crust that would break teeth!!! This has a lovely crust which slices easily and is super easy to make in the Kitchenaid. Will try the wholemeal version next.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing!
So I have a standard Kitchenaid mixer as well and it will still creep up above the flat surface on the dough hook attachment if I keep the head locked in place. however I accidentally forgot to lock it in place and noticed that it just kinda rolls with the flow of the dough so to speak… and as long as I’m on the lower setting no flour or water or dough goes anywhere it shouldn’t. I does creep up a little as it starts coming away from teh sides, but not like when I have it locked in place and its getting all balled into the top where the dough hook attaches to the mixer. So maybe a hack to help those that have their cup- or mixing bowl- rune thing over 🙂 I love doubled recipes bc its less work for me and less time away from everything else I could be doing, so not needing to half it is amazing!
I had this same problem!! I am trying to make this for the first time tonight. It was much longer than 10 minutes in the mixer and I finally took it out and did a while by hand. I just watched the video and think I should have kept at it for longer. I don’t think it passed the windowpane test, it wasn’t as stretchy and smooth as in the video. I guess we will see what happens tomorrow!
Reporting back that it rose like crazy and is about to go in the oven!!
Thank you for this trick yes mine always has a time with it being locked
Used my dough hook for the first time today. I thought I was doing something wrong – glad others shared my struggle of the dough balling up at the top of the hook! I also found out accidentally that it won’t do that so bad if the lock is off. Just put my bread in the oven!
I also encountered this problem with my standard KitchenAid mixer. After all the ingredients were well blended, I turned the speed up (keeping the head locked) and that kept slapping the dough back down into the bowl. And, yes, it definitely takes more than 10 minutes to get that window pane test to pass. But…the end result is sooo worth it…a wonderful loaf of bread with lots of butter (yum)!
I’m currently at 30 minutes and still waiting 🙃 Good to know it’s not just me. Still not getting a window pane.
Ok I need help. I’ve made this twice and made the regular in the Dutch oven, all times I’ve made it I definitely under proof I need to work on that, but why does this bread taste so terrible? My starter is good and strong over a year old very active very good smell, but everytime I try to make a loaf of sourdough the loaf taste absolutely nasty and comes out so gummy and chewy, not in a good way . I’ve threw every loaf in the trash so far. I know I gotta work on the patience with the proofing, but can that really make it taste terrible?
I’m not sure why it would taste so terrible. Under proofing the dough will definitely make it gummy and not very appetizing, but I wouldn’t think the flavor would be bad. Sourdough bread does take a lot longer than conventional bread to rise. I’ve never made this recipe in the dutch oven before.
How do you manage this recipe / time of day. Trying to figure out what will work with my morning-fed starter and living in humid and warmer South Texas without having to be up all hours of the night.
Hi! If I feed my starter in the morning, I can usually put it together in the afternoon. Then let it bulk rise until I go to bed and either put the entire bowl into the fridge til the morning or prepare it into loaf pans til the next morning. Then bake, ready for lunch or even breakfast. When it gets colder – I have to adjust! We just had a few cold nights and my bulk ferments have drastically slowed down! Hope this helps!
What setting should I knead my dough on? Also, when I put in a bowl for the fermentation, should the bowl be greased? Should I cover with a wet or dry towel?
Hi there! I think my video on this recipe may help answer your questions: https://youtu.be/Fs-Yv4WlMuA?si=YtkFDXgNkCp0WGIf
This recipe is the perfect sandwich bread recipe! My husband loves artisan sourdough but my girls prefer this. Between the two, my starter never gets neglected. Thank you for having such a wonderful, wholesome and helpful blog! God bless!
So glad you enjoy the recipe! Have a great day!