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.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
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.
Kelly says
Can you sub bread flour for the all purpose?
Lisa says
Yes that should work fine!
Vicky L Randolph says
My loads of bread were very tough on top. what did I do wrong?
Lisa says
It could have to do positioning in your oven. If you notice that they are really done on top, you could always put foil over the pan halfway through baking.
Lori says
I followed the recipe almost exactly other than using about 20 grams less starter, just because I didn’t have quite enough. (My starter was fed mostly on whole wheat). I used butter, spring water that I happened to have on hand, and put the loaves in 2 1.5 Q corning ware ovals, No egg wash. Turned out great and it’s absolutely delicious!!! Having a hard time not eating it all myself!!
Lisa says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! So glad you enjoyed it!
Eva says
I’ve made this recipe several times, and HAVE LOVE IT. Recently when I make the dough, mixing the dough doesn’t pull from the bottom of my mixer, and after 10 minutes it isn’t stretchy and smooth. Am I needing to add more flour? Idk what happened from the first several times I have made it till now.
Lisa says
Hmmm that’s interesting! Is it passing the window pane test?
Patricia says
I’m having the same problem. First 2 times I made it, perfect, last 2 won’t pass the window pane test. Not sure if I’m adding too much flour, not enough, adding it too late?
Kb says
Same issue. Measurements are accurate. My starter is ripe and floaty. I run it for 10 minutes in the stand mixer on 2 or 3 speed and it comes out sticky and will not pass the windowpane test.
I’ve gone so far as to knead by hand for 20 minutes after the 10 in the mixer and it still doesn’t pass.
Caroline says
My house is colder, at 10 mins point, the dough doesn’t pass window pane test. And I measure the dough temperature which I aim to between 26-27C. At 10 mins point, my dough was 25C. So I let the mixer knead another 5mins, checking every 2 minutes. And I was able to reach the temp and pass window pane test.
Katie Burrus says
Is the calories for 1 piece of bread or for 2?
Lisa says
1 piece of bread!
Marla B says
20 slices represents both loaves combined, right? 10 slices per loaf?
Thanks!
Rodger says
What size loaf pans do you recommend?
Lisa says
Here are the loaf pans I recommend: https://amzn.to/392Jxbo (affiliate link)
Caitlin says
I’m really impressed with this recipe. The loaves turned out beautifully. I live in Queensland, Australia and it’s very warm in my house so the bulk rise only took 5 hours, then I shaped the loaves and let them finish rising in the fridge overnight. Almost burnt out the motor in my stand mixer though 😅
Lisa says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! You can always cut the recipe in half to make it easier on your stand mixer as well.
Alyssa Duval says
How would you recommend storing it after taking it out of the freezer? Should it be kept refrigerated? Thanks!
Lisa says
I usually just store it in a gallon sized ziplock bag. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated or anything.
Esther G says
Can I use oil (canola or olive) instead of butter or coconut? Or can I use margarine?
Lisa says
You can replace the butter with oil, but it will have an affect on the final taste.
Liberti says
Mine isn’t raising…could that be an issue with my starter? I followed instructions exactly…or could it take longer than the 12hrs?
Lisa says
It could be an issue with your starter or the temperature in your home.
Jackie M. says
So i made this for the first time. My starter is very active. I used the proper amount of flour but my dough is so sticky. Not wet. But sticky.
Lisa says
How long did you knead the dough for? Sometimes if you over knead the dough it can actually become sticky and gluey.