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.
My husband and I tag team to make this. We don’t have a stand mixer yet so we hand knead. I’ve found it takes 40 minutes to hand knead the double loaf and 20 minutes for one loaf. I will say that our dough hasn’t ever met the window pane test but still comes out well when using regular ap flour.
We switched to ap einkorn flour and have to add much more flour when kneading. Also when baking the top is golden brown almost forming a burn spot but the inside is still gummy in spots when there is 10 minutes left to bake. Trying again with enikorn flour today. Hopefully we can bake it all the way through and have no dark spots.
Any advice for window pane test when hand kneading? Also about needing to use more flour during the kneading process? And baking the full time without burn spots?
Kneading by hand takes a lot longer. I would consider switching to a no-knead loaf or one that requires stretching and folding. It will be less time consuming. I also have a specific recipe using einkorn on my website. That may help some of your struggles, as it requires different hydration levels than other flours.
I knead mine by hand too. I have never had it pass the windowpane test and it still rises and tastes great. I knead it maybe 10 minutes.
I can’t seem to get a good second rise out of my bread. It never rises above the level of the bread pan. My bread seems short and dense even with 12 hours of second rise time in a warm proofing box. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. My dough seems to ferment quickly (within 6 hrs) with the first rise, but so slowly with the second rise, even when I turn the temp up significantly. Maybe I’m waiting too long before shaping, how tight should my dough be after that first rise?
It doesn’t have to be rolled super tight. What size of bread loaf pans are you using?
9 x 5
This recipe is the best! Thank you! I cut it in half and only make one at a time, but we will be making it regularly all winter/spring. Thank you!
So glad you enjoy it!
Hi Stephanie, Did you just halve everything in the recipe as written or did you modify some? I want to only make one at a time, too, because it is just my husband and I. Thank you!
Do you use a wet or dry towel over the 2 loaves for the 2nd rise? I put them in the oven with the light on because it is not that warm in our house right now. 18 degrees outside this morning. Brrr Thanks
A wet towel will prevent the dough from drying out.
My bread continues to come out very dense. What am I doing wrong?
does your dough pass the windowpane test after kneading?
What does the windowpane test mean? I’m new to making sourdough and this will be my first time. Doing all the research first before making.
the windowpane test involves a small sample of your dough, shaped roughly into a small square, and gently stretched apart to achieve a transparent or see-through windowpane effect where light can pass through.
If the dough tears, the gluten needs more time and work to develop. If light passes through your little windowpane of dough, the gluten has developed properly and is ready to go.
Mine comes out dense as well, I thought maybe because I didn’t knead long enough.. but it passes window pane test. This time I almost overheated my mixer trying to knead a few minutes longer. Are you supposed to put flour in gradually or all at once?
I typically add in my flour gradually.
can you use bread flour instead of all purpose flour?
Yes, that should be just fine!
I wish this was a one loaf sandwich bread. Do you have any Do you have a recipe for one loaf sourdough bread? If I start playing with the measurements I will mess it up.
No, most of my recipes for sandwich loaves make two because the loaf pans are smaller. You could always freeze one so it doesn’t go bad!
Can we cold proof on 2nd rise overnight?
Sure!
I have actually halved the recipe mostly to see if it would work , and it did just fine for one loaf. I just start with a cup of flour at a time so can just adjust .. I just mix by hand, Don’t have a big mixer …There is just me and can’t eat so much ..
I was looking for a sourdough recipe using all-purpose flour and not bread flour. Googled and found your recipe. So I halved the recipe. And during the fold and stretch I sprinkled cinnamon sugar and raisins into every fold then put into loaf pan for 2md rise, left on my stove top for a few hours then baked it. Turned out amazing. If you like a cinnamon raisin bread and haven’t tried this on your recipe, I highly recommend you try it. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Thanks for the recommendation! That sounds delicious.
Absolutely loved this recipe! My only questions is, do you intend it to have both loaves baked at the same time or separate? I put the 2nd loaf in the fridge while I let the 1st proof on the counter and didn’t bake the 2nd till a couple of days later when I was ready for it. It did not rise much from what it was when taken from the fridge and I didn’t know if I should let it come to room temp first before baking it.
Let it come to room temp first and rise a little bit more. The fridge slows down the rising process.
I have been making this bread, and all of your sourdough recipes for the last few years. When people ask me about sourdough I always tell them “just do Farmhouseonboone’s recipes, they always turn out!”
We also have 8 children(7 daughters)and we really enjoy trying your recipes and watching the new videos together!
Thanks so much for the kind words!! So glad you enjoy this recipe and others.