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 have a bread proof setting on my oven. Could I use that for the first and/or second rise? Wasn’t sure if that would be ok for sourdough. Thanks!
I’ve never used it, but you can try it. I would just watch it very closely because the time it would take it to proof could be a lot less than what I’ve suggested. If it over proofs, it will be a big sloppy mess!
Thank you for helping me on my sourdough bread journey. I couldn’t have done so well with out you. ❤️😎
I am so happy to hear that!
Do you Cover the dough with a tea towel or plastic wrap for the bulk rise?
You can do either. Sometimes plastic wrap works better at keeping the air out and preventing your dough from drying out.
Hi, I made the recipe as written, it has been bulk fermenting in my kitchen for 6 hours and it is now doubled. Should I go by time and let it keep going before shaping? Thank you!
Go by how it looks. If it has doubled than you can move forward with the next step.
Hi Lisa, thank you! That’s what I did, and it came out great! Will definitely be making again! I did refrigerate the 2nd loaf last night to bake later, and I’m wondering how long it can stay refrigerated. We have a lot of bread in the house, hoping it can stay in there a couple days more or at least one more day so I can bake it fresh then? Thanks again!!!
SO GOOD. Made two loaves; one was gone shortly after taken out of the oven. This is probably one of the easiest recipes. My kitchen aide wasn’t happy so I did hand knead some. No big deal. It’s easier for everyone to eat this instead of regular sourdough. Plus it takes away the fridge rise. Highly recommend.
That is great to hear! And oh no. If you have a standard Kitchen Aid I would suggest cutting the recipe in half.
Can I substitute fresh ground hard white wheat flour? I like to do a 50/50 white whole wheat and all purpose.
Have you checked out my whole wheat bread recipe? You may have better luck using that recipe instead.
I like to feed my starter the night before or the morning of… but then I have the issue of timing for rise. Can I do a rise in the fridge for longer? Say feed my starter at 9am, make bread around 2 when the starter is ready, let rise on the counter until bedtime (about 6hrs) then put in the fridge? Or just throw it in the fridge right away? Evenings are so busy so I’d rather bake in the morning.
Absolutely!
I’ve been working with KA Bread flour and trying to get a starter going. I’ve done the daily feeds on the counter with a few weeks off in the fridge, I just don’t get the activity you people seem to. I also don’t get the second rise like I think I should, I am missing something in my process. I watch a ton of videos yet they are not helping. I pulled my starter from the fridge today, saved a bit washed my jar, fed it and am waiting to see what tomorrow brings. I’m getting frustrated though, I know I’m missing something I just don’t know what.
Has your starter passed the float test? You want to make sure your starter is activated before you start storing it in the fridge.
Use whole wheat or rye flour to make your starter there is more wild yeast. Use distilled or spring water instead of tap water.
Yes, definitely need to keep it out on counter a lot longer with two (or three if needed) feedings a day before moving it to the fridge. From what I have read and from my own experience, a new starter needs many weeks on the counter to get mature enough to move to the fridge. I think I kept mine going for at least 6 weeks. Also, yes, I used white whole wheat bread flour from Azure Standard. All-purpose can be harder to get a starter going with. And also, yes, definitely use spring water (I use DeerPark bottled water) for getting a starter going. You want to use the best ingredients you can to get the starter going well and more easily.
Don’t use city water unless it’s filtered because the chlorine in it will kill your starter. If you’re changing your jars out too often you’re taking the starter out of the yeast environment it needs to get stronger! Once a week is good if the nasty jar is killing you, but you can keep going for longer.
This worked out beautifully for me and I shared the second loaf with my mom who enjoyed it every day! Thank you <3
Love that! So glad you enjoyed it.
I think I over kneaded my dough. It never passed the window pain test. It just tears and feels stiff. Looks nothing like your pictures. It also doesn’t seem to be rising. I still have 3 hours left but it looks the same size it was when I put it in the bowl to rise. Is this salvageable? Or should I just toss the dough and try again tomorrow? (It’s 8pm right now.)
It’s always worth trying to bake! 🙂 I’d never suggest tossing it. See what happens. 🙂