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.
Thank you for this recipe! It was my first really successful sourdough recipe and my children love it so much. I am making it for them every week now and have gifted it as well.
I love that it’s so easy to put together at night and then is ready to bake already in the late morning.
I don’t usually buy AP flour, but I’ve made this with KA bread flour without issues. I added 1/5 white whole wheat last time which seemed to create a very similar texture to AP flour.
Great! Thanks for sharing your feedback.
Could this be done in a 13” Pullman pan with lid, and just shape it into one loaf instead of two?
Yes. That should work!
Do you cove the dough for the second 2 to 4 hour rise?
Yes! That keeps the dough from drying out.
Can you do bulk rise in the fridge? If so for how long?
It needs to bulk rise on the counter first due to the temperatures. After that, you could do a second ferment in the fridge for an additional 24 hours.
I’m shaping the dough before bed tonight and putting it in the fridge for the second ferment. Does it have to be in the fridge for 24 hours? Also, when I take it out, can it go straight in the oven or does it need to sit at room temp? Thanks!
You can speed up the process by letting it ferment on the counter and bypassing the refrigerator, if you’re in a time crunch.
I’m making this bread for the first time today, and came back to reread the blog to see if there were any hints in the comments on what to do if it didn’t pass the windowpane test. I kneaded in my Kitchenaid for about 15 minutes and it was still tearing. I shut it off to come read, and decided it probably just needed to be kneaded (ha!) a little longer. Lo and behold, when I went back to my dough after the pause, it looked much smoother than when I shut off the mixer. I tried the windowpane test again, and it was perfect! So for those of you who can’t get it to stretch without tearing, try just letting it rest for 3-5 minutes!
A rest in the dough can be a huge help! Sometimes it just needs a little rest for the gluten structure to build.
Wonderful recipe. Came out perfect! Thank you!
Thanks!
What is the hydration % of the starter?
100% hydration.
Can I add some inclusions to this recipe, like some shredded cheese and jalapeños maybe?
For sure! You can also try this recipe: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/sourdough-cheese-bread
I can never get my sourdough anything to pass a windowpane test with just 10 minutes of kneading. It needs closer to 30 minutes. What could I be doing wrong?
You may not be doing anything wrong! It could depend on the strength of your Kitchen Aid motor. If you have a smaller motor in your Kitchen Aid, that could likely be the issue.
I was literally about to make the same comment. I have a KitchenAid professional 600 and I feel like I’ve been kneeding for 30 minutes. The motor is definitely warm and smelling like it’s burning up. I did not 1/2 the recipe.
Also wondering if adding more flour would help?
I would let your motor rest a bit! You can always knead the rest by hand if your motor is struggling.
Yeah, you can hear it as it gets on the struggle bus 😂
How long should I knead by hand?
I kneaded mine by hand for 30 minutes. It was hard work but it turned out beautifully.
Thanks for sharing!
It could also be that you’re adding the whole amount (8c) of flour and your starter isn’t wet enough for that. You could try adding that 8th cup of flour 1 TBSP at a time to see if you can achieve the smooth consistency. My first time I had to add water to the dough and it came out fine because it had to be kneaded more than 10 min. Hope that helps!
Try shutting off your mixer and just letting it rest for 5 min or so. I was having the same problem, and accidentally discovered that after a brief rest, it was much smoother and stretched without tearing.
Can the dough ferment overnight in the bread pan?
Typically you will ferment overnight during the first fermentation. Once that occurs, you put it into the bread pans. The second rise in the bread pans usually just takes around 4 hours.
Fantastic recipe, have made it 3 times now and it tastes and slices great
Love to hear it!