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 minutesโฆ Just mix, rise, shape, rise again, and bake.
Let it cool, slice and slather it with butter. Itโs 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 itโs 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.
- Donโt over ferment the dough. It will turn into a wet sloppy disaster that wonโt 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 โ 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 โ I like to use honey since it is a natural sweetener.
Salt โ This gives the bread so much flavor and skipping it will leave you with a tasteless loaf.
Sourdough starter โ You want a nice active and bubbly starter to make bread. Starter that isnโt ripe wonโt produce nice fluffy bread.
Water โ Room temperature.
All-purpose flour โ The best part of this recipe is that it uses good olโ 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 โ 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 isnโt a super hydrated dough and wonโt 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 โ 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.
- Donโt over ferment the dough. It will turn into a wet sloppy disaster that wonโt 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.
Does anyone know how I woud adjust time/temp when making this recipe in mini loaf pans? I would rather make a few small loaves instead of a standard size loaf. I am planning on halving the recipe since my standard Kitchen Aid stand mixer will not like kneading this size recipe. TIA if anyone can advise. I am very eager to try this recipe.
I would lower the temperature by twenty-five degrees and lowering the time by half and monitoring it until they look done.
One question about this recipe – Iโm trying to get the max nutritional benefit from the sourdough. Could I do a longer second rise the fridge for this purpose?
Yes, you could!
Last time I tried this the bread turned out dense and hard. Dough never passed the window labs test in the mixer so I went longer and it still didnโt so I eventually just stopped mixing it. But Iโm wondering if I over mixed it if thatโs why it turned out that way? What speed on the kitchen aid do you usually use when mixing?
I usually use speed 2-4 on the Kitchen Aid mixer. Sometimes if you let it rest a bit, it will become more malleable.
I have a pro series KitchenAid mixer and I didnt have any issues with the size of the dough. I did notice however that during the first rise (10 to 12 hours) my dough outgrew my bowl. If you have a 5qt bowl or smaller, you will likely need to transfer the dough to a larger bowl for this step.
Have made and it wonderful, wondering if you could use discard? thoughts
I have a sandwich bread discard recipe! https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/sourdough-discard-sandwich-bread
Should this be covered while fermenting and proofing? This is my first time using sourdough and I bulk fermented overnight and woke up to a hard crust formed on top of my dough.
Yes, it should always be covered while proofing. You can use plastic wrap, a wet tea towel, or even a plastic grocery sack over the bowl!
Your instructions do not indicate cover with saran wrap, or anything, oil in the bowl would be another Great suggestion!!!
I am a beginner in sourdough, could you please tell me if the approximate time you mix the ingredients in the mixer? Iโm always confused. Is it just until it begins to pull away from the bowl or about 10 minutes? Or is the 10 minutes when kneading by hand? Iโm so worried to over mix. Thank you!!!๐
10 minutes in the stand mixer!
I’m letting mine bulk ferment overnight and I’m worried it’s going to over-ferment. Can I put it in the fridge and resume tomorrow? Or should I just see what happens? House is at 69 and it’s a fairly cool night, so should cool off. However, when I made this recipe last week (so amazing!!!) the house and outside temps were warmer and I was pretty close to over-fermenting when I got up in the morning…
What time did you begin letting it ferment? Usually over night is no issue, unless you started it pretty early in the day. You can always place it in the fridge and pull it out and continue lettin git ferment.
Hi Lisa! I want to make this recipe, but I do not have a stand mixer. It said in the notes that you can do it by hand. I was wondering if you had any advice about making the dough by hand (other than that it will take some elbow grease;) ). Also I want to thank you for your videos. I have been working hard at doing more from scratch and your videos are informative and encouraging.
Just elbow grease and extra time!
How do you not over ferment it?
Just watch it. You want the dough to double in size. If it sits too long or the area is too warm (and it sits longer than needed) it will over fermented.