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.
This is my family’s favorite bread! Thank you! We enjoy the traditional crusty loaves, but this soft sandwich style sourdough is even more delicious! I have made this recipe a few times as it has become the permanent replacement of all store bought bread in our home. I have followed the instructions and it’s turned out perfect every time. Freezing them as worked out well for us too.
My question: Have you ever let your loaves do their second rise in the fridge overnight? I have gotten myself into a situation where I will either need to stay up late and bake after this second rise, but I’d much prefer bake them early in the morning if I can leave them overnight in the fridge. Will doing this produce an over fermented dough that you warn against?
You can do the second rise in the night, but you will still need to pull it out to actually rise on the counter for a few hours before baking. The temperature in the fridge isn’t warm enough to cause the dough to rise.
Hi! I am wondering about cold proofing after the bulk fermentation at room temp. I see in the comments I can put in fridge overnight for a cold proof until I am ready to bake the next day. My question is should I shape the loaves and put them in the glass pans for the cold proof or put the dough unshaped in the fridge? If I put them in the fridge shaped, do I need to let them rest at room temp for a few hours before baking? Thank you!:)
I would put them in for a cold ferment before the second rise. Then pull them out and let them rise in the loaves on the counter until ready to bake!
Made this for the first time this weekend and it was delicious! My friends and family loved it so much that I have been asked to make a double batch for Easter. (We keep it simple and do a sandwich bar.) I also love how responsive Lisa is in the comments. All the questions I had had been previously asked and answered!
If using add-ins, when is the appropriate stage to do
This in this recipe?
Before you place the dough in the loaves for the second rise!
Wondering what the serving size is? How many grams per slice equals the 200 calories?
Does the temp and time change based on loaf pan material? Mine are glass- still 375 for 45 min? Thank you!
Yes!
Can I use occident flour in this recipe?
Never tried it but I don’t see why not.
Currently making atm however I have to work tomorrow and can’t bake until closer to 5pm. Can I do a cool fermentation after it’s shaped?
Thank you!
Yes! It should be in the fridge for 12-15 hours before baking.
I love this recipe I made my first 2 loafs of bread, HOWEVER I do have a question on the maintance of my sourdough starter I am keeping in the refrigerator. When I take it out to make more bread, do I have to feed it and let it sit 12 hours before I take the 1 cup of strter, or can I use my 1 cup from the starter after it has sat out for 8 hours and then feed it. I don’t want to damage my starter by not feeding it first if I should vs it’s ok to take out and feed and put back in the frig for the next time. Thank you so much I just love the simplicity of making this bread.
Hi Dorothy, I would take the starter out of the fridge, feed it before you go to bed and then in the morning you should be good to go in making the bread. My starter rarely makes it to the fridge unless we are going out of town.
But… I have also found the starter to be pretty resilient. I once had it in the fridge for a month–it was very sad with brown liquid on top–but I just poured off the liquid, fed it just a little bit to get it active, and it popped right back.
I have allowed it to ferment for 11
Hours and it has doubled in size – can I put in fridg and take out in the morning to cook? If I do this should I put in loaf pans before putting in fridg or when I take it out to finish the 2-4 hours and then cook.
Yes that’s fine. Then put it in the loaf pans and let rise for 4 hours.
I’ve made this soooo many times. The best sandwich bread ever! I cut my second loaf and freeze it 🩷