Simple Sourdough Sandwich Bread
This simple sourdough sandwich bread is soft, moist and delicious!
It can be made and baked the same day or made at night and baked the next morning.
This is the most requested recipe by my sourdough students after they complete the beginner’s sourdough workshop. It’s actually much easier than artisan loaves in some ways because all the kneading is done by the mixer and not by hand.
To make this bread you will need to begin with an active sourdough starter or a very small amount of active dry yeast.
New to Sourdough?
If you’ve never made sourdough before, I have a Beginner’s Sourdough Workshop available online that includes some of my 230 year old dehydrated starter from San Francisco. Making sourdough can be a little overwhelming at first but so fun and rewarding once you learn the techniques. Click here to check out the course, or you can learn how to make your own starter here in about 8-10 days.
What ingredients do I need ?
To make this simple sourdough sandwich bread, you’ll need all-purpose flour, and or bread flour, heavy cream or whole milk, active sourdough starter(or 1 g active dry yeast), butter, sugar and salt.
This is my favorite organic flour. It’s very strong and high in protein(usually between 11-12%,) so it always makes beautiful sourdough. Use the referral link to get $5 off your first order!
Do I need a special pan to make sandwich bread?
I like to use a Pullman pan when I’m making sandwich bread but you can also use a regular bread pan.
You’ll need to begin with an active sourdough starter, so make sure to feed it the night or day before you plan to bake with it. I have lots of tips for keep a sourdough starter happy and healthy with very minimal fuss inside my beginner’s sourdough workshop.
Do I need any special tools to make sandwich bread?
Here are a few thing that will help you successfully make this bread.
my favorite digital food scale
and plastic wrap or reusable bowl covers
How do I make a soft sandwich loaf?
Using some all-purpose flour instead of all bread flour actually makes this bread softer and with the addition of cream or milk, butter and sugar the crumb tends to be more tender and moist in texture than artisan sourdough loaves.
How do I feed my starter?
You’ll need to begin with an active sourdough starter, so make sure to feed it the night or day before you plan to bake with it. If you run into trouble with this, I have lots of tips and tricks for keeping a sourdough starter happy and healthy with very minimal fuss inside my beginner’s sourdough workshop.
- Take 10g starter and feed it at a 1:5:5 ratio.
- So 10g starter, 10g water and 10g bread flour.
- Mix this up and let it sit on your counter around 72-74°F for 8-10 hours until it more than doubles or triples in size(a.k.a. peaks.)
- Then put it in the fridge until you’re ready to make bread. As long as you put it in the fridge at peak, it will be strong enough to use within a day or two.
- Once you use the 65g for your recipe put the 45g leftover back in the fridge to save as your new starter for future baking. If you want to make more than one loaf just double the feeding ratios and recipe ingredients.
Simple Sourdough Sandwich Bread Making Day:
- Add flour, butter, sugar and salt to your stand mixer bowl then use your paddle attachment to mix well.
- Next add the starter, warm water(80°F) and cream.
- Mix well, then let rest for 30 min covered.
- Next switch to the dough hook and knead for 7-10 min.
- Let rest 30 min then check for a window pane(if you can stretch the dough and see light through it without it tearing.)
- If your dough still breaks easily, knead for another 3-5 min with the dough hook.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and let it rest until double in size(about 5 hours at 80°F) If you are doing this rise overnight, keep it on your counter where it’s cooler(between 72-74°F)it should take 10-12 hours to rise.
- You have the option to put your doubled dough in the fridge overnight for better flavor and digestibility or bake the same day.
- In the morning or after the first rise pull the dough from the bowl, flatten the dough out a bit to release any large air bubbles and roll it into a rectangle shape. Tuck the ends under slightly and place in a greased bread pan then cover with plastic wrap until risen to about 1 in above the top of the bread pan. This can take anywhere from 2 hours or up to 6 hours if the dough is cold from being in the fridge.
- Once the dough is big and puffy, preheat your oven to 375°F and brush the dough with an an egg wash(1 egg mixed well with 2 tsp water.)
- Bake on the center rack @ 375° F for 45-55 min or until the inside reaches 200°F.
- Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove and finish cooling completely on a wire rack.
- Store your bread in a plastic bag for 2-3 days on the counter then refrigerate or freeze the rest.
Recipe adapted from the amazing sourdough baker Emilie at The Clever Carrot.com
Simple Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- stand mixer dough hook and a paddle
- bread pan
- food scale
- plastic wrap or waterproof reusable bowl cover
Ingredients
- 250 g bread flour
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 60 g softened butter or coconut oil
- 25-50 g sugar or honey If you use 50g of sugar the bread will be sweeter but it may take longer to rise.
- 65 g bubbly active starter
- 270 g warm water(80 degrees F)
- 30 g heavy cream or whole milk
- 9 g salt
Instructions
- Feed your starter the night before or even a day or two before you plan to bake.
- Take 10 g starter and feed it at a 1:5:5 ratio so 10g starter, 50g water and 50g bread flour. Mix this up and let it sit on your counter around 72-74°F for 8-10 hours until it more than doubles in size. Then put it in the fridge until your ready to make bread. As long as you put it in the fridge at peak, it will be strong enough to use within a day or two. Once you use the 65g for your recipe put the 45g leftover back in the fridge to save as your new starter for future baking. If you want to make more than one loaf just double the feeding ratios and recipe ingredients.
- Bread Making Day: add flour, butter, sugar and salt to your stand mixer bowl and use the paddle attachment to mix well
- Next add the starter, warm water and cream
- Mix well, then let rest for 30 min covered
- Next switch to the dough hook and knead for 7-10 min
- Let rest 30 min then check for a window pane(if you can stretch the dough and see light through it without it tearing)
- If your dough still breaks easily, knead for another 3-5 min with the dough hook.
- Cover dough and let rest until double in size(about 5 hours at 80°F.) If you are doing this rise overnight, keep it on your counter where it's cooler(around 72-74°F) then it should take 10-12 hours to rise.
- Optional fridge proof overnight or bake the same day
- In the morning or after the first rise pull the dough from the bowl flatten the dough to release any large air bubbles and roll it into a rectangle shape. Tuck the ends under slightly then place in a bread pan and cover with plastic wrap to rise until it reaches about 1 in above the top of the bread pan. This can take anywhere from 2 hours to 6 hours if the dough is cold from the fridge.
- Once the dough is big and puffy, preheat your oven to 375°F and brush the top with an an egg wash(1 egg mixed well with 2 tsp water)
- Bake on the center rack @ 375° F for 45-55 min or until the inside reaches 200°F
- Let cool in pan for 10 minutes the remove to finish cooling completely on a wire rack
- Store your bread in a plastic bag for 2-3 days on the counter then refrigerate or freeze the rest.
For another delicious version, you could try this Sourdough Matcha Bread sourdough sandwich loaf.