Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Our Sourdough Sandwich bread is easy to love and a delight to make. This isn't your typical crusty sourdough loaf. Instead, we've created a classic, no-frills sandwich bread guaranteed to win over everyone - from the pickiest of kids to those who claim they're not fans of sourdough. The texture is moist and tender, and the crust is soft, with a subtle sourdough flavor that's not overpowering. Even the "I don't like sourdough" crowd will love this loaf. It's sure to become a staple in your baking.
This recipe is designed to be simple, adaptable, and convenient. You probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry. It's flexible enough to fit into your schedule, whether you want to bake and enjoy your bread on the same day or let the shaped dough chill overnight for baking the next day. You can customize the recipe to your taste by using milk instead of water for a richer flavor or melted butter instead of oil for a touch of decadence. Whether you prefer a neutral oil like grapeseed or a more robust olive oil, this recipe accommodates your preference and ensures a perfect loaf every time.
Prep
17 hours
Cook
30 to 35 minutes
Total
18 to 26 hours
Yield
One loaf baked in a 9x4x4" pan
Ingredients
- 15g (about 1 tbsp) Starter
- 60g (¼ C) Water
- 60g (½ C) Bread flour
Sourdough Starter Feeding
- 460g (3 ¾ C) Bread flour
- 260g (1 ⅛ C) Water, 88°F (31°C)
- 100g (about ½ C) Sourdough starter
- 37g (3 tbsp) Oil
- 21g (1 Tbsp) Maple syrup or honey
- 9g (1 ½ tsp) Salt
Dough
Instructions
- *Feed the starter: Feed your sourdough starter about 10 hours before you are ready to mix the dough. Mix the starter, water, and flour, and place in a jar. Place in the Sourdough Home set to 71°F (21°C) and leave to ripen for 10 hours. When ripe, it should have tripled in size and bubbles will be visible on the top and sides.
- Set up the Proofer: Set the Proofer to 79°F (26°C) and put the water tray in the middle of the warming plate. Pour ¼ cup (60 ml) of water into the tray and place the rack on top of the tray.
- Mix the dough: Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer. Turn the mixer to low speed and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes until incorporated. Turn the mixer to second speed and mix for 5-7 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and strong and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Alternatively, the dough can be mixed by hand: Add the starter, water, oil, and honey (or maple syrup) to a large bowl. Use a dough whisk to mix until combined. Add the flour and salt and mix well until fully incorporated. Once a shaggy dough forms, perform stretch & folds or slap & fold for about 2 minutes to further develop the gluten. When done mixing, form the dough into a ball and place it into a greased bowl.
- Bulk ferment: Place the bowl in the Proofer and leave the dough to rise for about 4 hours. When done with the bulk fermentation, the dough will have increased in size by about 50%, will feel light to the touch, and the dough should gently jiggle if you shake the bowl. If you hand mixed the dough, it will benefit from a few folds to strengthen the dough: During the first 1 ½ hours of the bulk rise, perform two sets of stretch & folds 45 minutes apart and then place the dough back into the Proofer to rest untouched for the remainder of the bulk fermentation time.
- Shape: Remove the dough from the Proofer. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and flatten it into a rectangle, pressing any large bubbles out of the dough. With a long side of the rectangle facing you, take the short left and right sides and fold them in towards the center so that they meet in the middle. Press down gently to seal, then, starting at the edge facing you, roll up the dough into a log. Place the dough seam side down into a greased 9x4x4 inch pan.
- Proof: Check the water tray and add more water if necessary. The Proofer should still be set to 79°F (26°C). At this point, you can proceed in one of two directions depending on when you want to bake the bread. Same day: Place the shaped loaf in the Proofer and proof for 3 hours. When proofing is done, the dough should have noticeably increased in size and just started to rise above the lip of the pan. While the dough is proofing, preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Next day: Proof the shaped loaf for 1 ½ hours until the dough has risen about ⅔ of the way up the pan. Remove from the Proofer, cover, and place in the refrigerator overnight. If baking the next day, you can bake straight from the refrigerator. (If you pull the dough out of the refrigerator and it looks like it hasn’t risen at all overnight and isn’t close to the rim of the pan, then place it in the Proofer at 79°F (26°C)for about 1 hour and then proceed with baking.)
- Bake: Bake for 20 minutes at 400°F (204°C), lower the temperature to 375°F (190°C), and bake another 15 minutes. If you check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer, it should read 195°F (91°C). Remove the loaf from the pan and place it on a wire rack to cool completely.
∗ Tip: You can feed your starter according to our instructions, but if you have ripe starter on hand, feel free to substitute that for the 100g of starter in the dough.
∗ Tip: If desired, you can brush the top of the loaf with milk or egg wash before baking to give the crust more of a sheen.
Leave a comment
10 comments
When you bake the sourdough sandwich bread do you set oven to “bake”, “convection/bake” or “convection”. Please explain your choices, thank you.
Gus – We developed the recipe using the ‘bake’ setting so that is what we would recommend. You can certainly try ‘convention/bake’ and see which mode you prefer. Typically, the recommended temperature when using convention is 25°F lower than called-for temperature (if the recipe is not written or convection) but some ovens will automatically reduce the temperature. Let us know if you give it a try!
Wow! Super easy recipe. I was surprised at how good this bread turned out. ❤️ Perfect sandwich bread. I did allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator overnight and proofed one hour after taking out of fridge. I will be make this again and again. Thank you for providing this recipe.
Lauri – We’re absolutely thrilled to hear you enjoyed the bread recipe and found it easy to follow! Thank you so much for sharing your experience and for the positive feedback.
In Step 2 it doesn’t mention putting the dough in the proofer, but I think this was just a typo. I also covered the dough—was that necessary?
Jennifer – In step four, you place the dough in the Proofer for the bulk fermentation. We made a slight change in the instructions to make it clearer. We did not cover the dough for this recipe since using the water tray provided enough humidity. If you live in a drier climate, or if you feel your dough seems to be developing a skin, you can certainly cover the dough; just be aware that because the Proofer was calibrated with the water tray in use and without dough covered, your dough temp may be a few degrees higher than the set temperature of the Proofer.
Of course I meant step 4! Thank you for adding the clarification. I’m in the middle of proofing so I’ll have to let you know later how the bread comes out.
Jennifer – Please do! We love hearing feedback from our customers. We want our recipes to be clear and easy to follow so thank you for your comment. Happy Baking! 😊
I use fresh milled flour when baking. Can I use it for baking this sandwich bread? If so, since the recipe is in grams would I need to make any adjustments? My son just gave me your sourdough home as an early birthday present. I’m excited to start using it.
Vickie – Yes, you can definitely use freshly milled flour for baking this sandwich bread. While we haven’t tried this specific recipe with freshly milled flour ourselves, it should work just fine. Freshly milled flour can have different absorption rates, so you might need to adjust the hydration slightly. Start by using the same amount of flour by weight and adjust the water as needed to achieve the desired dough consistency. That’s wonderful to hear about your new Sourdough Home—it’s a fantastic tool for maintaining a healthy starter. Enjoy your baking!