Homemade sourdough sandwich bread is easy to make. This recipe is simple and made from scratch with a homemade sourdough starter. This sliced bread is ideal for sandwiches and paninis. And step by step with video and expert tips are also included.
Table of Content
Homemade bread is easy to make with a fresh sourdough starter. It is also one of the most versatile bread you can make at home. And it's the type of bread kids love to make their pb&j sandwiches with.
Why make this bread
- Sourdough bread with a golden crust yet tender and fluffy inside. The recipe includes a video showing how easy it is to make this easy bread.
- This bread recipe tastes great and is quick and simple to prepare.
- And almost all the ingredients in this recipe are simple pantry staples plus a sourdough starter.
- I use a simple method that uses shorter fermentation time and longer proofing time after shaping. In fact, this method makes shaping so much easier! Try it.
- This sandwich bread is popular, easy to make, and delicious with peanut butter, jelly or to serve your favorite BLT sandwich. Leftover slices are perfect to make French toast for breakfast the next morning.
- Also, this is a great sourdough sandwich loaf to have in the freezer. I like to slice and freeze the slices so my kids can pick just the number of slices they need for their sandwiches.
- Of course, this recipe presumes you have a sourdough starter already on hand to make the levain.
Bakers schedule
Below, is how I organized my schedule for this sandwich bread. Follow this timeline which really has a lot of room for flexibility (the hours are just my personal schedule).
| Hour | Activity | Time |
| 2 pm | Levain | 3 to 5 hours |
| 7.00 pm | Autolyse | 1 hour |
| 8.00 pm | Knead | 10 - 15 mins |
| 9 pm | Bulk Ferment | 6 to 8 hours (retard overnight) |
| 8 am | Thaw | 1 hour (next morning) |
| 9 am | Shape | 20 mins |
| 9.30 pm | Proof | 2 - 3 hrs |
| 11.15 am | Preheat oven | 15 mins |
| 11.30 am | Bake | 40 to 45 mins |
Ingredients and substitutes
- Flour - I highly recommend bread flour if you love a chewy texture to your sourdough bread. But, you can also certainly use all-purpose flour. And if you want to make whole wheat sourdough buns, replace half the flour in the recipe with whole wheat flour.
- Salt - You can use coarse salt, but I prefer to use fine kosher salt to help the dough absorb it well.
- Sugar – This is a sweet bread, but you can certainly reduce the sugar by half. And you can also use honey or maple syrup.
- Butter – Makes the dough rich and buttery with a soft crumb.
- Eggs - Adds a lot of flavor to the bread, gives a tender crumb, and strengthens the texture.
- Milk - Enhances the flavor, and tenderizes the dough giving it a soft texture. The temperature of the liquid milk is an important factor in bread making. It has to be warm, not hot. Usually about 110 F.
- Levain - Levain is a larger amount of wild yeast that is made from a small quantity of sourdough starter.
Soft sourdough sandwich bread recipe
- Levain - In a medium bowl, combine the sourdough starter, water, and flour. Stir well to combine. Then, cover and leave to rise for 3 to 5 hours at room temperature until double in size.
Pro tip - You can also make the levain for up to 5 days in advance and leave it in the fridge.
- Autolyze
- In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk, eggs, and sugar. Combine well.
- Add the flour and salt followed by the starter. Stir well with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Then, cover the bowl and leave to rest for 60 minutes.
Pro tip - Autolyze will help strengthen the gluten formation on the dough. In the video, I combined the wet and dry ingredients separately, but you can do it all together in the stand mixer as well.
- Knead - Next, knead the dough with a dough hook attachment on medium speed for 4 to 6 minutes.
Then, add the soft room temperature butter and knead for another 4 to 6 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Pro tip - The dough will still be very soft, yet smooth, shiny, and very elastic when you do the windowpane test.
Rise
- Bulk ferment - Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Leave the dough to rise in the refrigerator (38°F / 3°C) for 6 to 8 hours.
Pro tip - The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours. The highly enriched dough will rise very slowly. - Degas - When double is size, punch down and transfer to a clean work surface. Then, break any large air bubbles and shape the dough into a ball again.
Pro tip - At this point, if you are not ready to shape and bake the dough you can put it back into the oiled bowl and let it rise again in the fridge for another 6 to 8 hours.
- Divide - Roll the dough into a cylinder and divide the dough into 4 portions. Alternatively, you can also roll the dough into one large log to make classic sandwich bread.
Pro tip - Weigh the 4 portions to ensure they are similar in size. Mine was about 215 to 240 grams each because I use the 9x4x4 pan. These will rise about an inch over the rim of the pan.
- Shape - Roll each portion into a tight roll. To do this correctly, flatten the dough on an unfloured surface. Then, fold the top and two sides in. Then, roll towards you into a sausage shape. And place the pieces into a buttered sandwich loaf pan, seam side down. (Pan size with ingredients)
Pro tip - For a single large loaf do a similar method, flatten, fold both sides into the center then roll from the top to the bottom. - Proof - Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place proof for about 2 to 3 hours or until almost double in size.
Pro tip - Spray the plastic wrap with oil to prevent it from sticking to the rolls. In summer, the dough may rise in 90 minutes while in winter it can take up to 3 hours.
Bake
- Preheat oven - Preheat the oven at 375°F / 190°C / Gas mark 5 for at least 20 minutes.
- Egg wash - Brush the loaf with egg wash, milk, or cream.
Pro tip - Egg wash is a full egg with 2 tablespoon of water. An egg wash will give a nice golden color. If you can't use egg, milk or cream will work just as well. However, do not use oil or butter as it will create a crust. - Bake - Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes until lightly golden on top.
Pro tip - If the top of the sandwich bread is getting too dark, tent it with aluminum foil. - Cool - Then, take it out of the pan, and brush it with melted butter. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert on a cooling rack and cool completely before cutting.
Pro tip - Do not leave the bread in the pan for too long as the steam will make the bread soggy on the bottom.
Tips for success
- I have given two popular loaf pan measurements (9-inch and 8-inch) so you don't have to recalculate your pan dough.
- To get the best outcome from bread recipes, it is best to weigh the ingredients rather than use cup measurements.
- Also, the timeline for bulk fermentation and proofing is quite long, 8 to 16 hours from counter to refrigerator. This means you can start the process 24 hours ahead and not be overwhelmed with the process.
- The timeline is a guide to use and can be adjusted to your own convenience.
- Use a kitchen scale when baking with sourdough because that will give you an accurate measure.
- And this dough with 53% hydration with a 100% hydration starter. This means I use an equal amount of dough, water, and starter to make my levain.
- The dough is not very loose but it is quite stretchy. If you are new to sourdough, take your time and work slowly. In winter it helps to work with chilled dough.
- Also, for the best rise, make sure to preheat your home oven for no less than 10 minutes before baking.
- Cool the bread on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving. This will prevent the bread from drying out.
Variations
- Whole wheat bread - Replace 1 cup of white flour with whole wheat flour in your sourdough sandwich bread dough if you want to add more fiber and whole-grain benefits.
- Fruit and nut bread - You can add ½ cup chopped raisins or dates and ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans to the flour.
- Seed bread - Soak sunflower or pumpkin seeds for an hour. Then, add them to the flour. Coat the dough in the additional seed before placing the dough in the loaf pan.
- Dairy-free bread - Replace the milk in the recipe with water. And replace the butter with 2 tablespoon oil, which can be added to the wet ingredients.
- Eggless bread - Replace the eggs in the recipe with ½ cup additional milk.
More sourdough recipes
Frequently asked questions
How long will this sandwich bread keep?
This bread will keep at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can even freeze them for up to 3 months.
Can I substitute sourdough starter with yeast?
If you want to use sourdough starter you can make sandwich bread with commercial yeast. Here are a few for you to try:
Pullman sandwich bread
Brioche sandwich bread or Brioche Pullman Loaf
No-knead sandwich bread, Whole wheat sandwich bread
Challah Sandwich Bread
Can I make my sourdough bread sour?
A sourdough starter is fresh wild yeast and if you use it soon after it has been fed and peaked it will not be sour. To achieve a sour taste, you need to let the starter go without food for a while. Starve it until it gets a brown liquid called hooch on top. This increases the acidity in the starter that gives the sour flavor to sourdough.
How do you store sandwich bread?
Sourdough bread has a long shelf life at room temperature compared to commercial yeast bread. So, I do not recommend placing bread in the fridge. Instead, I highly recommend freezing bread slices in the freezer for up to 3 months. This way you can take only the amount you need out and it thaws fairly quickly.
Printable Recipe
Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Print Pin Rate Share by Email Share on FB Save GrowCalories: 166kcal
Adjust Servings Here: 10 slices
Description
Homemade sourdough sandwich bread is easy to make. This recipe is simple and made from scratch with a homemade sourdough starter. This sliced bread is ideal for sandwiches and paninis. Step by step with video and expert tips included.
Video
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
9x 4 x 4 sandwich loaf pan (total dough weight 962g) (71% Hydration)
- 40 grams (3 tablespoon) Sourdough starter (for levain )
- 40 grams (3 tablespoon) Water (for levain)
- 40 grams (3 tablespoon) Bread flour (for levain )
- 240 grams (1 cup) Whole milk (3% room temperature)
- 100 g (2 large) Egg
- 30 g (2½ tablespoon) Sugar
- 30 g (2 tablespoon) Butter (unsalted room temperature)
- 120 grams (4 oz) Levain (prepared 5 hours ahead or use sourdough starter )
- 500 grams (4 cups) Bread flour
- 9 grams (1½ teaspoon) Kosher salt
8 x 4 x 4 sandwich loaf pan (total dough weight 740 g) (69% hydration)
- 30 g (1½ tablespoon) Sourdough starter (for levain )
- 30 g (1½ tablespoon) Water (for levain )
- 30 g (1½ tablespoon) Bread flour (for levain )
- 180 g (⅔ cups) Milk (3% room temperature )
- 90 g (1½ large) Eggs ((I used 1 egg and 1 egg yolk) )
- 23 g (2 tablespoon) Sugar
- 20 g (1½ tablespoon) Butter (unsalted, room temperature )
- 90 g Levain (prepared 5 hours ahead or sourdough starter )
- 390 g (3¼ cups) Bread flour
- 9 g (1½ teaspoon) Salt
Instructions
- Levain - In a medium bowl, combine the sourdough starter, water, and flour. Stir well to combine. Cover and leave to rise for 3 to 5 hours at room temperature until double in size. Pro tip - You can make the levain for up to 5 days in advance and leave it in the fridge.40 grams Sourdough starter, 40 grams Bread flour, 40 grams Water
- Autolyze - In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk, eggs, and sugar. Combine well. Add the flour and salt followed by the starter. Stir well with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cover the bowl and leave to rest for 60 minutes.Pro tip - Autolyze will help strengthen the gluten formation on the dough. In the video, I combined the wet and dry ingredients separately, but you can do it all together in the stand mixer as well.240 grams Whole milk, 100 g Egg, 30 g Sugar, 500 grams Bread flour, 9 grams Kosher salt, 120 grams Levain
- Knead - Next, knead the dough with a dough hook attachment on medium speed for 4 to 6 minutes. Then, add the soft room temperature butter and knead for another 4 to 6 minutes or until smooth and elastic.Pro tip - The dough will still be very soft, yet smooth, shiny, and very elastic when you do the windowpane test.30 g Butter
- Bulk ferment - Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Leave the dough to rise in the refrigerator (38°F / 3°C) for 6 to 8 hours.Pro tip - The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours. The highly enriched dough will rise very slowly.
- Degas - When double is size, punch down and transfer to a clean work surface. Break any large air bubbles and shape the dough into a ball again. Pro tip - At this point, if you are not ready to shape and bake the dough you can put it back into the oiled bowl and let it rise again in the fridge for another 6 to 8 hours.
- Divide - Roll the dough into a cylinder and divide the dough into 4 portions. Alternatively, you can also roll the dough into one large log to make classic sandwich bread. Pro tip - Weigh the 4 portions to ensure they are similar in size. Mine was about 215 to 240 grams each. These will rise about an inch over the rim of the pan.
- Shape - Roll each portion into a tight roll. To do this correctly, flatten the dough on an unfloured surface. Then, fold the top and two sides in. Then, roll towards you into a sausage shape. Place the pieces into a buttered sandwich loaf pan seam side down. (loaf pan size in the ingredients) Pro tip - For a single large loaf, do a similar method, flatten, fold both sides into the center then roll from the top to the bottom.
- Prove - Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place proof for about 2 to 3 hours or until almost double in size.Pro tip - Spray the plastic wrap with oil to prevent it from sticking to the rolls. In summer, the dough may rise in 90 minutes while in winter it can take up to 3 hours.
- Preheat oven - Preheat the oven at 375°F / 190°C / Gas mark 5 for at least 20 minutes.
- Egg wash - Brush the loaf with egg wash, milk, or cream.Pro tip - Egg wash is a full egg with 2 tablespoon of water. An egg wash will give a nice golden color. If you can't use egg, milk or cream will work just as well. Do not use oil or butter as it will create a crust.
- Bake - Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes until lightly golden on top. Pro tip - If the top of the sandwich bread is getting too dark, tent it with aluminum foil.
- Cool - Take it out of the pan, and brush it with melted butter. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert on a cooling rack and cool completely before cutting. Pro tip - Do not leave the bread in the pan for too long as the steam will make the bread soggy on the bottom.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- I have given two popular loaf pan measurements (9-inch and 8-inch) so you don't have to recalculate your pan dough.
- To get the best outcome from bread recipes it is best to weigh the ingredients rather than use cup measurements.
- The timeline for bulk fermentation and proofing is quite large 8 to 16 hours from counter to refrigerator. This means you can start the process 24 hours ahead and not be overwhelmed with the process.
- The timeline is a guide to use and can be adjusted to your own convenience.
- Use a kitchen scale when baking with sourdough because that will give you an accurate measure.
- This dough with 53% hydration with a 100% hydration starter. This means I use an equal amount of dough, water, and starter to make my levain.
- The dough is not very loose but it is quite stretchy. If you are new to sourdough, take your time and work slowly. In winter it helps to work with chilled dough.
- For the best rise, make sure to preheat your home oven for no less than 10 minutes before baking.
- Cool the bread on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving. This will prevent the bread from drying out.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 166- kcalCarbohydrates: 33- gProtein: 5- gFat: 1- gSaturated Fat: 1- gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1- gMonounsaturated Fat: 1- gSodium: 352- mgPotassium: 43- mgFiber: 1- gSugar: 1- gVitamin A: 1- IUCalcium: 8- mgIron: 1- mg
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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Ginger
Should the sourdough starter used for the levain be fed or unfed? I am very new to this but it almost sounds like you are feeding the starter.
Veena Azmanov
Hey Ginger. Yes, feeding the sourdough for bread makes the lavain. It is confusing but yes essentially you are feeding the sourdough to make more sourdough and that is what is referred to as levain in most recipes. Please feel free to ask more questions. I have explained more here in my recipe for sourdough starter.
Christine
My dough did nothing in the refrigerator. It didn't rise at all. I'm not sure what I should do. Also I'm not sure if I kneed the dough enough, I don't have a mixer so I did it by hand. The dough was smooth and elastic but very sticky when it placed it in the oiled bowl. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Veena Azmanov
Hey Christine. Sorry to hear that. Perhaps leave it on the counter and let it rise. Maybe the levain you used was not fully developed yet. So its strength in the overall dough was weak. (I hope that makes sense)
Usually, with sourdough, it just needs more time to rise or proof.