This sourdough discard sandwich bread recipe is perfect for sandwiches and has that classic subtle sourdough tang while only taking a few hours to whip up rather than a day. A soft crust with a fluffy interior, this is the best and easiest recipe.
Sometimes you just need a loaf of homemade bread within a few hours.
Say company is coming over, or you didn’t plan dinner or lunch very well and realize you need some bread for sandwiches. Or maybe you are just getting into sourdough bread making and your starter isn’t mature enough to make bread just yet…
Well this discard sourdough sandwich bread is perfect for that. It uses commercial yeast to give it rise rather than relying on the natural yeast from the sourdough starter. But the sourdough starter still gives it a slight tang.
Is that slightly cheating? Maybe, but sometimes we just need something a little quicker and easier. Plus, there is just no comparing homemade to store-bought bread.
It is soft, buttery, and fluffy with a closed crumb. Perfect for sandwiches, french toast, toast, grilled cheese, bread pudding, and more.
Why you will love this recipe:
Easy recipe: This recipe takes very little hands-on time. After activating the yeasts, you just throw all the ingredients into a stand mixer and let it work its magic.
Quicker: Similar to my soft sourdough sandwich bread recipe, but much less time. Yeast breads just don’t take nearly as long as a sourdough loaf.
Great way to use sourdough starter discard: If you have a new starter and are discarding and feeding a lot, this is a great way to use up that extra discard.
Tips:
- Use really soft butter so it will combine with the rest of the dough ingredients really well and without chunks.
- Don’t let the dough over ferment. It will turn into a wet sloppy disaster that won’t rise well.
- 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 have a Professional KitchenAid stand mixer you can double this recipe. If you have a standard mixer, I would not recommend doubling.
- If you are new to sourdough, you can check out how to make a sourdough starter here.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Ingredients:
Active dry yeast – The main ingredient to give this recipe rise, it doesn’t rely on the wild yeasts and bacteria in the starter to give it rise.
Butter – Softened
Honey – Could also substitute with sugar.
Salt – This gives the bread so much flavor and skipping it will leave you with a tasteless loaf.
Sourdough discard – This is a sourdough starter that hasn’t been fed in at least 12 hours. It is the portion you would typically just toss before feeding the starter. Active starter could also be used, but you will have a less tangy flavor. Find more sourdough discard recipes here.
Warm water – Room temperature. Make sure it is not too hot or you run the risk of killing the yeasts. It should be about 100 degrees F.
All-purpose flour – One of the best things about this recipe is it includes all-purpose flour, a pantry staple. If you have bread flour, that will also work.
Tools you may need:
Loaf pan
Large bowl with lid
Stand mixer with dough hook attachment
Rolling pin
Measuring cups and spoons or kitchen scale
Bench scraper: optional, but helpful.
How To Make Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
Whisk together warm water, sugar, and yeast. Allow it to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. The mixture should get nice and bubbly. Make sure the water isn’t too hot or it will kill the yeast.
To a bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attachment, add all of the ingredients.
Knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic – about 10 minutes or so. It may take longer. You can also do this by hand. It shouldn’t stick to the sides of the bowl.
To check to make sure the gluten has developed enough so the bread is nice and fluffy, 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. If it breaks, it needs to be kneaded a little longer.
First Rise
Place the dough in a greased bowl with a lid, towel, or plastic wrap.
Let the dough rise (also known as bulk rise) for about 1-2 hours (or until it about doubles in size) in a warm place like on top of a stove or on top of the refrigerator.
Shape And Rise
Grease a bread pan or add parchment paper.
Roll the dough flat into a rectangle and roll it up. Pinch the ends to the rest of the loaf.
Add the shaped bread dough to the parchment lined or buttered loaf pans seam side down.
Second rise for 30 minutes to an hour at room temperature, or until doubled. Covered with a towel.
Optional: whisk an egg in a small bowl. Brush on top of the dough.
Bake the sandwich loaf at 375 for about 45 minutes, or until a lovely golden brown color on top. The internal temperature should be between 195-210 degrees F.
Allow to cool completely before slicing or storing.
Storage:
Store in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months. Check out this post all about how to store sourdough bread.
FAQ
Can you do anything with sourdough starter discard?
Rather than throwing away your sourdough discard, you can use it for so many recipes. Especially recipes calling for other leaveners like yeast, baking soda and baking powder.
To learn how to make any recipe in sourdough, check out this post or for all my favorite sourdough discard recipes, check out this post.
Can you use sourdough discard in sourdough?
Yes. As long as the sourdough recipe has another type of leavener like baking soda or baking powder and doesn’t require the wild yeast in an active starter to rise the recipe (like in muffins, cookies, quick breads, cakes, etc.) then you probably can use discard.
What is the difference between sourdough bread and sourdough discard bread?
Sourdough bread relies on the wild yeast in active sourdough starter to give the bread its rise, whereas sourdough discard bread uses discard and relies on commercial yeast.
Is eating sourdough discard healthy?
Sourdough discard is healthy because the grains are already fermented and broken down. It works great in recipes, and if you add it to recipes and let it ferment, it will also ferment the grains in said recipe.
Can I use active sourdough starter for this recipe?
Yes. You can use an active starter for this recipe even though it calls for discard.
Find More Discard Sourdough Recipes:
- The Easiest Artisan Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Discard Pretzels
- The Best Sourdough Discard Scones
- Easy Sourdough Discard Bagels
- Discard Focaccia
If you make this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone with your delicious creation.
Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1 cup sourdough discard
Instructions
- Whisk together warm water, honey, and yeast. Allow it to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. The mixture should get nice and bubbly.
- To a bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attachment, add water yeast mixture, butter, flour, salt, and sourdough discard.
- Knead on low speed until dough is smooth and elastic- about 10 minutes or so. It may take longer. You can also do this by hand. It shouldn't stick to the sides of the bowl.
- To check to make sure the gluten has developed enough so the bread is nice and fluffy, 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.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl with a lid, plastic wrap, or towel.
- Let the dough rise (also known as bulk rise) for about 1-2 hours (or until it about doubles in size) in a warm place like on top of a stove or on top of the refrigerator.
- Grease a bread pan or add parchment paper.
- Roll the dough flat into a rectangle and roll it up. Pinch the ends to the rest of the loaf.
- Add the shaped bread dough to the parchment lined or buttered loaf pans seam side down.
Second rise for 30 minutes to an hour at room temperature, or until doubled. Covered with a towel. - Optional: whisk an egg in a small bowl. Brush on top of the dough.
- Bake the sandwich loaf at 375 for about 45 minutes, or until a lovely golden brown color on top.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing or storing.
Notes
- The internal temperature of baked bread should be between 195-210 degrees F
- Use really soft butter so it will combine with the rest of the dough ingredients really well and without chunks.
- Don’t over ferment the dough. It will turn into a wet sloppy disaster that won’t rise well.
- 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.
Hi If you use a bread maker to make this bread what cycle do you do it on when your bread machine has no sour dough cycle, and if you have a 2lb bread machine will it fit in that? I noticed that the wait time for rising is about 2.5 hours should I find a cycle that matches that on my bread machine?
Yes, that would work!
To do this recipe in a bread Machine What cycle would you put it on. My machine does not have a sour dough cycle. I have a 2lb bread machine is that a big enough one. I am very new to sourdough baking this would be my first loaf. Also when maintaining your starter, when you use the starter to make a loaf of bread and you take some out do you have to discard any to refresh your starter? I have read your maintaining post and I am just wondering on how you keep it going. I guess that it is just all new to me.
Hi,
I’m a beginner sourdough baker, and absolutely LOVED this recipe. Fool proof, fail safe, and super easy to follow- thankyou!!!
Silly question: if I want to make a whole wheat loaf, what changes would I need to do? How much AP, WW… and what would my water quantity be?
Thankyou!!! Can’t wait to try your other recipes!
You can do a whole wheat loaf, one for one! It will be more dense though.
This is the first sandwich bread recipe I’ve had any luck with! Wondering if I can substitute honey for something else so my 9 month old can enjoy too?
Maple Syrup is what I do. 🙂
You forgot to include butter in your steps
I made this bread today and it’s absolutely delicious. I made a plain loaf and then in the second loaf I added a mixture of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon on it before I rolled it up. Amazing! Thank you for sharing.
This bread is amazing! Thanks for sharing.
Have you ever tried this in a bread machine? Would you recommend it?
Yes, you could use a bread machine for that!
I just made this recipe but my dough is not rising or has it doubled in size. I mixed everything together kneaded the dough until it passed the window pane test I covered it but it’s done nothing. Maybe my discard is too young. My starter is only 2 weeks old but it has been doubling in size every feeding and it’s nice and bubbly. Any suggestions?
The active yeast in the recipe is what causes the bread to rise in this recipe. Did you use yeast? If so, there could be a problem with your yeast.
I love this bread, I’ve been making it for a few months… but what happened to the gram measurements?? They were so helpful! I wish I would have printed it before.
They are still there! Just below the ingredients listed out, you can toggle from volume to weight!
Finally, after a year of trying different recipes, a sourdough loaf that my husband and kids like!
Can I use a 13” Pullman pan for this recipe?
That should work! It just may not be big enough to fill it all the way up to the top.
I’m making this now. I was wondering if you were able to use the 13″ Pullman with this recipe and if it worked?
You can turn the pullman pan recipe into a discard recipe! Pain de Mie (Pullman Bread) Recipe
This is a great recipe for discard. I actually use discard more than I use my starter! However, it makes such a high loaf, and although it’s beautiful it seems difficult to keep it from coming to pieces when sliced. I haven’t figured that one out yet or why I have a hole in the center no matte how tightly I roll it. BUT I started making one larger loaf and one small loaf because my husband cannot WAIT until it cools before he has to cut it. So having the smaller loaf for him fixes that situation, and the larger loaf isn’t quite so hard to manage. Love the texture and the flavor!