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.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
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
Video
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, 113 grams, softened or coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons honey or sugar, 42 grams for honey, If using sugar, 24 g
- 1 tablespoon salt, 15 grams
- 1 cup starter, 200 grams, active and bubbly
- 2 1/2 cups water, 590 grams
- 8 cups all purpose flour*, 1120 grams
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 bread turned out to be AMAZING! Love the ease of the recipe and it was my first attempt and it turned out fantastically delicious 😋
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Just making the bread. Can I let it rise overnight in a large tuberware?
Yes…
Beautiful loaves! My SD starter wasn’t as lively as I would have liked. I added 3g of instant yeast. I added the egg wash and sesame seeds.
I have made this recipe 3 times and it turns out perfect each time. Beautiful and delicious!
I love this recipe! It’s my easy go to. It makes 2 soft, moist loaves. And it’s so delicious. Thanks Lisa!
I’m making 1 loaf this morning, after the 10-12 hrs bulk ferminating, if I shape it and put it in the fridge over night, would it still need 2-4 hrs on the counter before baking the next day? Or can I bake it right out of the fridge?
You can bake it directly out of the fridge.
I am super excited to try this recipe! I have a question and I went back a bit in comments to make sure no one else already asked. I do not have a stand mixed and will need to do this by hand. When you say to knead it in the mixer for 10 minutes, would this equal me kneading by hand after all ingredients are added on the counter? And do you have any tips or recommendations for adding the butter properly by hand? Thank you so much!
When a recipe calls for 10 minutes of machine kneading, you should plan to knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes. Hand kneading is slightly less intense than a machine, so it takes a few extra minutes to fully develop the strong gluten network needed for a soft, fluffy sandwich loaf….Wait to Add the Butter: Mix your flour, water, sourdough starter, honey, and salt together first. Knead this mixture for about 5 minutes until it forms a cohesive, smooth dough before introducing the butter. Developing the gluten first makes it much easier for the dough to absorb fat.
Can this be done with fresh milled glour?
Yes, use Hard White Wheat berries…140 grams of fmf per cup of ap flour listed.
Love this recipe and have used it many times. We have found (accidentally) that we really like to do a cold fermentation as it seems to give it a richer sourdough flavor. Typically we do the bulk rise at room temp for the 10-12 hours suggested in the recipe, divide and shape into two loaves, and then instead of rising at room temp for another 2-4 hours, we go into the fridge for 10-12 hours. Then directly from fridge into a hot oven. Have found it takes about another 10-15 minutes to bake with it starting cold and usually tent it with full after 40-45 minutes or crust starts getting a little too brown. Thanks for such a simple sourdough recipe!
Hi! Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong when I’ve been mixing the dough for 15 minutes and it still doesn’t pass the windowpane test? Love your recipes!
The most common culprit is that the butter was added too early or too cold..Mix your starter, water, honey, salt, and flour first. Let it knead for a few minutes until a cohesive dough forms and begins to build structure. Only then should you add your very soft, cubed butter one piece at a time while the mixer runs. Also try letting the dough rest for at least 10 minutes before mixing and finally it could be that the two loaf amount is too much for your mixer…you can try cutting it in half…