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.
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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
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.
I halved the recipe and did 1 cup whole wheat and 3 cups white. Came out beautifully soft with the perfect crumb. I guess my kitchen is warm, only had to do the second rise for an hour and a half. This is my new go to bread recipe!
This is the ONLY sandwich bread recipe I use!! It’s just perfect!!
Just took it out of the oven and it looks good. I halved the recipe and put all ingredients besides the flour in the mixer first. Putting the flour in I realized there’s no way all 4 cups would work. I only needed about half of that….. I checked the math several times and just don’t see how all that flour would work. 🤷♀️
To much for just one loaf almost broke my mixer and way way to dry. I’m angry at the time, effort and money I wasted. Your 8 cups of flour is way off for this to be accurate….. Who is given this 5 stars?
I had the same problem.
Dana, I’m not Lisa, but I use this recipe and have been a homemaker for several decades in three very different climates. New England, Alaska and the desert. Bread making is very much intuitive cooking, whether it’s sourdough or yeast bread. This recipe will be different for every climate, elevation, time of year, and even every home. Liken it to micro-climates in gardening. The flour part of the recipe is more of a general place to begin that works for Lisa in her climate. I can’t use the entire 8 cups of flour in my climate. It’s too dry and stiff of a dough. Here’s another issue. This recipe is for 2 loaves of bread, not one as you stated in your comment. I know it can be frustrating, but maybe double check your ingredients to make sure you’ve added all of the liquid ingredients. If you have, just add less flour, and add the flour last. I would start with 6 cups, then add more until your dough comes together. I’ve also seen from videos that one person’s “cup” can be different than another persons, hence the weighing option, which I don’t use. I’ve also noticed a huge difference between mixers. I have an Ankarsrum and it comes together beautifully for me with about 7 cups of flour. I hope this helps.
Dana, I put 1120 grams of flour per what the recipe says. Is your starter dry or liquid? If on the
dry side you might need less flour and/or more liquid.
Since I don’t know your baking experience, did you scoop the flour out of the container with a measuring cup or use grams? If you scooped with the measuring cup instead of filling the measuring cup with a spoon, than you used a lot more flour than you think.
I am not very experienced at bread baking or sourdough. I have failed many more times than I have succeeded. But this recipe works for me every time. I only make a half recipe though. And I switch to the metric recipe so I measure every ingredient exactly. Maybe try halving it and using metrics and see if that works for you. It is a delicious bread and such an easy recipe.
Not sure about Kelli comment but the recipe says it’ll be 2 loaves
My dough was dry and crumbly at first but you have to keep kneading it. I stopped using the mixer and split the dough in half and did the kneading by hand and then when it was soft I kept mixing it in the hand mixer.
This dough came out buttery soft after the bulk rise. Just hang in there and if crumbly it just KNEADS more love – I haven’t baked my loaf yet but I bet it’s gonna be amazing 🤩
Hey Kelly! I’ve made this recipe weekly for a few months now and I actually need to add more flour as my starter has a higher hydration. You should know your starter and be able to tell how much flour you need.
Besides that, you should fully read the recipe and notes before baking. She’s stated that you should add flour slowly and might not need all of it and also added a note telling you to mix half recipe and make 1 loaf if your mixer is a standard size one.
Finally, there over 2200 comments and lots of successful bakes, so you can go through and see who gave 5 stars.
Also, it’s a recipe blog post but you still talking to another person. Is that how you talk to people when you feel challenged or don’t get the results you expected? Your comment was quite rude
The recipe is for 2 loaves. She even made a note at the end of the recipe saying you may need to cut the recipe in half and only do 1 loaf to accommodate some mixers.
The 8 cups of flour is for 2 loaves.
That’s correct.
This makes two loaves of bread. It is also a bit too much for a standard kitchenaid mixer, she uses the bowl lift mixer, NOT the head tilt one, hers is bigger. I have a head tilt and you can make it work if you go slow and leave your mixer head unlocked, but you CANNOT walk away from it. If you read the post in it’s entirety, it says this in the notes under the recipe about it being too much for some stand mixers. I am not sure I’ve ever had a failed recipe from her. This bread is delicious.
Note that this is making two loaves. I halved the recipe to only make one, and it turned out wonderfully. Also, it doesn’t mention (that I saw) using a dough arm on your mixer to mix the dough. That’s what I used, and it definitely would help you mix it, if you didn’t use one.
This is my first time making any kind of sourdough, and I love this bread!!! I don’t have a mixer so I just used my hands, I let it sit covered with a lid overnight on top of my fridge for 10 1/2 hours, then 2 hours in the loaf pan and covered it with a damp cloth while proofing. I cut into it about 25 min after taking it out of the oven and ate some with butter, yummy! I did have to google what a windowpane test was, poke test, and if I needed to cover it while bulk rising and proofing because the directions were a little unclear on that for a newby, but the answers were easy enough to find. I also halved the recipe because I only have one bread pan. It did rise quite a bit in oven but everyone I’ve asked said that is normal. The egg was on top was a perfect touch. Can’t wait to make sandwiches with this bread. My 5 year old loves it too! Kid and mom approved thank you!! I feel so accomplished that i made bread! What a rewarding feeling. I love it!
I had the same problem
Loved this bread. Recipe turned out super amazing for me. My starter was sitting out all fay so by the time I used it it was nice and bubbly. When I checked it in the morning after 10 hours of rising it was overflowing over the top of the bowl. I tripled the recipe to make 6 loaves, and turned out perfectly. I also mixed it by hand which was super easy as well.
The top of my sandwich bread keeps coming out very hard. Any suggestions?
I like to wrap my loaf in a damp tea towel immediately after it comes out of the oven. It creates a steam to help soften the crust.
I like buttering the top of my bread right after it comes out of the oven and it seems to help soften it up.
Hello! Thanks for the great recipe. I made this loaf and was curious why it came out so dense? I proofed for 9 hours and then 3 hours for a second proof.. very little air holes. How do I make them lighter and fluffier?
Hi, just a note, For loaf sandwich bread I just use her sourdough dinner roll recipe and make a loaf out of it, me and my wife love it, very sandwichy bread.
Thanks for your recipes!!
How long do you bake the dinner roll recipe as a loaf?
Hi, I made this recipe for the first time yesterday. I am not a very experienced bread baker and fairly new to sourdough. I made a half recipe because I didn’t think my standard KitchenAid mixer could handle the two-loaf recipe without spewing flour everywhere. I checked my math several times to make sure I got the proportions right for one loaf. My loaf rose and baked beautifully but there is a deep crack all around the loaf where the top joins the side. I can see from the picture on the webpage that there is a little of that going on with your loaf, but this is really pronounced. Also, the crumb is much more open – there are a lot of holes up to 1/4″ in diameter. Any suggestions to have a better result next time?
You could try performing stretch and folds next time instead of using your stand mixer. Also, the crack in the loaf, could be due to not enough time rising or not enough steam in your oven. You could try putting a pan with water in it so you have more steam.