This recipe for soft sourdough sandwich bread is tender, slightly sweet and easy to slice! Perfect for BLT’s, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or buttered toast with eggs. This bread is perfect for those that love the flavor of sourdough bread but not the crunchy crusts of artisan loaves.
This is my go-to recipe for sandwich bread in our house. While I have a preference for crusty artisan loaves baked in a Dutch oven like my Simple Sourdough Bread, some of my family members prefer a bread that is much easier to chew. This bread recipe is slightly enriched with a bit of milk, oil and honey. The result is a soft sourdough sandwich bread that is still full of flavor, just with a thinner and softer crust. This sandwich loaf is buttery smooth to slice as well. Slice it thinly for sandwiches or thicker for French toast! This bread can be made in a single day or cold proofed overnight before baking.
HOW THIS RECIPE COMES TOGETHER
- 1. MIX: Active, bubbly starter at or just past its peak mixes with warm water, milk, oil, honey, bread flour and salt. This mixture is left to rest for 30 minutes.
- 2. KNEAD: In a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, knead the dough on low for 10-12 minutes to properly develop the gluten.
- 3. BULK FERMENT: The dough is left to nearly double in size over a period of multiple hours. Depending on the dough’s temperature and the ambient temperature of your kitchen, this process can take anywhere from 5 to 12 hours or more.
- 4. FINAL SHAPE: The dough is then shaped into a log and placed in a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan.
- 6. FINAL PROOF: At this point, the dough proofs again for 1-2 hours until it just begins to crown over the pan. Alternatively, the pan can be covered and cold proofed in the refrigerator overnight before baking the next day.
- 7. BAKE: The loaf is baked for about 45 minutes in a 350 degree F oven.
INGREDIENTS & NOTES
- 1. Sourdough starter: Sourdough bread should be made with starter that is at peak or just past peak activity. I feed my starter a 1:1:1 ratio (starter: flour: water).
- 2. Whole milk: I have not tried other milk alternatives, but feel free to give it a go!
- 3. Honey: Agave nectar, maple syrup, brown rice syrup or even granulated sugar can be used instead of honey.
- 4. Canola oil: Other neutral oils or even olive oil can be used if you enjoy the flavor. Melted butter or coconut oil will work as well.
- 5. Bread flour: I recommend using a flour that is at least 11.5% protein content.
MY FAVORITE SOURDOUGH RESOURCES
- 1. For beginners: I have been following Bonnie Ohara of Alchemy Bread for years, even before I got into sourdough. Her books are fantastic resources.
- 2. For shaping videos: I appreciate the detail and professionalism of the shaping technique videos from Maurizio Leo’s The Perfect Loaf. He also goes into detail about the science behind sourdough.
- 3. For recipes and more: Amy Bakes Bread is a wonderful online resource with a variety of creative sourdough recipes and lots of information.
Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread
A recipe for soft and tender sourdough bread that slices easily! Perfect for sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 grams) sourdough starter at peak or just past peak
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp (103 grams) whole milk
- 2/3 cup (151 grams) water
- 1 tbsp (21 grams) honey or granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) canola oil other neutral oil or melted butter
- 1 1/2 tsp (10 grams) sea salt
- 4 cups (480 grams) bread flour
Instructions
Mix
- First, take the temperature of your flour by inserting an instant read thermometer into your bag or bin of flour. The following chart will give you an idea of what temperature your water and milk should be when mixing the bread dough.
- Water Temperature GuideAir/flour temp: 60 / Water temp: 100Aif/flour temp: 65 / Water temp: 90Air/flour temp: 70 / Water temp: 80Air/flour temp: 75 / Water temp: 70Air/flour temp: 80 / Water temp: 60
- In a large mixing bowl or container, add the water, milk, active sourdough starter, honey and oil. Whisk to disperse the ingredients.
- Add the flour and salt then mix all the ingredients into a shaggy dough. Cover with a towel or lid and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
- Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, knead the dough on medium low speed for about 10-12 minutes until soft, smooth and elastic. This can be done by hand but it will take a bit longer. The dough is properly developed when it passes the window pane test.
Bulk Ferment
- Grease a bowl or Cambro container and transfer the dough to it. Cover and let the dough rise during bulk ferment.
- Use the temperature of the dough and visually how much your dough is expanding to help you determine when bulk fermentation has ended. I really like using Cambro containers so I can get an accurate idea of how much my dough has risen. To speed up fermentation, keep your dough in a warm, draft free place. The following guide is a rough estimate of how long a loaf of bread will take to properly bulk ferment depending on the internal temperature.
- Bulk Fermentation Temperature Guide (from mixing to cold proof or baking)80 degrees F: 5 1/2 – 6 hours75 degrees F: 7-8 hours70 degrees F: 11-12 hours65 degrees F: 16 hours
Shape & Second Rise
- When the dough has nearly doubled, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Shape the dough into an oval log and transfer it seam side down into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan. There are many ways to achieve this shape, but this is my preferred way: How to Shape a Sandwich Loaf
- At this point, the loaf can be covered a cold proofed overnight. The next day, let the dough come to room temperature for about an hour before baking. If you prefer to bake the same day, cover let the dough rise again until just beginning to crown over the top of the loaf pan.
Bake
- Preheat a conventional oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the loaf on the center rack of the oven for 40-50 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tip the bread out onto a cooling rack. Let it cool completely before slicing.
