Sourdough Sandwich Bread

5 from 5 votes

Sourdough Sandwich Bread uses a bubbly sourdough starter to create the best everyday sandwich bread. After reading my sourdough baking tips, you'll soon be on your way to amazing avocado toast, sandwiches, paninis, or just plain bread with butter!

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Keyword sourdough sandwich bread

Prep Time 16

Cook Time 40

Total Time 16 40

Servings slices (2 loafs)

Calories 194kcal

Author Sue Ringsdorf

Ingredients

200 grams active bubbly sourdough starter
600 grams warm filtered water
30 grams granulated sugar
40 grams oil
800 grams bread flour
200 grams all-purpose flour
20 grams fine sea salt

Instructions

** It's important to measure the ingredients for this recipe in grams. The kitchen scale I use is linked in the recipe. **
Measure ingredients. Use a kitchen scale to measure the water and sourdough starter and add to a large bowl. Stir well with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients in the order listed - sugar, oil, bread flour, all-purpose flour, and sea salt. Stir again.
600 grams warm filtered water, 200 grams active bubbly sourdough starter, 30 grams granulated sugar, 40 grams oil, 800 grams bread flour, 200 grams all-purpose flour, 20 grams fine sea salt
Then use your hands to bring everything together. The dough will look scraggy. Cover with a damp towel, and set a timer for 30 minutes. This is the AUTOLYSE.
Do a stretch and folding of the dough for about one minute, rotating the bowl as you do the folds. Place the dough seam-side down in the bowl, and cover with the towel again.
Adjust as needed: If the dough feels stiff or tight, add a few drops of water until it softens and becomes easy to work with. If it feels overly sticky or slimy, sprinkle in a few extra grams of flour to bring it back to a comfortable, workable texture.
ADDITIONAL STRETCH AND FOLDS: I recommend doing additional stretch and folds if time permits. Do these every 30 minutes for 3-4 more times to further develop the gluten structure.
Let rise. Leave the dough set on the counter-top for 6-8 hours, or overnight depending on several factors. The dough should double in size. This is the BULK RISE (or bulk fermentation).
To avoid getting a crusty layer on the dough during the bulk rise, make sure the bowl is large and the towel is damp. You can also add a light coating of oil over the top of the dough, especially if you are letting it sit out overnight.
Form loaves. Dust your counter or a baking mat with a light amount of flour. Move your dough from the bowl to the counter, divide in half, and form into two oblong shapes. Don't punch down, but pull the outsides inward to form shape. Let the dough sit for five minutes.
Pull the dough towards you and away, trying to get the dough to be as tight as possible.
Let rise again. Spray two loaf pans with baking spray. Place the dough inside the pans. Cover with a damp towel and let it rise the bread is just starting to rise above the rim of the pan. This is the SECOND RISE.
NOTE: After you shape your sourdough loaves, you can place them in the refrigerator for 8–10 hours (or even longer). The cold slows the yeast way down, which lets the dough ferment gently and build deeper flavor without over‑proofing. When you’re ready to bake, take the loaves out, let them finish rising at room temperature until they look slightly puffy again, then bake as usual. It’s an easy way to fit sourdough into your schedule and make it taste even better.
Bake bread. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set the pans inside and bake for 40–45 minutes, or until a digital thermometer inserted into the center reads between 190-200°F.
Brush with butter. Remove pans and place bread on a cooling rack. Brush some butter on top of the loafs to create a shiny exterior.
Cool. Let the bread COMPLETELY COOL before slicing.

Notes

Expert Tips

Make sure your starter is ready. If you store your starter in the refrigerator between use, make sure it’s active and ready to go before baking with it. I often feed it 2-3 times before using it after resting (i.e. sleeping in the refrigerator). You can test this with a float test. (See definition below.)
Be flexible. If you’re bulk rise is taking longer than normal, or the starter isn’t as bubbly as you’d like it, be flexible. You can add time to either of these, and still make delicious bread. Many factors will come in to play as to when your sourdough is ready. In the summer months, the humidity and heat will make the process shorter. In the winter months, the process may be longer.
Measure carefully and then adjust as needed. Make sure you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients in grams. This is important. Even with measuring carefully, you MAY need to adjust slightly. When your hands are on the dough doing stretches and folds, you will come to feel if more water/more flour is needed to make the dough pliable and soft. This comes with practice.
Practice. Like I said above, as you practice making this bread and enjoying the bounties, you’ll learn all the little nuances to the sourdough process. Practice makes perfect!
Let the bread cool. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to slice the bread immediately after coming out of the oven. If you do this, it will be doughy tasting. Let the bread completely cool before slicing!

Nutrition