The Best Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Hear me when I tell you that this is the best sourdough sandwich bread you will ever try. I’ve tried them all and would often find myself disappointed with the dry texture that had little resemblance to the store bough sandwich bread I know and love. I’ve tweaked and tested this recipe repeatedly and I think I’ve finally cracked the code to a soft, airy, flavorful loaf that only gets softer in the days following baking! You NEED to try this.

Why sourdough?

Good question. However, a better question is why NOT sourdough?! Using sourdough starter to leaven your bread adds an extra level of flavor and gut-friendly probiotics to your PB&J. Learn more about why you should add sourdough into more of your baked goods in my What Is Sourdough post!

This recipe has the soft texture of standard white bread with the delicious tang of sourdough! The best of both worlds.

Tools you’ll need

• An oven
• A 9x5 loaf pan
• A kitchen scale
• A Stand mixer (optional, but recommended)
• If not using a stand mixer, you’ll need a mixing bowl for the bread to proof in
• Cling wrap for proofing

Ingredients

• 625g (about 5 ¼ cups) of all-purpose flour
• 84g (6 tbsp) of unsalted butter — softened and cubed
• 15g (1 ¼ tbsp) of sugar
• 12g (2 tsp) of salt
• 15g (2 tbsp) of low-fat milk powder
• 63g (roughly ¼ cup) of starter
• 338g (around 1 ⅓ + 1 tbsp) of warm water
• Enough butter to butter the pan

Instructions

Prepping the sourdough starter

The morning before you want to bake the bread, feed your starter at 100% hydration. This should give your starter plenty of time to get nice and bubbly to help your sourdough sandwich bread rise to its full potential! I recommend starting this process in the morning so that you can make the dough in the evening and let it proof overnight. I’ll include a sample schedule below! If you need a refresher on the best way to feed your starter, be sure to check out my blog post on it!

Making the dough

The starter will be ready for baking once it has doubled in size and passes the float test. If you haven’t heard of the float test, all you need to do is fill a cup with warm water and drop a small amount of starter into the cup. If it sinks, it isn’t ready, but if it floats, you are ready to start baking!

Once you are ready to get to work, start by adding the flour, milk powder, butter cubes, salt, and sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer. If not using a stand mixer, add these ingredients and mix with a dough whisk or even by hand if you prefer!

Mix the ingredients on a low speed using the paddle attachment until fully combined. It will look like a crumbly flour mixture at this point. I’m adding a picture below for reference.

Next, you will add the warm water and bubbly sourdough starter to the mix. Switch to the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer and mix until fully combined and the dough begins to pull away from the sides. This is a relatively soft dough, but it should still form a cohesive ball and the sides of your mixer will be mostly clean.

Kneading

Now that you have made the dough, it is time to prepare it for proofing. After your dough is fully mixed in your mixing bowl, remove it and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Cover the dough with cling wrap or a clean tea towel and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, return to the dough and begin kneading it by hand. There is no set amount of time to knead, so just do it until it feels right. You’ll know when it is done when the ball feels smooth, connected, and stretchy when you knead it.

Another way to tell if the gluten has developed enough is by doing the windowpane test. You do this by taking a part of the dough and stretching it until you can see shadows through it when you hold it up to a light. If you are able to stretch it to this point without it breaking, it’s good to go!

When in doubt, knead a little more. I personally find kneading to be very therapeutic so I typically knead for 10 or more minutes at a time. You’ll feel the dough change as you are kneading it and will be able to tell when it’s ready to bake!

Proofing

At this point, your dough will be a nice, soft ball ready for proofing. All you need to do now is place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl and cover it with cling wrap. This is where it will stay for the next 12 or so hours while it is proofing. Be sure to leave it in a warm place for the best results!

You will know it is done proofing when it has doubled in size. It will also be very soft to the touch and when you poke it the indentation will remain. Once you see these signs, it’s time to make your sourdough sandwich bread!

Shaping and second rise

The next morning, take your dough out of the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface. Gently flatten it into a makeshift rectangle and roll it up into a log.

Pinch the seams at the bottom to seal the loaf together and tuck the edges under. These are optional steps, but they will give your sandwich bread loaf a more uniform appearance.

Place the dough log in a buttered 9x4 loaf pan and let rest until doubled in size, or when the dough feels soft to the touch and the dough begins to rise over the top of the pan.

Baking

About 10-20 minutes before you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Once preheated, place your loaf in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes or until it is golden brown.

A good way to tell if your loaf is done baking is by checking the color on the top of the loaf. With this recipe, in particular, you are going to be looking for a medium golden brown color with slightly darker variations.

Another way of checking is to carefully flip the loaf out of the pan onto a heat-protected surface (or your hand with an oven mitt) and gently feel the bottom of the bread. It should feel firm and have little give. It won’t be as dark as the top, but it should still be slightly golden.

If the bottom of the loaf gives a lot when you press on it, it is likely not done. In this case, just place it back in the oven and give it an extra 5-10 minutes until it seems done to you.

Cooling, cutting, and storage

Once your sourdough sandwich bread is fully baked, take it out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes or so, then transfer it to a cooling rack. Note: if you leave the bread in the pan the entire time it is cooling, the bottom of the loaf can become soggy from the steam.

Allow the loaf to fully cool before cutting for the best results! However, I am definitely guilty of diving into the bread while it is still warm! So good!

My favorite way to store this bread is in an airtight bag on the counter. This keeps the loaf soft for a longer period of time than putting it in a bread bag. I like bread bags for standard sourdough loaves that have a much harder crust because it helps to preserve its crispy, chewiness, but with this recipe I want it to stay soft for as long as possible.

I find that this bread will last just fine at room temperature for about a week before it starts to get a bit stale. However, It is still delicious at that point and makes excellent toast!

Tips for a great loaf

1. Humidity and climate can make a big difference in how your loaf turns out. If you live in a dry climate, you might find that the crust of your bread sets early when baking, causing it to split on the sides. This is merely a cosmetic issue, but if you would like to avoid it, try adding steam to your oven by placing a pan with boiling water in the oven for a few minutes prior to baking, this will make your oven the perfect, humid environment for baking!
2. This is a very soft dough, so don’t be alarmed by it when it doesn’t quite look or feel like the firmer doughs you are used to. Trust the process and avoid the urge to add more flour— this will make it harder for your loaf to rise.
3. Please use a scale if you can! It is much more reliable than measuring spoons and cups. This recipe was made only using a kitchen scale, so if you use cups and spoons to measure and the bread doesn’t turn out, this is likely the reason.
4. I’ve used salted butter in this recipe before and didn’t have any issues with it being too salty. If you are planning to use salted butter, feel free to knock off a few grams and go down to 10g. Definitely don’t skimp on the salt too much though! Under-salted bread isn’t very tasty.
5. If you ever run into problems, be sure to reach out to me! I’m always happy to help!