Beginner Sourdough Sandwich Bread

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I love sandwiches, but the perfect sandwich bread has always escaped me.

For years, I’d try recipes that promised amazing sandwich bread, but every time, something would go wrong. The bread would crumble when sliced, making the slices unusable for BLTs and PB&Js. Or the bread would have too much flavor, so the deli meat, cheese, and other toppings would have to compete with the bread for my attention.

But today I am pleased to share with you my beginner sourdough sandwich bread.

It slices beautifully, no matter if you like thick chunks of bread or pieces so thin you can almost see through them. It has a subtle, yet complex sourdough flavor, just enough to leave you craving more but not so much that you can’t taste the rest of your sandwich. And better still, even amateur bakers like myself can make it with a little time and patience.

Just look at that slice!

Beginner Sourdough Sandwich Bread has those delightful air pockets that make the bread soft and fluffy and chewy. But it also has a tight structure, so it holds together when you cut it.

My husband and I love this sourdough bread so much, we’re considering on making it every week rather than buying bread from the store.

Time

Prep time:  20 to 30 minutes
Rise time:  3 to 4 hours
Cook time:  35 to 40 minutes
Total time: Approximately 4 to 5 Hours

Ingredients

This beginner sourdough sandwich bread recipe doesn’t require any fancy seasonings or fruit to give it flavor. Rather, all the flavor comes from the starter. All you need for this recipe are the following:

• 226 Grams (1 Cup) Sourdough Starter*
• 5 Grams (1 1/2 Teaspoons) Dry Active Yeast
• 432 Grams (2 1/4 Cups) Water
• 17 Grams (1 Tablespoon) Kosher Salt
• 760 Grams (6 1/3 Cups) All-Purpose Flour or Bread Flour**

*Almost any sourdough starter will work for this recipe. However, you may need to adjust your flour and water ratios to match what I use. My starter ratio is 1:1 with equal parts water and flour.

Furthermore, If you don’t have kosher salt, you can use regular table salt, though you’ll want slightly less than a tablespoon. You’ll also want a little extra flour for dusting your countertop while you knead the dough.

**I’ve used both All-Purpose Flour and Bread Flour to make this recipe, and both work just fine. If you don’t have bread flour at home, you can make your own bread flour substitute:

• 722 Grams All-Purpose Flour
• 38 Grams Vital Wheat Gluten

Bread flour gives the bread better chew and it helps the bread hold its shape while baking.

Additional Equipment

If you want to make sourdough sandwich bread, you’ll need a few tools to get the job done:

• Standing Mixer
• Small and Large Mixing Bowls
• Wooden Mixing Spoon
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Two 8-Inch by 4-Inch Bread Pans
• Bread Lame
• Cooling Rack

If you don’t have a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, you can also make this recipe by hand. When I made this recipe the first few times, I didn’t have a mixer and I was still happy with the result.

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Instructions

Beginner Sourdough Sandwich Bread only has a few simple steps. Simply mix your dough, let it rise, shape your loaf, and bake your bread. Here’s my step-by-step guide for making this loaf from start to finish.

Mix Your Dough

To begin, dissolve dry active yeast in the water.

In a large bowl (or the bowl of a mixer), combine the water and yeast with the 1 cup of starter. Stir until the starter dissolves (a few strings of starter are okay).

Add the flour and the salt. Stir until a loose shaggy dough starts to form. If you have a mixer, continue to mix for another 5 minutes or so. Don’t have a mixer? Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough until it becomes soft and smooth.

If the dough seems especially sticky, feel free to work in an additional tablespoon of flour until the dough reaches the right consistency. It should feel slightly tacky to the touch, but it shouldn’t stick to your fingers like bubblegum.

Let It Rise

No matter if you use a mixer or knead your dough by hand, you’ll need a clean bowl for the next step. Either wipe off the mixing bowl or grab a new one and then lightly coat the bowl in oil. Place the dough in the bowl, and turn the dough over a few times to coat it in oil. Cover the bowl and let it rise at warm room temperature until it doubles in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Divide and Shape

After the dough has finished its first rise, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the two in two, and shape each round into a ball. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Lightly grease two 8 1/2 inch x 4 1/2 inch loaf pans.

To shape your dough into a sandwich loaf, use your fingers to dimple and flatten the ball into a rectangle. Fold the bottom third up.

And then fold the top third of the dough down, as if you were folding a letter.

Tuck the edges in, about an inch or two from the side.

Place the loaf with the seam facing down, and use your hands to gently cup and reshape your loaf as necessary. Repeat with the second round of dough.

One More Rise

Transfer your loaves to your greased pans. Cover and let the dough rise about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Your dough should start to puff up over the edges of the pans. If you’re not sure whether your dough has finished rising, give it a light poke. If your dough springs back quickly, give it some more time to rise. Does your dough spring back slowly? It is ready to go. Watch out for dough that collapses! If your dough collapses, it’s over proofed and you let it rise too long.

Bake Your Bread

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius). Bake for 20 minutes and tent with aluminum foil to prevent too much browning. Bake for another 25 to 30 minutes.

The loaves will have a light pale color thanks to the aluminum foil, and the bottoms will sound hollow when thumped. If you have a thermometer, the interior of the beginner sourdough sandwich bread should read between 190 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit (87 and 93 degrees Celsius).

Turn your bread out onto a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.

For a soft crust and a little color and flavor, brush melted butter over the tops of the loaves as they cool.

Slice your beginner sourdough sandwich bread and make the best-tasting sandwich of your life!

Secrets to Success

Although this beginner sourdough sandwich bread takes a long time to make, it doesn’t require too much effort on your part. A lot of the breadmaking process simply involves waiting and letting the dough rest or rise. You don’t need any special tools or secrets to create a fantastic loaf.

However, you should make sure that your starter is completely ripe before baking. If you use your starter too soon, you won’t get a lot of rise or much of a flavor.

Additionally, if you want a crisper, thinner crust, you can spritz the inside of your oven with water before baking.

Just the Basics

Nutritional Information

This beginner sourdough sandwich bread has very few ingredients and no extra sugars or oils, so you don’t have to worry about extra calories. However, it does involve a lot of flour, so you will want to keep track of how many slices you eat at once.

I cut each loaf into 12 slices, and my nutrition label reflects that. However, the calories per serving will be different if you make bigger or smaller slices.

Did You Try It?

This was the first sandwich bread that I’ve ever made successfully, so I was excited to share it with everyone I knew. I’d love to see how your bread turned out, so share your experience in the comments below. If you have any tips and tricks for better bread, don’t hesitate to add them, too!