The easy and delicious sourdough sandwich bread recipe is a jumping off point for many brand new sourdough artisans like myself. Sourdough inserted itself into my heart in the summer of 2022. I wasn’t planning on being a sourdough kinda girl but here we are. No regrets.
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Sourdough Types
Recently, I stumbled on an Instagram reel on the different types of sourdough recipes and their difficulty level. It would appear, according to that reel, that I am a very basic sourdough artisan. I already knew that.
For fun, here’s a few of the reel’s sourdough types:
- einkorn– you say it’s your favorite but it’s really not; it’s just sourdough trendy right now
- gluten free sourdough– you’re either super awesome or really suck, no middle ground
- traditional loaf– you are the middle ground
- sandwich loaf– safe and basic but not wrong
- discard crackers– “you are a child”
Here’s the thing: if you’re good at it and it tastes delicious and you’re okay with being basic and simple in your kitchen, I’m HERE FOR IT!
The Most Important Part
You are lovingly making your family an easy, delicious, wholesome loaf of bread. The ingredients are simple and you can pronounce them. There aren’t any additives or preservatives. You do not need to research your ingredient list first for safety. No food dyes. No extras. Just the best ingredients and love you can pour into feeding your family.
It does not matter if you are “basic”. We all must start somewhere, friend.
Easy and Delicious Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe
Kitchen scale heavily recommended.
Recipe is a guide. If you need more water, add more.
100g sourdough starter
250g water
500g all purpose or bread flour
10g salt (Redmond’s is my favorite)
20g sugar
7g instant yeast (optional. If not using this, rising wait times will be significantly longer. Here’s how to not use yeast: RECIPE)
60g grated butter (oil substitute optional)
Recipe Notes to Consider
Prep time 3 hours. Cook time 40-45 mins. Forty-two minutes is my oven’s sweet spot.
- Butter notes: 60g is just over half a stick of butter so I usually eyeball this and don’t fret if it’s not perfectly 60g. Frozen butter grates better.
- Oil substitute note: I have only made one loaf with oil instead of butter as my niece has a dairy allergy and I wanted to see if I could do it or not and it still be just as delicious. I did not measure the oil properly. I stopped at 40g and feel like that was quite a lot of oil. It made the dough hard to knead because it kept coming apart. However, the end result was okay. Not fantastic but not horrible. And best of all, no dairy so the niece could eat it.
- Yeast: I realize true sourdough doesn’t need yeast; however, this a great recipe to use to get started in all the sourdough things. Reward without the long wait until you’re comfortable to dive into long rise time sourdough baking.
Instructions:
1. Combine sourdough, water, flour in a bowl. Mix until dough is shaggy. This is where you may need to add a little more water. You may use a standing mixer but I use my hands. It feels very therapeutic. Wash them first, obviously. Cover dough & let rest 30 mins.
2. Add salt, sugar, butter, yeast to the dough and knead for 3 to 6 minutes. Dough should be silky and elastic. Really work that butter into the dough.
3. Then you’ll cover and leave dough to rise. At least one hour. Dough needs to double in size.
4. Next, butter or grease your loaf pan.
5. Tip dough out onto a clean counter, sticky side up. Ease dough out and fold over on all four sides. Shape into a log or rectangle. Place inside loaf pan, seam side down.
6. Then cover with a cloth. Let the rise in the pan for one hour.
7. Finally, bake on 350° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Preheating the oven is fine but not required.
8. Use a good bread slicing knife to cut. Enjoy!
Here’s a quick demonstration:
Easy and Delicious Sourdough Sandwich Recipe
Equipment
- 1 glass or ceramic bowl
- 1 kitchen scale
- 2 clean hands or standing mixer
- 1 bread pan/dish
Ingredients
- 100 g sourdough starter active
- 250 g filtered water may need a little extra during mixing
- 500 g all-purpose or bread flour
- 10 g salt
- 20 g sugar
- 60 g grated butter
- 7 g active yeast optional
Instructions
- Combine sourdough starter, water, flour in a bowl. Mix until dough is shaggy. This is where you may need to add a little more water. Use standing mixer or your clean hands. Cover dough & let rest 30 mins.
- Add salt, sugar, grated butter, yeast to the bowl and knead for 3 to 6 minutes. Dough should be silky and elastic. Really work that butter into the dough.
- Cover and leave dough to rise. One hour. Dough needs to double in size.
- Butter or grease your loaf pan.
- Tip dough out onto a clean counter, sticky side up. Ease dough out and fold over on all four sides. Shape into a log/rectangle. Place inside loaf pan, seam side down.
- Let the rise in the pan for one hour. Cover with a cloth.
- Bake on 350° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Preheating the oven is okay.
Notes
How to Keep Your Loaf Longer:
Okay, I’ll be very honest with you here…
I do not store my easy and delicious sourdough sandwich bread! Why? One, it is easy so some weeks I may make a loaf at the beginning of the week and one at the end of the week if we need it. Two, it’s delicious! Without fail, we eat a couple of slices fresh out of the oven.
However, if you need for it to keep longer, wrap your loaf in a clean tea towel and store in a plastic zip top bag with as much air squeezed out as possible in the refrigerator.
You can also wrap your loaf in plastic wrap and store inside a plastic zip top bag in the freezer to thaw when ready to eat.
These are just suggestions. I leave my loaf on a serving platter wrapped well in two tea towels to hold in moisture and not let much air in. After a few days, the loaf will become stale. Below are some options if you have any left.
Want Not, Waste Not
- Feed any bread crumbs or leftover loaf to your chickens or your dog (we are currently transitioning our golden retriever to a raw food diet).
- Make sourdough french toast!
- Make croutons.
- Use bread crumbs in meatloaf or any casserole.
- Crumble loaf and store crumbs in a plastic zip top bag in the freezer for future uses.
- Whatever you do, don’t just throw it away.
The End Result
How does it feel to be a “basic” sourdough artisan? Just wait until I give you the recipe for easy sourdough discard crackers. No wasting that discard and you’ll be the most immature sourdough artisan around!
But wait, there’s MORE basic for you! Another cracker recipe (thicker crackers) or sourdough graham crackers?? Always get complimented on these!
Listen, it’s a joke. I even feel like the content creator who made the reel I mentioned earlier was joking but I admit it did make me feel less than for a second.
The bottom line is this: you’re out here making simple sourdough starter and this easy and delicious sourdough sandwich bread recipe and soon enough you’ll be making muffins, bagels, and pancakes, too!
Next thing you know, you’ll stride on past the breakfast aisle and bakery section at the grocery store because you won’t need them. You don’t need to be an expert to enjoy sourdough recipes and baking from scratch. All you need is the will to try a new skill. Because you’re here reading this right now, I know you’re well on your way to sourdough mastery!
MORE SOURDOUGH THINGS
Check out all my sourdough recipes HERE.
Now, Pin it for Later!
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