Simple Sourdough Sandwich Bread – Beginner Recipe & Method
This beginner-friendly simple sourdough sandwich bread recipe simplifies the process, stripping away all non-essential techniques. If you’re new to sourdough baking and want a straightforward approach to creating a delicious sandwich loaf, this method is perfect for you. It focuses on the basics, ensuring that you can achieve a satisfying result without feeling overwhelmed by intricate details or specialized equipment.
When you click on an affiliate link to Amazon from our website and make a purchase, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. See full disclosure here.
I’ve gone through quite the trial and error trying to create the perfect sourdough sandwich loaf. I wanted it to be soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, with an even, hydrated, open crumb.
I also wanted to use only simple ingredients – flour, water, and salt. It seemed like every sourdough sandwich bread recipe out there required enrichment such as an egg, butter, oil, or sugar. My goal was to keep it simple and still achieve a soft loaf for sandwiches.
While this isn’t the method I use to make bread for my business, this is a great place to start to get a decent sandwich loaf as a beginner with simple ingredients. Once you understand the process, you can explore more techniques to achieve your perfect loaf. But for now, let’s learn the basics.
Sourdough Starter
Flour
A kernel of wheat consists of three parts: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. The fermentation process in sourdough baking helps unlock the nutrients stored in the bran and germ. By using whole-wheat flour, you incorporate these beneficial parts of the grain into your bread, resulting in a loaf that is not only more nutritious but also better for your gut health.
In this recipe, I use a blend of all-purpose white flour and whole-wheat flour. I don’t see much point in learning how to make an all-white flour loaf. White flour is made of only the endosperm of a wheat kernel, mostly starch, which is void of any nutrition or fibre and can do harm to your gut, even if it’s sourdough.
Whole-wheat also adds protein to your loaf which improves its strength and ability to hold water.
Why not make 100% whole-wheat bread if white flour is so bad?
I try not to be a purest about things. The balance between the whole-wheat and white flour in this recipe allows for some nutrition without compromising the flavour or texture. 100% whole-wheat sourdough bread can be an acquired taste and may not be appreciated by everyone, especially if you’re baking for your family. It really comes down to what’s important to you and your family. I’m sure you could convert your family to whole-grain bread if you really wanted to.
Personally, I enjoy an 80-100% whole-wheat loaf if its hydrated properly. We will explore that recipe and method another time.
Where can I source freshly milled, whole-grain flour?
If you’re living in a city, you can mostly likely find a bakery or fancy grocery store that sells fresh-milled whole-grain flour. If you’re living in the country and you can source whole-grains, you may want to consider milling your own flour. You can start without making a large investment by using a powerful coffee grinder or blender that you already own. A step up would be purchasing a KitchenAid grain mill attachment.
If you’re really enjoying working with fresh-milled whole-grains and you have a reliable source of grain, you can also consider a Harvest NutriMill which is the one I use almost everyday and love both for its beauty and practicality.
Get your Harvest NutriMill when you’re ready to invest using this link and my discount code BRONSBREAD20 at checkout to get $20 off your order!
Water
The type of water used in sourdough baking is a topic of debate among bakers. In my experience, I’ve tried various kinds—city water, well water, filtered water, and even chlorinated water—and haven’t noticed a significant difference in the final loaf. Some bakers swear by their specific water choice, claiming it produces superior results, but I haven’t found that to be the case.
While water quality can influence the health of your sourdough starter, the variations in water types seem to have minimal impact on the outcome of the bread itself. Ultimately, use the water you have available and focus on other key factors like flour quality and fermentation time. I think if you can drink the water, you can make bread with the water.
Salt
Salt is another topic of debate among bakers. While I don’t think you’d notice much of a difference between salts, the salts that are less refined with a higher mineral content tend to support the fermentation process. For example, Himalayan sea salt, Celtic grey salt, unrefined pink salt, and Redmond real salt, will all support fermentation. Highly refined table salt may inhibit fermentation.
Warmth
Fermentation thrives in warmth, and maintaining the right dough temperature is key to achieving the perfect loaf. For optimal fermentation and a balanced flavor, aim for a dough temperature between 23-26°C (73-79°F).
When the dough temperature falls below this range, the bulk fermentation process can become very long, resulting in an excessively sour loaf and possibly tight crumb structure. On the other hand, temperatures above this range can lead to over-proofing, which weakens gluten strength and also produces a very sour loaf with a sticky crumb.
Time
The time your dough takes to achieve optimal fermentation relies on dough temperature, hydration of the dough, and health of your sourdough starter. It is difficult to predict how long things will take when you’re just starting out. Once you get the hang of it and understand how the dough behaves in your environment and how to manipulate it, things will become more predictable.
Scoring Your Sandwich Loaf
Scoring is the process of slicing into the top of your dough just before baking. This helps the bread expand in a controlled way as it bakes, allowing the loaf to rise evenly and develop a beautiful crust.
When you look around, you’ll notice many sandwich loaves with a smooth, unscored top. These loaves are typically enriched with butter, eggs, oil, or other fats, which soften the dough. The addition of these ingredients breaks down the gluten network, resulting in a tighter crumb structure that doesn’t need scoring for proper expansion.
This recipe, however, is simply flour, water, and salt like an artisan loaf which means the gluten is strong and can produce large bubbles. This is also known as “tunnelling” and can look like this:
Scoring the top of the loaf allows the gas bubbles inside the dough to release in a controlled manner, preventing the formation of large, uneven holes at the top of the loaf.
Materials You’ll Need
Medium-Sized Mixing Bowl: A heavy set ceramic mixing bowl would work best.
Bowl Cover: Anything that covers and seals the bowl. I use these reusable elastic bowl covers but you can use a plate or wet kitchen towel.
Dough Whisk (optional): It is cleaner to get things started with a dough whisk but it’s definitely not necessary. I like using my hands to mix, it probably makes the dough better.
Plastic Bench Scraper: I find this tool very handy for cleaning and scraping the dough out of the bowl. It can also be used for dividing dough and pre-shaping.
Metal Bench Scraper: I use this tool for dividing dough, pre-shaping, and cleaning the table. Not essential though, as the plastic bench scraper can serve similar purposes, but I like using both.
Kitchen Scale or Measuring Cups and Spoons: I prefer using a kitchen scale but if measuring cups and spoons is all you have then that’s all you need to get started.
Loaf Pan x2: I prefer an 8″x 4″ loaf pan to achieve a more narrow and tall loaf but you can use whatever loaf pan you have and go from there. This recipe makes two loaves so you’ll need two loaf pans.
Non-Stick: To prevent your loaf from sticking from the pan, you can use a non-stick pan as is. If your pan is not non-stick, you can line it with parchment paper, spray it with non-stick spray, or grease and flour the pan.
Razor Blade or Sharp Knife: I haven’t found a bread lame I really like so I just use razor blades as is. They’re cheap and sharp and easy to control. You can also use a sharp kitchen knife or any bread lame of your choice. A bread lame is a tool used to hold razor blades for scoring.
Metal Baking Tray or Cast Iron Pan (optional): This vessel is placed at the bottom of your oven to hold water to produce steam.
Cooling Rack: For cooling down your loaf.
Ingredients
White Flour: I use Rogers all-purpose flour, nothing fancy.
Whole-Wheat Flour: I use fresh-milled organic whole-grain flour but any whole-wheat flour from the store will get the job done.
Active Sourdough Starter: An active sourdough starter is bubbly with large bubbles, a domed top, double to triple in size, sweet and sour smelling, and floats in water. A perfectly active starter is essential for the perfect loaf but it’s not essential to make sourdough bread. You can work with the starter you have even if it’s not perfectly active, just expect inferior results.
Salt: I use Himalayan sea salt but any salt is good. Avoid highly processed table salt. The more mineral content, the better.
How To Make Simple Sourdough Sandwich Bread
In a sturdy mixing bowl, add lukewarm water and active sourdough starter. With your hands or a spatula, break up the sourdough starter until it’s in small shaggy pieces.
Add white flour, whole-wheat flour, and salt. Mix until incorporated and there are no more dry bits. Cover the bowl and let rest for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, stretch-and-fold the dough all the way around until the dough becomes tight (4-8 times). Cover the bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, repeat the stretch-and-folds all the way around until the dough becomes tight.
Let the dough rest until its almost double it’s original size. This could take anywhere from 4-12 hours. Expect it to take more time if your house is cold and less time if your house is warm.
After the bulk ferment, turn your dough onto the counter. Divide the dough into two balls using a scale or eyeball it.
Shape each dough into a round ball. Let rest on the counter for 30 minutes – if it doesn’t feel very gassy or relaxed after 30 minutes, let it rest on the counter for another 30 minutes.
During the rest, prepare your loaf pans. Use either non-stick pans, grease with butter and flour your pans, or line with parchment paper. I use a silicone mat that I cut to fit my loaf pans.
After resting on the counter, flip the dough over, smooth side down, and perform the gentle final shape. Once your dough has been shaped, place it seam side down in a loaf pan. Repeat with the second loaf.
Once shaping is done, cover and let proof a little more on the counter. Once they’ve grown slightly and feel puffy, place both loaves in the fridge for 8-24 hours for a cold proof.
After the cold proof, preheat your oven to 500F.
Optional (but highly recommended): place a metal baking tray or muffin tin in the bottom of your oven. This vessel will be used to produce steam later in the process.
Once the oven is preheated, grab your loaves from the fridge. Lightly flour the loaves and score.
Open the preheated oven and place your loaves inside.
Optional: If you’ve opted to add steam, place 1 cup of hot water into the vessel at the bottom of the oven. Close right away to trap in the steam.
Once the loaves are in, drop the temperature to 375F and bake for 40-45 minutes.
Once the desired crust colour has been achieved, remove the loaves from the oven. Remove loaves from the pans immediately and place on a cooling rack.
Allow the loaves to cool down for at least 1 hour before slicing into them.
Once cooled, enjoy with a generous amount of butter!
Notes
This recipe is for a double batch. However, this time around, with the same dough, I made one artisan loaf and one sandwich loaf. That is why you only see me bake one sandwich loaf.
Starting the bake at a high temperature improves the initial rise before a crust is formed. Dropping the temperate ensures an even coloured crust while still benefitting from the initial high heat.
Keep an eye on your loaf while it’s baking. Every oven is different and you may find it gets dark too quickly at 375F. Feel free to reduce the temperature to 350F and extend the time to achieve a more even crust.
Make sure to remove the loaves from the pans when you’re finished baking. Leaving them in the pans too long while cooling down will produce condensation and cause the sides and bottom to get soggy and soft.
Watch Me Make Simple Sourdough Sandwich Bread!
Recipe & Method
Simple Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 4 Cups White Flour 500g
- 2 Cups Whole-Wheat Flour 250g
- 2 + 1/3 Cups Water 550g
- 2 Cups Active Sourdough Starter 300g
- 4 tsp Salt 20g
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: In a sturdy mixing bowl, add lukewarm water and active sourdough starter. Use your hands or a spatula to break up the sourdough starter into small, shaggy pieces.
- Add the Flours and Salt: Add white flour, whole wheat flour and salt. Mix until everything is incorporated, and there are no dry bits remaining.
- First Rest: Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 1 hour.
- Stretch & Fold: After 1 hour, perform the first round of stretch-and-folds. Stretch the dough all the way around, folding it over itself 4-8 times until the dough feels tight. Cover the bowl and let it rest for another 30 minutes.
- Second Stretch & Fold: After 30 minutes, repeat the stretch-and-fold process, making sure the dough becomes tight. This makes a total of 2 rounds of stretch-and-folds.
- Bulk Fermentation: Let the dough rest until it has nearly doubled in size. This could take anywhere from 4-12 hours, depending on the temperature of your house. If your house is cold, it will take longer, and if it’s warm, it will take less time.
- Shape the Dough: After bulk fermentation, turn the dough onto the counter. Divide the dough into two equal portions using a scale or by eye. Shape each portion into a round ball and let it rest for 30 minutes. If the dough still feels tight after 30 minutes, let it rest for an additional 30 minutes.
- Prepare Loaf Pans: Use either non-stick pans, grease with butter and flour your pans, or line with parchment paper.
- Final Shaping: After resting, flip each dough ball over so the smooth side is down. Gently shape each loaf by folding in the sides and forming a tight, smooth ball. Place the shaped dough seam side down into loaf pans. Repeat with the second loaf.
- Cold Proof: Cover the loaf pans and place both loaves in the fridge for 8-24 hours for a cold proof. The longer the cold proof, the more complex the flavour.
- Preheat the Oven: After the cold proof, preheat your oven to 500°F (260°C). Place a metal baking tray or muffin tin at the bottom of the oven to generate steam (this is optional but highly recommended for a crisp crust).
- Score the Loaves: Once the oven is preheated, take the loaves out of the fridge. Lightly flour the loaves and score them with a sharp knife or lame.
- Bake the Bread: Open the preheated oven and carefully place the loaves inside. If you added a steam tray, pour 1 cup of hot water into the vessel at the bottom of the oven immediately after placing the loaves in. Close the oven door to trap in the steam.
- Lower the Temperature: Drop the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and bake the bread for 40-45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and crispy.
- Cool the Loaves: Once baked, remove the loaves from the oven and place them on a cooling rack. Let them cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
- Enjoy: Once cooled, slice your sourdough sandwich bread and enjoy with a generous amount of butter, or use it for sandwiches, toast, or any other delightful dish!
Notes
Recommended Reading
Whats up very cool web site!! Man .. Beautiful .. Wonderful .. I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds additionally…I am glad to seek out a lot of useful info right here within the submit, we want work out extra strategies in this regard, thank you for sharing.