Name: Soft Honey Bran Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1530 min
Ingredients: 300g Active Sourdough Starter; 500g Water; 500g White Flour; 250g Whole Wheat Flour; 50g Honey; 1/2 cup Bran; 20g Salt

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This Honey Bran Sourdough Sandwich Bread is one of my favourites—it’s soft, slightly chewy, sweet, and full of rich, fermented flavour. Perfect for sandwiches, toast, French toast, or even bread pudding!

Honey wheat sourdough sandwich bread is one of my all-time favorite loaves, and for good reason. Naturally sweetened with honey, packed with whole wheat and extra bran, yet still light and airy, it avoids the dense heaviness that whole wheat breads sometimes have.

I love baking sandwich loaves—not just because my fire alarm goes off every time I use my Dutch oven, but also because I can bake multiple loaves at once and sandwich loaves are just more practical.

Honey and wheat are a timeless combination, but when made with freshly milled flour and a touch of extra bran, the flavour is even richer—slightly nutty, deeply satisfying, and perfect for everyday eating. Whether you’re toasting it, making sandwiches, or just sneaking a warm, buttery slice, this loaf is a must-have in your sourdough lineup.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Soft, fluffy texture – Perfect for toast and sandwiches
Naturally sweet & tangy – Honey balances the mild sourdough tang
No commercial yeast – 100% sourdough leavened and long-fermented for better digestion
Easy to customize – Works well with freshly milled or store-bought flour
Great way to use excess bran – If you mill and sift your own flour, you’ll likely have extra bran to use up!

Bronwyn’s Sourdough Notes

This is your loaf! I’m here to share my tips, experience, and what’s worked for me — but sourdough is wonderfully flexible. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting out, feel free to experiment and make this recipe your own. There are a bajillion ways to make a great loaf of sourdough, and my goal is simply to help you find the methods and rhythms that suit you best.

Water: If you can drink it, you can bake with it. I’ve used city, tap, well, and filtered water — all with great results. Don’t overthink it.

Salt: Use whatever fine salt you have. Unrefined salts like Himalayan or Redmond Real Salt support fermentation beautifully, but table salt works fine too.

Sourdough Starter: Start bread with an active, bubbly starter for best results. Learn more about your starter here.

Temperature: Dough rises best around 23–26°C (73–79°F) dough temperature.
Colder = Slower fermentation (6-12 hours)
Warmer = Faster fermentation (3-6 hours)
Adjust with warm or cool water depending on the season.

Flour: I always do a blend of standard all-purpose flour and freshly-milled whole grain flour as my whole wheat flour. Use whatever flour works for you.

Hydration: In summer, I use cooler water and slightly less. In winter, warmer water and a touch more can help balance fermentation speed.

Autolyse: This step involves holding back salt and sourdough starter at the mixing stage. I prefer a simpler variation — I mix in the starter right away but hold back the salt for 30–60 minutes. This short rest gives the dough time to hydrate and relax, especially important when using whole grain flour, which takes longer to absorb moisture.

Sourdough Starter

If you’re here, I’m assuming you have a sourdough starter and generally know how to use it. It is beyond the scope of this post to teach you how to create and maintain a sourdough starter.

If you haven’t made one already, read my post on how to make a sourdough starter from scratch.

Once you have an established sourdough starter and you know how to identify when it’s active or needs a fresh feeding, you’re pretty much good to go. It doesn’t matter much whether its thin, batter-like, or stiff, a healthy starter will make healthy bread.

If you have a sourdough starter but are having trouble understanding it, learn more with the ultimate guide to understanding your sourdough starter.

Where to Find Freshly Milled Flour

If you live in a city, check out local bakeries or specialty grocery stores—many stock fresh-milled whole-grain flour. If you’re in a more rural area, milling your own flour is a great option. You don’t need a fancy setup either:

A high-powered blender or coffee grinder works for small batches.
A KitchenAid grain mill attachment is a great step up.
A Harvest NutriMill (which I personally use every day) makes milling easy and practical.

If you’re thinking of investing in a Harvest NutriMill, use my discount code BRONSBREAD20 at checkout for $20 off!

Bonus Bran – A Nutritious & Delicious Addition

Adding extra bran to this loaf is completely optional, but I highly recommend it. It’s a small step that boosts nutrition, texture, and flavour without making the bread dense or heavy.

Health Benefits of Bran

High in fibre – Supports digestion and gut health
Helps regulate blood sugar – Slows carb absorption for steady energy
Rich in vitamins & minerals – Packed with B vitamins, iron, magnesium, and zinc
Supports heart health – Naturally helps lower cholesterol

Bran adds a slightly nutty, hearty feel to the loaf while keeping the crumb light and soft. If you’re looking for an easy way to add fibre to your bread, try adding 2–3 tablespoons per loaf.

What You’ll Need

Materials

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 Muffin Tin (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

Active Sourdough Starter: Light, bubbly, happy, and healthy.

Water: I always use warm water to start (unless its summertime).

White Flour: All-purpose is just fine.

Whole Wheat Flour: I like freshly milled flour but whatever whole wheat flour you like will work.

Honey: True honey, not honey flavoured syrup.

Bran: You can buy bran from the store or sift it from freshly milled flour.

Salt: I use pink Himalayan but use the best quality salt you can.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prepare the Dough: In a sturdy mixing bowl, add lukewarm water, honey, and active sourdough starter. Use your hands or a spatula to break up the sourdough starter and honey into small, shaggy pieces.

Mix the Flours & Initial Rest: Add white flour, whole wheat flour, and bran to the mixture. Mix until everything is fully incorporated and no dry bits remain. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 1 hour (autolyse).

Add Salt: Sprinkle salt on your dough with a splash of water. Squish in with your hands, thoroughly until the salt is completely dissolved and dispersed. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Strengthen the Dough

First Stretch & Fold (After 30 minutes): Stretch the dough from one side, fold it over itself, and repeat 4-8 times. The dough should feel tighter and stronger after folding. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

Second Stretch & Fold (After 30 Minutes): Repeat the stretch-and-fold process. The dough should feel smooth and elastic after the second round. Cover and let it rest for bulk fermentation.

Bulk Fermentation

Let the dough rest until nearly doubled in size.
– Cold kitchens (below 68°F/20°C) – This may take 10-12 hours.
– Warm kitchens (above 75°F/24°C) – This may take 4-6 hours.

Shape the Dough + Bench Rest: Turn the dough onto a lightly floured 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 resting, let it sit for an extra 30 minutes.

Prepare Loaf Pans

Non-stick pans: A little oil just to be safe.
Regular pans: Grease with butter and flour, or line with parchment paper.

Final Shaping & Cold Proof: Flip each dough ball over (smooth side down). Gently shape into a log, folding the sides in and rolling it into a tight, smooth loaf. Place the shaped dough seam side down into loaf pans. Cover and place in the fridge for 8-24 hours for a cold proof.

Bake the Bread: 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 with water in it (for steam).

Score the Loaves: Once oven is preheated, take the loaves out of the fridge. Lightly dust the surface with flour and score the top with a sharp knife or lame.

Bake with Steam: Open the oven, place the loaves inside. It should be steamy! Close the oven door quickly to trap the steam.

Lower the Temperature & Bake: Reduce oven temperature to 375°F (190°C). Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and crispy.

Cool & Enjoy: Once baked, remove the loaves from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack. Let them cool for at least 1 hour before slicing. Enjoy with honey butter!