Best Sourdough Farmhouse White Sandwich Loaf [Easy Recipe]

You are going to love this sourdough farmhouse white sandwich loaf! It has a light and airy crumb with plenty of squish, a soft crust and loads of flavor to boot. It's a loaf of bread just begging to be sliced and filled with your favorite sandwich fillings.

This sourdough farmhouse white sandwich loaf has been a labor of love for me - I've lost count of the amount of times I tested this recipe to get it perfect - and to fit this jumbo sized tin perfectly too! It really is the perfect white sandwich bread made with bubbly sourdough starter.

I created this loaf as a "legacy loaf". I wanted a signature loaf to make for my kids that they will remember when they're grown up and hopefully tell their kids "your grandma used to make the best farmhouse white loaf and we would eat it smothered in homemade butter". Is it just me that thinks about these things? Surely not!

If you are a sourdough sandwich bread lover then you just have to try this easy sourdough discard sandwich loaf and these sourdough sandwich rolls. This sourdough country loaf will also be at home on your farmhouse table, along with this golden sourdough cheese loaf!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

This recipe makes a giant, farmhouse sized loaf of sourdough white sandwich bread. It uses simple ingredients you'd find in any pantry and uses them to create something truly special. It really is the perfect sourdough bread! Here's why you'll love this recipe:

No fancy shaping required - this recipe is baked in a loaf pan, so there's no special shaping required. I've used a jumbo farmhouse bread pan, but you can size this recipe to any bread pans you have at home using baker's math.

Minimal Ingredients - this bread brings big flavor with minimal ingredients. There's no eggs or specialty ingredients and you can use whatever milk you have on hand.

Soft, squishy white bread - this is the perfect everyday loaf of sandwich bread. It's soft and squishy, light and airy. It's great for sandwiches, makes deliciously golden brown toast and will fast become a family favorite in your kitchen.

Freezes Like A Dream - if making fresh bread daily isn't possible, then making a few loaves of this sourdough farmhouse white bread and freezing them is a great way to have homemade bread everyday. This loaf freezes like a dream and is a cinch to thaw and use.

Best Flour For This Loaf?

I've tested this loaf using both all purpose flour and strong white bread flour and the bread flour wins by far. It gives a more sturdy, taller loaf with better rise.

Of course if you don't have access to bread flour, then all purpose flour will work, but you will get a better, more flavorsome result with bread flour.

You can read about the differences between all purpose flour vs bread flour here.

How to Make a Sourdough Farmhouse White Sandwich Loaf

This sourdough farmhouse white really is a basic loaf. It requires pretty basic ingredients and a bit of kneading. You can easily knead this loaf by hand if you've got the time or you can let your stand mixer do the work for you. I also love making this one in my Thermomix.

You could even let your bread machine do all the heavy lifting if you have one. Whatever let's you get this bread on the table I say!

This recipe makes one giant loaf - if you want to make 2 loaves (like you can see in some of these photos) you'll need to select x2 on the recipe card and it will automatically double the recipe.

Premix & Autolyse

Add your milk, water and sugar to a large bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved. It does help if you warm your milk and water just a little (or even use hot water added to cold milk which will make the mix "warm").

Now add the sourdough starter to the liquid ingredients and stir to dissolve it a little.

Now add the rest of your ingredients - bread flour, salt and melted butter. Mix them together until a shaggy dough forms.

Cover with a damp kitchen towel or elastic food cover and let it sit for around an hour.

Kneading Your Farmhouse White Sandwich Dough

You can knead this dough by hand or in a stand mixer or Thermomix.

Either way is fine and you'll end up with soft, elastic dough that is slightly sticky, but shouldn't stick to your hands.

Try not to add additional flour to the dough while kneading unless you absolutely have to. You want this dough to have moisture. If you add too much extra flour the dough will be dry - and so will your baked loaf.

Kneading by hand - knead the dough for around 10 minutes or until it is soft and elastic. The dough should feel slightly sticky but not be a big mess.

Stand Mixer - you'll need to use your dough hook. Knead for 2 minutes, then give your mixer a rest for 2 minutes. Knead again for 2 minutes and so on. The dough should come away from the sides of the bowl when it's done.

Thermomix - knead using the dough function for 5 minutes or until the dough isn't sticking to sides of the bowl and is stretchy and elastic.

Bulk Ferment

Once your dough is kneaded sufficiently, you need to allow it to bulk ferment at room temperature. If you're using a stand mixer, it's fine to leave it in the mixing bowl. If you're using a Thermomix you'll need to tip your dough into a glass or ceramic bowl to finish its bulk ferment.

At this point, you can just leave the dough as it is, covering it with some plastic wrap to stop it drying out. If you prefer your dough to be a bit neater, you can wet your hands and fold it into a neat ball.

As with any sourdough bread, the bulk ferment time will depend on the temperature in your kitchen and of course the strength of your starter.

You're looking for your dough to be just UNDER double.

Now remember this is an enriched dough and it's a lower hydration so it will take longer than a lean dough. Try to put it somewhere warm if you can (I love using my Brod & Taylor proofer for this).

Shaping Your Sourdough Farmhouse Sandwich Loaf

Once your dough has finished its bulk ferment you can shape your dough.

Before you start shaping, lightly oil your loaf tin. I just use a little olive oil for this.

Ease your dough out of the bowl using a silicone dough scraper, remembering to have the smooth side on the counter and the sticky side facing up. You shouldn't need any flour for this as your dough shouldn't stick (it's such a beautiful silky, enriched dough).

Gently ease your dough out into a rough rectangle, with the longest side in front of you.

Pop any large bubbles and gently flatten the dough using your fingertips.

Then roll the dough up into a log (using the short side) and tuck the ends under. 

Then simply plop the log into your bread tin. I like to spread a little olive oil on the top of my dough before putting a plastic food cover over the tin, this way the dough won't stick to the plastic if I forget to check it regularly.

It doesn't have to be perfect. As the dough rises it will fill the tin and tighten up the surface.

Second Rise

Once your bread has been shaped and is in the tin, you'll need to let it rise again so that it fills up the shape of the tin.

This should only take a few hours, but like the bulk ferment, this will depend on the strength of your starter and the temperature of your kitchen. I like to use my Brod & Taylor Bread Proofer for this. It fits 2 loaves of this farmhouse white inside and it takes the guess work out the second rise for me.

You'll know it's done when it's risen above the lip of the tin (if you're using an open tin). It will be rounded on the top. When you poke it it will leave a slight indent but spring back nice and slowly.

You'll see some tension on the top of the dough as it's risen.

Baking Your Sandwich Bread

Preheat your oven to around 180C/350F.

Let your oven warm for around 10 minutes and then place your sandwich loaf in the oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

It may take a little longer depending on your oven.

Once your dough is baked, remove it from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack. Brush the top with some melted butter for a richer flavored, softer crust.

Ideally, leave it for at least 90 minutes before you cut into it. Enjoy!

​What Size Bread Tin Should I Use For This Recipe?

I love making this sourdough farmhouse white sandwich loaf in a jumbo bread tin. When I first started making this recipe, I used a smaller tin, but as I made adjustments and perfected it, I changed it to a giant farmhouse pan and found the results to be much better. I love making sourdough banana bread and whole wheat sandwich loaves in smaller baking tins, but this farmhouse loaf deserves a jumbo sized home!

The jumbo pan I use measures 24cm x 16cm x 12cm or 9.5" x 6" x 4.7". I purchased this pan from a kitchenware shop in Australia but you can find it online here. I have found jumbo farmhouse pans similar in measurement on Amazon. These are my picks:

USA Pan Aluminised Steel Bread Pan

Zyliss Non Stick Loaf Pan

Ultra Cuisine Non Stick Loaf Pan

​Baker's Timeline for Sourdough Farmhouse Loaf

This is the rough timeline I use when making this sourdough farmhouse sandwich loaf. You could adapt this timeline to suit your own situation. You might also find this article on creating a sourdough baking timeline helpful in adapting it.

In The Morning

7am - Feed your sourdough starter (I do 1:1:1 because I want to use it today).

10am - Mix the dough, knead and allow to rise (bulk fermentation).

3pm - Shape the sandwich bread, place into tin and allow to rise again.

9pm - Bake sandwich loaf and allow to cool overnight so it's ready for breakfast in the morning.

If you want to hit pause on this recipe, you can place your sandwich loaf in the fridge once it's shaped. I allow the loaf to rise around half way up the tin and then put them it the fridge for up to 12 hours. When I want to bake it, I take it out, allow it to rise over the lip of the pan and then bake.

Using Sourdough Discard

This recipe was developed using an active sourdough starter and without any commercial yeast. If you don't have an active starter yet, you can find instructions for making a sourdough starter here.

If you want to use sourdough discard you can, however I would recommend adding 7g of commercial yeast (or instant yeast) along with your discard to help it rise (otherwise you will be waiting a very long time).

Just remember that if you use commercial yeast you will need to adjust your baking timeline. Yeast dough rises much faster and hence won't have the same flavor as sourdough doughs.

How To Store & Freeze Sourdough Farmhouse White Loaf

This sourdough bread can be stored in a plastic bag for up to 3 days. Because it contains some sugar, salt and butter, the loaf will be edible for a bit longer. It won't be fluffy like store bought bread, but it will stay softer than a lean loaf.

I find storing it in a plastic bag keeps it softer for longer. I just reuse the plastic bags. They're also very handy if you're planning on freezing a loaf.

I also like to store my loaves under a glass cloche. If they are on display on the counter, they tend to get eaten a bit faster too which I love! No food waste!

Although, if you do have any leftovers from this bread, I highly recommend this sourdough bread pudding or these sourdough croutons.

​Freezing this sourdough loaf could not be easier. It's up to you whether you slice it or not. I prefer to freeze mine unsliced, however slicing it first can definitely be more convenient. It's the perfect bread to have in the freezer "just in case".

When I freeze a whole unsliced loaf, I wrap it in foil and place it inside a large ziploc bag or wrap it in Press n Seal. I store in the freezer until we need it. When I want to use it, I let it thaw at room temperature and then slice as necessary. It can also be warmed in the oven if you like.

Frequently Asked Questions

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