Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe

Easy sourdough sandwich bread perfect for the whole family - a light airy crumb with a soft crust, perfect for your favorite sandwich fillings.

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Keyword Sourdough Bread

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 40

Fermentation Time 12

Total Time 13 40

Servings Loaf

Calories 2403kcal

Author Kate Freebairn

Equipment

Stand Mixer
Loaf Pan (USA Pullman Pan 9" x 4" x 4" with no lid)

Ingredients

500 g Bread Flour
100 g Sourdough Starter (active, fed and bubbly)
280 g Water
60 g Butter (soft, cubed)
10 g Salt
20 g Granulated Sugar

Instructions

Premix & Autolyse:
Add your sourdough starter, flour and water into the bowl of your stand mixer.
Knead the ingredients for around 30 seconds (using your dough hook) until they are just combined into a shaggy dough.
Leave to autolyse for around 30 minutes.
Now add the rest of your ingredients - salt, butter and sugar.
Knead the ingredients for around 1 minute or until they are combined together. Now leave to rest for around 30 minutes.
Kneading Your Sandwich Dough:
Using the dough hook, knead the dough for around 3 minutes. The dough should become very elastic. You won't be able to see the butter as it will be well combined into the dough.
Now give your dough a 30 minute rest.
Now, knead your dough in the mixer for another 2-3 minutes.
You'll know it's ready when it is slapping the sides of the bowl, it's soft and pliable and you can touch it without it sticking to your hands.
If it's not quite there, it's ok to knead for a few more minutes to develop the gluten and get it to where it needs to be.
Bulk Ferment:
Once your dough is kneaded sufficiently, you need to bulk ferment it.
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.
Shaping:
Once your dough has finished its bulk ferment you can shape your dough. Before you start shaping, lightly butter your loaf pan.
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 shortest 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. Leave the dough to sit and relax for around 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, tighten up the log by pulling the dough a little, using the sticky underside to create tension. Then simply plop the log into your buttered pan.
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 pan.
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.
You'll know it's done when it's risen above the lip of the pan (if you're using an open pan). It will be rounded on the top. When you poke it it will leave a slight indent but spring back nice and slowly.
If you shaped it quite tight, 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.
Bake your sourdough sandwich loaf for approximately 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
It may take a little longer depending on your oven. Once the loaf is baked, carefully place it on a rack to cool. Try to leave it at least one hour before you slice into it.

Video

Notes

Kneading the dough - I have chosen to knead this dough in a stand mixer, but you can knead the dough by hand if you prefer.

Nutrition