This easy sourdough sandwich bread has a soft crust and fluffy crumb, but it doesn’t require too many extra ingredients – just a small amount of milk, butter, and sugar. The process is simple too: mix the ingredients in one bowl, knead the dough, let it rise, shape it, let it rise again, and bake.
Why This Recipe Works
Many recipes for sourdough sandwich bread include large amounts of butter, oil, sugar, and milk. These ingredients provide richness and softness to the dough, making the bread softer and similar to a sliced sandwich bread you might find at the store or from your local bakery. But these ingredients also make the dough stickier and more difficult to knead.
This recipe calls for only small amounts of milk, sugar, and melted butter. This means that the dough is still very easy to manage and it’s possible to knead everything by hand – no need for a stand mixer. Also, the small addition of extra ingredients (enrichments) gives the bread a soft interior and a softer crust, but unlike highly-enriched breads like brioche, this bread is less decadent and sweet. It’s a sliceable, easy sourdough sandwich bread that you could make every week!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Bread Flour: I used King Arthur bread flour for this recipe. You can use any plain white bread flour that contains around 11-13% protein.
- Water: Plain, unchlorinated tap water is best. Use filtered water or bottled spring water if your city’s tap water contains harsh ingredients or has a bad taste.
- Sourdough Starter: You’ll need a 100% hydration sourdough starter for this recipe. You can feed your starter directly and don’t need to create a separate “levain.”
- Salt: I used Kosher salt for this recipe, but sea salt or plain table salt will also work well.
- Whole Milk: Milk brings a touch of softness to the dough.
- Melted Butter: Butter will bring softness and richness to the dough.
- White Sugar: You’ll use a small amount of sugar in this dough. The sugar will add a small amount of sweetness to the dough without being overpowering. It will also hold on to moisture, keeping the dough softer for longer.
- Egg: You’ll want one small egg to create an egg wash for the top of the bread. This ingredients is option, but recommended.
Note: See recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and quantities.
Ingredient Amounts
Starter Feeding
- Sourdough Starter, leftover – 25 grams
- Water – 50 grams
- Bread Flour – 50 grams
Main Dough
- Bread Flour – 450 grams
- Water – 200 grams
- Whole Milk – 50 grams
- Sourdough Starter, active – 100 grams
- Butter, melted – 2 Tbsp (25 grams)
- White Sugar – 10 grams
- Salt – 10 grams
- Egg, beaten (optional) – 1 small egg for an egg wash
Suggested Timeline
| Time | Step |
|---|---|
| 10:00 PM (Day 1) | Feeding the Sourdough Starter |
| 6:00 AM (Day 2) | Mixing the Dough |
| 6:15 AM | Kneading the Dough |
| 6:30 AM | The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation) |
| 11:00 AM | Shaping |
| 11:30 AM | The Second Rise (Final Proof) |
| 2:30 PM | Baking |
How to Make Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Step-by-Step Instructions
Feeding the Sourdough Starter
Take 25 grams of leftover sourdough starter out of the fridge. Feed your starter 50 grams of water and 50 grams of bread flour. Mix the flour, water, and starter around in the jar until it has a pancake batter-like consistency. Mark the top of the starter with a rubber band and cover the top loosely with a lid. Let the starter rise at room temperature overnight, for around 6-8 hours, or until it doubles in size.
Mixing the Dough
Place a mixing bowl on a digital scale and weigh in the water, milk, sourdough starter, melted butter, white sugar, and salt. Stir the liquid ingredients together until well combined. Then, add the bread flour. Mix the ingredients together with a spoon until a rough dough is formed and most of the dry bits of flour disappear. Then cover up the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 10 minutes. After the ten minute rest the dough will be easier to knead.
Kneading the Dough
Uncover the dough and dump it out onto the un-floured kitchen counter. Knead the dough by hand for about eight minutes, or until the dough is smooth and holds together will. Form the dough into a ball on the counter.
The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)
Move the dough into a large glass bowl with a lid (or any other mixing bowl). Grease the bowl first with a small amount of butter or olive oil first so that the dough doesn’t stick. Cover the bowl with the lid or a sheet of plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for 4-6 hours, or until it roughly doubles in size.
Shaping the Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread
After the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and place it onto the kitchen counter. Gently preshape the dough into a tight ball. This will knock some of the air out of the dough and make the dough easier to shape into a loaf-pan-shape later. Let the ball of dough rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
While the dough is resting, prepare a standard, non-stick bread pan by greasing it with a bit of butter or oil (this part is optional if the bread pan is non-stick).
After the 15 minute rest, shape the dough to fit the bread pan. Flip the ball of dough over so that the sticky side is now facing up. Fold the dough together like a book, then give the dough a 90° turn, and fold the ends of the dough together like a book again. Pinch the seams of the dough together so that the seams close, then flip the dough over and you should have an oval loaf of dough that fits nicely in your bread pan. Transfer the dough into the greased bread pan and cover the pan with a kitchen towel.
The Second Rise (Final Proof)
Let the covered dough rise on the kitchen counter at room temperature for 2-4 hours, or until the dough is doubled in size. Since you won’t be scoring this loaf, you can let the dough proof longer to reach its full potential before baking it. (Sandwich breads that don’t proof for a long enough time tend to rip along the sides of the loaf when they’re baking in the oven).
In my warm Arizona kitchen, my dough took just two and a half hours to proof before it doubled in size. Yours may take a little bit longer, so be patient in the final proof.
Baking the Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread
30 minutes before the dough is done proofing, preheat your oven to 400°F (204°C). Place a metal pie pan or cake pan on the bottom rack of the oven. This will heat up and you can use it as a steam tray.
When the oven is preheated and the dough is proofed, beat one small egg and brush the beaten egg over the top of the dough with a pastry brush. This egg wash will give the bread a shiny, golden-brown top.Slide the bread into the middle rack of the oven and pour one cup of boiling water into the metal cake pan below. This will create steam while the bread bakes, allowing it to rise properly.
Bake the bread for 20 minutes with the steam and then carefully remove the metal steam tray. Continue baking for another 20 minutes without steam.
After baking, remove the bread from the pan and allow it to cool for at least one hour on a cooling rack.
Slice the bread and enjoy it on its own, as slices for buttered toast, or as the perfect sliced bread for BLTs. The lightly sweet and tangy flavor of this bread make it the perfect, homemade, easy sourdough sandwich bread.
Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread
This easy sourdough sandwich bread has a soft crust and fluffy crumb, but it doesn’t require too many extra ingredients – just a small amount of milk, butter, and sugar. The process is simple too: mix the ingredients in one bowl, knead the dough, let it rise, shape it, let it rise again, and bake.
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter Feeding
- Sourdough Starter, leftover - 25 grams
- Water - 50 grams
- Bread Flour - 50 grams
Main Dough
- Bread Flour - 450 grams
- Water - 200 grams
- Whole Milk - 50 grams
- Butter, melted - 2 Tbsp (25 grams)
- White Sugar - 10 grams
- Salt - 10 grams
Instructions
Feeding the Sourdough Starter
Take 25 grams of leftover sourdough starter out of the fridge. Feed your starter 50 grams of water and 50 grams of bread flour. Mix the flour, water, and starter around in the jar until it has a pancake batter-like consistency. Mark the top of the starter with a rubber band and cover the top loosely with a lid. Let the starter rise at room temperature overnight, for around 6-8 hours, or until it doubles in size.
Mixing the Dough
Place a mixing bowl on a digital scale and weigh in the water, milk, sourdough starter, melted butter, white sugar, and salt. Stir the liquid ingredients together until well combined. Then, add the bread flour. Mix the ingredients together with a spoon until a rough dough is formed and most of the dry bits of flour disappear. Then cover up the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 10 minutes. After the ten minute rest the dough will be easier to knead.
Kneading the Dough
Uncover the dough and dump it out onto the un-floured kitchen counter. Knead the dough by hand for about eight minutes, or until the dough is smooth and holds together will. Form the dough into a ball on the counter.
The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)
Move the dough into a large glass bowl with a lid (or any other mixing bowl). Grease the bowl first with a small amount of butter or olive oil first so that the dough doesn’t stick. Cover the bowl with the lid or a sheet of plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for 4-6 hours, or until it roughly doubles in size.
Shaping
After the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and place it onto the kitchen counter. Gently preshape the dough into a tight ball. This will knock some of the air out of the dough and make the dough easier to shape into a loaf-pan-shape later. Let the ball of dough rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
While the dough is resting, prepare a standard, non-stick bread pan by greasing it with a bit of butter or oil (this part is optional if the bread pan is non-stick).
After the 15 minute rest, shape the dough to fit the bread pan. Flip the ball of dough over so that the sticky side is now facing up. Fold the dough together like a book, then give the dough a 90° turn, and fold the ends of the dough together like a book again. Pinch the seams of the dough together so that the seams close, then flip the dough over and you should have an oval loaf of dough that fits nicely in your bread pan. Transfer the dough into the greased bread pan and cover the pan with a kitchen towel.
The Second Rise (Final Proof)
Let the covered dough rise on the kitchen counter at room temperature for 2-4 hours, or until the dough is doubled in size. Since you won’t be scoring this loaf, you can let the dough proof longer to reach its full potential before baking it. (Sandwich breads that don’t proof for a long enough time tend to rip along the sides of the loaf when they’re baking in the oven).
In my warm Arizona kitchen, my dough took just two and a half hours to proof before it doubled in size. Yours may take a little bit longer, so be patient in the final proof.
Baking
30 minutes before the dough is done proofing, preheat your oven to 400°F (204°C). Place a metal pie pan or cake pan on the bottom rack of the oven. This will heat up and you can use it as a steam tray.
When the oven is preheated and the dough is proofed, beat one small egg and brush the beaten egg over the top of the dough with a pastry brush. This egg wash will give the bread a shiny, golden-brown top.Slide the bread into the middle rack of the oven and pour one cup of boiling water into the metal cake pan below. This will create steam while the bread bakes, allowing it to rise properly.
Bake the bread for 20 minutes with the steam and then carefully remove the metal steam tray. Continue baking for another 20 minutes without steam.
After baking, remove the bread from the pan and allow it to cool for at least one hour on a cooling rack.
Slice the bread and enjoy it on its own, as slices for buttered toast, or as the perfect sliced bread for BLTs. The lightly sweet and tangy flavor of this bread make it the perfect, homemade, easy sourdough sandwich bread.