A soft sourdough sandwich bread with a tender texture and amazing flavor without using any store-bought yeast, just the wonderful power of wild leavening. This sourdough sandwich bread recipe is made with flour, water, salt, butter, and active sourdough starter and is so good you should double it for two loaves.
Sourdough Bread Making Tips
Sourdough bread-making is intimidating if you're used to relying on store-bought yeast. We'll have you baking sourdough bread like a boss in no time with these tips.
- Use an active sourdough starter. A sourdough starter is in its active state when it's rising. After being fed, the sourdough starter will rise and double in size before it peaks and begins to fall again. This active state can be anywhere from 2 to 6 hours after feeding your starter. The rising process occurs when the yeast you've captured in your sourdough starter feeds. This creates carbon dioxide, little bubbles are trapped in the dough, creating the rise.
- Mix dough at the right time. I wait until my sourdough starter has almost doubled, but not quite, to mix up my bread recipe.
- Mature sourdough starter. If you're using a brand new starter it can be so hard to wait for it to become mature enough to bake bread. However, if your starter is only a few weeks old, it's not strong enough for bread baking yet and you will be disappointed by a loaf that is dense and doesn't rise well. Most sourdough starters are strong enough to bake bread at 4 to 6 weeks old (I know, patience is not my virtue, but it's so worth the wait).
- Rising time patience. Unlike store-bought yeast, dough rise time with sourdough is much longer. How long should I leave bread dough to rise? If your starter is on the sluggish or immature side, it can take 8 hours before the loaves are doubled. If your starter is active and mature, loaves double in 4 to 5 hours. Again, the room temperature greatly affects how fast your dough rises, when my dough is 74 degrees F or warmer it rises much faster.
Don't have a sourdough starter or your starter isn't going so well? Here are my 5 Tips On How to Get Started with Sourdough
What are the benefits of sourdough bread?
The first benefit is you don't need any store-bought yeast, one less thing to purchase from the store is always a plus!
Sourdough is a fermented cultured food, which means the good bacteria, pre-biotic, and probiotics help to break down the phytic acid making the nutrients in the flour easier to absorb, therefore increasing the folate and antioxidant levels.
The yeast and bacteria feed on the starches and/or carbohydrates in the flour, making a fully cultured (allowing the flour to soak with the starter for at least 8 hours) sourdough bread lower on the Glycemic Index than regular bread.
Many gluten-sensitive individuals find that a fully cultured sourdough bread allows them to enjoy bread again without issues. There is still gluten-present, but the culture seems to degrade the gluten. This study shows IgE-binding proteins contained in the sourdough breads disappeared after in vitro digestion with pepsin, trypsin and pancreatin.
How to Get Light and Fluffy Bread
We all want a light and tender texture on our sourdough sandwich bread. It can be frustrating if your bread turns out dense and hard (I've had some of those brick-like loaves before but no more my friend!) but once you identify the culprits below, you'll be on your way!
- Proper kneading time. Kneading helps to develop the gluten strands, which provide the structure so your dough can expand (aka light and fluffy). For bread and all-purpose flour, you need to knead your dough for 8 minutes and then do a windowpane test.
- Pass the windowpane test. Take a piece of dough the size of a golf ball and using both thumbs and index fingers, stretch it into a rectangle (see the sourdough sandwich bread video for the visual steps). The dough should stretch thin enough for light to pass through before tearing or breaking (hence the name windowpane). If it breaks or tears before this state, knead for another 2 minutes and check again.
- Bake at the correct time. Sourdough sandwich bread baked without sufficient rise time will be dense. If you let it overproof (rise too long) the loaf will collapse in the oven. This is something I go over in-depth inside my Handmade Bread & Baking course. For this recipe, you want the bread to be about 1/2 inch higher than the edge of your 9×5 loaf pan.
- Create tension. This is an extremely common failure (and it holds true for any bread recipe, not just this sourdough sandwich bread). You need to create tension on the top of the loaf so it can hold its shape as it rises. This is done by stretching the top of the loaf taut, both for round artisan loaves like my Easy No Knead Bread Artisan Recipe in 5 Minutes a Day or a sandwich bread.
- Bake at the correct temperature. Make sure your oven is calibrated and at correct temperature. Different recipes will have different baking temps based on the ingredients used and the desired outside crust texture. If the oven temp is too low, you won't get oven spring (when the loaf springs up after entering the hot oven) and if it's too hot, you can get a hard crispy outer crust (not desirable for a sandwich loaf).
Sourdough Bread Troubleshooting
If your sourdough bread isn't turning out, it usually has to go back to the strength and activity in your sourdough starter. Even a mature starter can be sluggish if it hasn't been properly cared for. Inside my free homemade sourdough starter series, I cover why feeding a small amount twice a day is crucial to getting your starter into peak shape, especially for bread baking.
Older starters that have been left in the fridge for a long period of time won't rise bread well. Sourdough starters that aren't being fed regularly become weak. Young sourdough starters that are less than 4 weeks of age simply aren't strong enough for bread baking yet. I've had starters that weren't strong enough until 6 weeks of age.
Two days before baking bread, make sure your sourdough starter is at room temperature and you're feeding it twice a day to get it nice and bubbly.
Can I bake bread immediately after making dough?
No, you have to let it rise or you'll have a bread loaf as hard as a rock.
What Flour is Best for Sourdough Sandwich Bread?
You want a flour with a strong gluten content for bread baking (no pastry flours). This recipe works well with ap flour, bread flour, and whole wheat flour. For a white bread, use all purpose flour or bread flour. I like to use fresh ground hard white wheat (if using whole wheat or fresh ground flour you'll need to increase the water, see recipe notes) so we have the nutritional benefits of fresh ground flour and the sourdough culture.
Many people ask me what is the best flour for making sourdough?
Any organic unbleached flour is better than conventional, but I've made sourdough starters with rice flour, all-purpose, fresh ground Einkorn, and fresh ground hard white wheat. They all worked equally as well.
The key is how often you're feeding it, amounts, and temperature. I cover all of this in detail inside my free homemade sourdough starter series here
How to make a bread loaf without a covered bread pan?
Simple, make this sourdough sandwich bread recipe because all you need is a standard loaf pan. No Dutch ovens required.
Sourdough Bread Making Timeline
9 pm. The night before you want to bake bread, feed your starter so you have 1/2 cup total volume.
7 or 8 am. In the morning, feed the starter to equal 1 cup of starter. Allow starter to rise until almost doubled (usually 2 to 3 hours).
11 am Combine all ingredients and knead the sourdough sandwich dough until it passes the windowpane test. I use the dough hook with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and mix for 8 minutes before testing. Grease your loaf pans (these cast iron loaf pans are the ONLY loaf pans I use).
11:10 am Form loaf, creating tension on the top of the loaf, and place in bread pans. Cover so the dough doesn't dry out with either plastic or a damp tea towel. Place in a warm area to rise until dough is 1/2 inch above the lip of the loaf pan.
4 pm Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Slather the top of the sandwich loaf with melted butter. Bake for 30 minutes.
4:30 pm Remove bread from oven and loaf pan to a cooling wrack. Immediately rub with butter and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
How to make bread really soft
Don't skip the butter step before baking the loaf and immediately after removing it from the oven. If you're dairy-free, you can use olive oil or melted coconut oil.
What do you eat with sourdough bread?
My favorite thing to eat with this sourdough bread is more butter and this Strawberry Jam Recipe without Pectin and Low Sugar. Seriously, it's the best of all the worlds on your taste buds.
Load it up with your favorite sandwich toppings, from peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese (smoked gouda is a MUST), to a turkey sandwich with these Fermented Pickle Recipe Old-fashioned Saltwater Brine Pickles.
My son loves a slice with butter and garlic salt underneath a low broil for a quick sourdough garlic bread.
More Easy Homemade Bread Recipes
Sourdough Chocolate Quick Bread
Honey Whole Wheat Bread Easy Sandwich Bread Recipe
No Knead Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes
Learn how to make homemade sourdough starter here
Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe
Best Beginner Sourdough Sandwich Bread No Yeast
Ingredients
- 175 grams water 3/4 cup
- 200 grams active starter 1 cup
- 7 grams sugar 1.5 teaspoons
- 7 gram salt 1.5 teaspoons
- 15 grams melted salted butter 1 Tablespoon
- 400 grams all-purpose flour 2.75 cups
Instructions
- Place water in a large mixing bowl and add in starter with melted butter, stir to combine. Add in remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Dough should clean the sides of the bowl.
- Knead for 8 minutes and check for window pane test. Knead for 2 more minutes if not at window pane and check again. Dough shouldn’t stick to your fingers.
- Lightly flour surface and roll out dough into a rectangle. Roll up into a loaf, tucking edges under to create tension on top. Place in parchment lined or greased loaf pan.
- Cover so it doesn’t develop a skin or dry out and allow to rise until doubled and up even with edges of loaf pan. Right before baking, brush top with melted butter.
- Bake in preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 to 32 minutes.
- Remove from loaf pan onto cooling rack, slather with more butter, and allow to cool for at least 15 to 20 minutes (longer if possible) before slicing.
Notes
- to make this with fresh ground or whole wheat flour, increase liquid to 250 grams of water (1 and 1/4 cups). Dough will feel slightly sticky but after resting for 10 minutes, it will soak up the water.
- the best way to store homemade bread is to let it cool fully and then store in a plastic bag or a cotton bread bag for 3 to 4 days.
Can I leave this loaf to rise overnight in the fridge?
Yes, I haven’t tested it for exact time but you can do a slower rise in the fridge.
Hi, Melissa,
So I watched the video about making the sourdough sandwich bread and the one a bout making the sourdough starter and enjoyed learning more new things. So with $69.00 I paid, am I getting a soft-cover copy of your book in the mail, as well as the bonus items offered?
I will try to watch more videos each day or when I can. Thanks again for the information and demonstrations. They were excellent.
Julia
Hi Julie,
So glad you enjoyed the class and are in the full course. Yes, I show you have a soft-cover copy coming with your purchase too!
Be careful: The 1X 2X 3X feature is working correctly for the proportions that are in grams but is not calculating the amounts correctly if using teaspoon cups and such. This is for the site https://melissaknorris.com/best-beginner-sourdough-sandwich-bread-no-yeast/
Hi Ron, I think I got it fixed so it should scale correctly now for both grams and teaspoons/cups. Thanks for the heads-up.
Your g amounts for the salt and sugar are not correct (they are not the equivalent of 1 1/2 tssp salt and 1 1/2 tsp sugar). These two have a different density than water (your g are the water mass equivalent).
This recipe is amazing thank you!!
Hi Melissa,
Thank you so much for all the great instruction you provide. When kneading with a KA mixer, what speed do you use?
I never go above the 2 speed.
I tried making this over the weekend. After 16 hours I realized my starter was not strong enough (I know why LOL). But today I decided to add some yeast along with the starter – sorry I cheated. My loaf turned out, today, to be the nicest and best tasting sandwich bread I’ve ever made. I will revive my starter properly and try again without yeast, but in the meantime I’m so happy to have this recipe.
This is the sourdough sandwich bread I have been searching for! It is absolutely delicious and NO dry yeast! The first loaf barely survived dinner and was completely gone after bedtime snack. We all loved it SO much. I will likely be making 1-2 loaves of this a day from now on in addition to my regular sourdough recipe. My kids have always liked regular sourdough alone as a snack, but they just couldn’t make it work with their PB&J. I have a feeling that will not be a problem ever again. So long, store-bought bread! Thank you so much!
Woo, hoo, so happy to hear you guys enjoyed it!
Melissa,
I just had a chance to start my sour dough starter, I had watched your series about a month ago, and took notes, but because of all the craziness going on in my life besides covid 19 my notes are sketchy at best. Do I feed it twice a day for 5 days then 1 a day for three weeks to get to the strength I need for bread? I thought I had saved the recipes for the pancakes and waffles, but can’t find them. I appreciate the series and you and think I’ve got it if you can answer these couple of questions.
Thank you
Phyllis
Melissa, I cannot tell you how happy it made me to see you using a cast iron bread pan! I’ve been using them for years and I love them so much! I have three as my regular yeast recipe makes 3 loaves. Can this recipe be doubled?
Yes, I double it frequently!
I really enjoyed and followed along the four videos on making sourdough starter. I’m on day seven. I’ve been making one batch with unbleached flour and another trying gf millet flour, which is what my cupboard has. The first one matches exactly what your video describes. The millet batch is very light and spongy but the hooch or liquid is a layer on the bottom. Instead of throwing away the discard I added it to a pancake recipe one day and into a biscuit recipe another day. Both were fine. The question: is the millet sponge okay or am I wasting that flour? (when I say sponge it’s like whipped egg whites consistency ) Wish i could attach a photo to show .
If them millet has bubbles and is rising it should be good.
Hi Melissa! Is there any special instructions for making this gluten free? Thank you so much for all the info you share <3
You have to use a different recipe, you need different binders and mixes of flours to make a sandwich bread gluten-free. I have one inside my full course but not here on the blog. Here’s the full course https://melissa-norris.mykajabi.com/offers/BAuFzfxf/checkout
Is it possible to go ahead and share the gluten free version? I know you are in business to make money, but for those who are already spending much more for GF ingredients it would be a great blessing to be able to make a decent loaf of bread and not have to decide whether to pay the cost of the course just to get the recipe. Thank you for all the free information you have graciously shared already.
In respect of those who have purchased my course, I can’t share all of the recipes from it for free, I already shared the gluten-free starter, gluten-free pancakes, and waffles for free with the sourdough starter series. There are quite a few gluten-free sourdough bread recipes online from others but I’m unable to share that recipe at this time.
OK, thank you for what you have already given. I understand that it wouldn’t be fair to those who have bought the course.
This bread is just so amazing and so easy to make–it is also really a no-fuss sourdough bread which is really nice. Delicious. Thank you!
I need the active starter recipe. Where can I find that? I am anxious to try this recipe; I love sourdough.
Here’s where you get access to make your starter https://melissaknorris.com/learnsourdough
How long does your breaks generally take to rise? I have been waiting a few hours and it is not nearly high enough. I have made multiple things with my starter so I don’t believe it is the problem. I have it in the oven with the light on temp is around 70 degrees in there.
Thanks!
Sourdough bread can take up to 8 hours
Hi Melissa, This sourdough sandwich bread recipe gave me the best bread baking results I’ve ever had. Thank you so much for the detailed instructions and notes.
This is the bread I’m making with my sourdough, I hop it turns out good. Do you need to use warm water for this recipe or does it not matter. Most bread recipes I’ve seen say warm water to activate the yeast but since this is sourdough does that not matter?
It doesn’t matter as much as with active yeast because sourdough takes more time it will come to room temperature, however, any yeast (sourdough or store-bought) will rise faster if kept warm and warm water can help kick start things. I put the loaf in a warm spot if I need it to rise faster, but it’s still going to take 4 to 8 hours.
Hi Melissa! I’ve only recently discovered you, and I am so so thankful that I did! I am truly enjoying your content but more than that it is helping me so much along my journey and blessing my family tremendously. So thank you!! My question is- I have 5 children. I am considering purchasing more like industrial sized loaf pans for how much we go through. If I were to double/triple up this recipe and use it in a larger pan, do you think the cook time would be longer?
If the pan is just longer (not wider) I think cook time should be about the same, if it’s wider you might need to increase cook time slightly. So nice to meet yoU!
What are the dimensions of your loaf pans?
Standard loaf size 9 x 5
I’m new to bread making but this was the best I’ve made so far!! I can’t wait to make it again. Could you use this dough to make rolls?
SO happy to hear that! You could, just a shorter bake time usually.
Well fallow your sourdough bread it took ove 12 hrs. To raise.i bake it is good and nice flavor
Thank you .
I started sourdough during the quarantine and am having so much fun! I’ve been trying out different sandwich bread recipes and I’m excited to try yours. I noticed your dough only rises once. The other recipes I’ve tried rise in the bowl and then rise again the loaf pan. My kids have wanted a milder tasting loaf so I’m hoping your recipe with only 1 rise will do the trick.
Thank you for this recipe! It’s easy and turns out well each time. I was wondering, Is this supposed to rise in the oven at all or only while resting? I’ve made it twice and it’s turned out great but I was just curious if while baking it should get any more rise. Thanks again!
It will rise some in the oven if it’s not over-proofed, if you’re not getting any rise in the oven try shortening the rise time slightly.
Okay! This has become our daily bread recipe! My question is- all of a sudden now when I go to take the towel off the loaves it sticks to them and can even mess up my rise when I try to unstick the towel. Any tips?
try smearing a little bit of oil on the top of the dough right after forming (this will help it from sticking) OR you can put it in a larger plastic bag to seal it up so it doesn’t dry out while rising, but doesn’t sit down on top of the loaf either.
Do you have the measurements in cups and spoons? This recipe sounds like just what I have been looking for
It says the cups and spoons to the right (it’s slightly lighter color to each of the gram measurements)
Hi! This recipe will be my next try! Quick question: does the sugar has a purpose in the recipe? I tried a sandwich bread recipe before and it was so sweet, it ended up making french toast.
Thanks 🙂
It just gives the yeast in the sourdough culture a little boost but it’s not sweet.
Have made this bread 3 times, me and my husband love it, but I was wondering if could leave out the sugar and still have the same great results?
You can, I feel the small amount makes it a little bit fluffier
1 1/2 tsp salt weighs 8.5g
1 1/2 tsp sugar weighs 6.25 g
So….. I think you used the density of water for your conversion…
The flour looks correct.
The water IS correct.
I am not confident about the amount of active starter…. 200g seems like an aweful lot and is quite a bit more than a cup….
🙁
I weighed the ingredients myself, they are correct. The starter is going to depend on the hydration you’re using when it comes to weight/volume, I use 100% hydration and 200 grams is correct.
I just tried this for the first time, but subbed half whole wheat for the flour (and upped the water by half of the recommendation in the notes). It tastes great, but didn’t hold its shape at all. I shaped it, it looked normal, but when it rose in the pan the top stayed flat. It rose, but it’s not rounded and didn’t have any oven spring like a normal loaf. Too wet maybe? Not sure what went wrong, but at least we’re eating weird-looking, delicious bread.
It sounds like the dough was too wet and perhaps over-proofed.
I have been working to make a loaf of sourdough bread like this since March. So easy to make. Light fluffy texture. It had a perfect dome until I went to butter the top before baking so it came out a little flat. So good!
This looks like the bread of my dreams that I’ve been looking for. I assume I can still shape this and bake in a Dutch oven yes? Also, if I want to do half whole wheat do I change the liquid for that? I noticed your note on adding more liquid for whole wheat but I wasn’t sure if that was for a 100% whole wheat loaf. Thanks
Been making this once a week for about a month now, comes out great.
Now making double batches with 20% whole wheat, including in the starter. Getting 2 more pans to keep up with the demands.
The only thing I do not in the recipe, other than the whole wheat, is making sure the water is always at the same temp, in my case 95F.
Next step is wheat berries. Know a good place to buy them in Western Washington? I see Fairhaven sales retail one day a week, but it’s tough to get up there during business hours.
hello! I would like to know if I could use this recipe to make breadsticks. Would I cut the dough into sticks then let it rise? What would you recommend? Thank you!
Yes, I would form into sticks and let rise and then brush tops with melted butter or oil before baking. I’d test baking at 375 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes to begin with.
Turned out great for my very first loaf! It took forever to rise. And even had to put in fridge overnight to finish rising.
Can this be made with Spelt? Would I use the same suggestions as using whole wheat flour?
My husbands allergic to wheat not gluten and spelt doesn’t bother him.
This bread is AMAZING! My entire family enjoyed it. Did not even need anything on it, they ate it sliced as is. It has just the perfect amount of sour and is so fluffy. I love your instructions and pictures. Thank you so much. I feel like I am doing something good for my family.
I have been striving to make a really good loaf of sourdough, (I am a beginner), with not much luck. I tried this recipe and hooray I got a perfect loaf of sourdough. My husband said “SOLD”. My only question is, can the recipe be doubled? I like to make two loaves at a time.
Yes you can absolutely double it! So happy to hear you guys enjoyed it
May I ask what happens to the health benefits of using sourdough starter but, like one person posted, I use yeast to speed up the process… what happens then? So hard to wait when life is so crazy fast!! But we need sourdough bread…. will adding yeast hurt us?
The link to the cast iron loaf pan is a bit smaller than the standard loaf pan I have. It actually fits inside the one I have.
When I made your chocolate sourdough bread, it was ended up all over the sides.
Is this the one you use for this Recipe?
Thanks!
I’m fairly new to sourdough, have tried a couple different recipes so far.
Do you have or suggest a length for rise time?
Rise time depends on the strength of your starter and the temperature of your home, usually anywhere from 4 to 8 hours
I dont have cast iron pans, do I need to change the baking temp for using regular bread pans? This is what I have.
https://www.amazon.com/USA-Pan-1165PM-Bakeware-Pullman/dp/B07KMQT5LC?ref_=ast_sto_dp