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. (Read this post for tips on how to revive a neglected sourdough starter.)
- 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.
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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.
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.
Check out this post for more tips on grinding flour and baking with fresh flour as well as the best places to find grains in bulk.
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.
For more tips, check out my sourdough baking tricks for success.
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 topped with homemade mayo and these 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 or avocado toast for breakfast.
More Easy Homemade Bread Recipes & Tips
Sourdough Recipes for the Home Kitchen e-book
- Sourdough Chocolate Quick Bread
- Easy Sourdough Tortilla Recipe
- Quick & Easy Sourdough Discard Pancakes
- Honey Whole Wheat Bread Easy Sandwich Bread Recipe
- No Knead Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes
- How to Store Homemade Bread (Stays Fresh Longer!)
- Seventh-Year Land Sabbath and Bread Baking Tips (Live Coaching Call)
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.
Could you use honey in place of the sugar?
If so how much?
Thank you for sharing your wisdom
This has become a staple for bread in our house. I make a double batch every time and freeze one of the loafs. I am trying to figure out what I need to do to make the loaves more “airy”. The denseness now is good but there are times when something lighter would be better. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
can I make with with refrigerated discard?
I pray this taste as great as it smells! Been making bread for years, but I pretty new to the sourdough world, and I love it! I’m looking for a loaf that is not as dense as most sourdough recipes. Want something lighter and more like the texture of traditional sandwich bread. I do believe I may have found it…will know in one very, very long hour!
I am making this recipe right now….
Just an observation.. The recipe calls for 400 grams or 2.75 cups of AP flour. I am using the weight, but 2.75 cups of flour is way less than 400 grams.
cheryl
This is my go-to sourdough sandwich bread! It’s always been reliable for me. There is no way I can ever go back to commercially made bread – ick!
I use fresh milled wheat – 1/2 of the total wheat is hard white wheat, 1/4 kamut, and 1/4th spelt. It’s an amazing flour combination.
Besides the wheat combination, I do 2 things differently which are just techniques and not a change to the ingredients.
The 1st change is to make a tangzhong – it makes breads amazingly soft, no crumbling, and it also keeps the bread fresher longer. It’s super easy.
Take 125g of the water in the recipe (I use the extra water in the notes since I’m using fresh milled wheat) and microwave it until it’s very hot, or you can use boiling water. Take 25g from the flour. Carefully whisk the flour into the hot water and stir until it’s basically a smooth paste. Cover this by placing plastic wrap or aluminum foil directly on top of the tanghong/paste so it doesn’t form a skin while cooling. Place in the freezer to cool.
While it is cooling, I add the rest of the water to half the flour to help hydrate it.
Once the tangzhong is no longer hot, I add the tangzhong and all the ingredients to make the dough like normal. After combining the ingredients I let the dough sit for about 5 minutes to hydrate all the flour.
After kneading, I do let the dough rise until doubled, then shape and put in bread loaf pan and let riseA second time the height as directed in your recipe. Bake as directed. I have time in my schedule for the dough to do a double rise so that’s what I like to do. It’s nice to be able to just do a single rise if you’re short on time though.
So delicious
Thank you!
I tried one loaf using the instructions to a tee. I was just abt to give up because it just wasn’t rising. So glad I waited. In my cool kitchen it took abt 8 hours to rise.
I slathered it with butter and baked it. It worked great! Today, I’m trying two more loaves for sharing with family and friends.
OH MY GOSH!!!! I am a very new beginning sourdough enthusiast.. this was my 3rd attempt. They’ve all been good but this?!….This recipe is AMAZING!!!!
Good morning and Happy New Year
I made your recipe a few times now. The bread comes out nice and delicious. However, I had to add some flour to the recipe and I just found out that 400g of flour should be 3 1/3 cups of flour . Your recipe shows 400g ap flour 2.75 cups.
The reason we use weight instead of volume is you can’t say 400 grams of flour is 3 and 1/3 cups flour, because depending on the flour, humidity, how dense the flour is packed, etc. changes the volume. When I weigh my flour at 400 grams it is 2.75 cups (which is why weight is always more accurate).
The nearest I can figure out is that Melissa Norris is saying each cup of flour she weighs is 145 grams, which over the amount most bakers use, which is 120 grams per cup (King Arthur’s weight), or others may use anywhere from 125-130. So, although Norris’ weight is high, if it works for her recipe, that’s what counts. However, I sure wouldn’t use 145 grams of flour in any of my cookie or cake recipes!
Where in the instructions does it mention anything about eight hours?
I made bread using this recipe and it turned out so good my husband no longer wants store bought. It turns out perfect every time. I’m gluten intolerant but eat this bread with no issues! Wonderful recipe! Thank you😀
You aren’t gluten intolerant if you can eat this bread! It is loaded with gluten. That’s what gives it structure and awesome texture. Maybe it’s something else in commercial bread, or perhaps you had a placebo affect. My brother thought he was gluten intolerant for years, but he wasn’t. He enrolled in research to help gluten intolerant people and he was unknowingly put in the gluten group. He had no affects from eating gluten whatsoever. Once the study concluded they told him that he didn’t react to gluten in any way, so he immediately went and ate pizza, lol. He’s been eating bread and other wheat based foods ever since with no issue. He just wrongly believed he was gluten intolerant because he read about it and thought he had the symptoms.
If you can eat this bread with no problems, the good news is you can’t be gluten intolerant by definition. Saying you’re gluten intolerant but you can eat this bread is like saying you’re allergic to sugar but you can eat cake made with 2 cups of sugar. So enjoy bread all you want!
That is not correct. Sourdough by definition has processed inflammation causing gluten making it as if it is GF.
Hi, thanks for the recipe! I am wondering if I could use my 10x4x4 Pullman pan with the lid for this recipe? If so, would I still let it rise to 1″ below the rim like my usual recipe?
I’m trying now for the first time but using a whole wheat bread flour. I modified by adding 1 1/4 cup flour and resting 10 minutes as you say in the notes, but the dough is still a wet sticky mess, even after adding at least 1 cup of extra flour. It is about the same texture as your (non-sourdough) no knead artisan bread. What do I do now? Can I salvage this? I’m just letting it rise in the loaf pan… hoping for the best
have been making this bread for about 1 & 1/2 years or more. we just love this bread. I use your sourdough recipe for this recipe. I put it in a ceramic bread pan that has a ceramic lid & bake it for 23 minutes (my oven is hotter then most) & it comes out brown on the bottom & soft throughout. thank you Melissa for the great recipes all the time!! May God continue to bless you & your household.
This bread is delicious! I was so excited to try it and it was not disappointing. Thank you so much for the recipe. I also used your recipe for the sour dough starter.
I LOVE this recipe!! It makes the best sourdough bread!! My family devours it when I make it and they can’t wait till I make it the next time!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!
I love this recipe! I typically double it.
This is my go-to when I need a reliable sandwich loaf bread.
I followed your starter recipe approx 2 yrs ago. Eventually put in fridge. Shared with a couple of friends as well. I have only used myself successfully 0n 2 occasions. My difficulty is bringing starter back to life to bake with.”I do feed once a week tho” My problem seems to be reactivating my starter. Can you suggest correct amount of starter to flour and water as well as approx time at room temp before mixing. Thank you
This is only based off my experience & what I have researched: when you remove it from the fridge, only take what you need ( so if recipe calls for 1/2 cup discard= 100g, remove 1/3 cup= 65g. discard. Excess is for wiggle room), allow it to come to room temperature without feeding ( usually 6-8 hours depends on the temperature in kitchen), feed your starter (above 65g discard, add equal parts 65g flour & water), let rise= eat, at active time measure, mix into recipe etc… happy journey
I can’t wait to try this. Question though. Are you feeding your starter twice before making? Feed at 9pm then feed again the next morning at 8am? Use two hours later? Or is it one or the other… I have been keeping mine in the frig and feeding 12 hours before using – but it not being as “active” makes sense to me… should I remove from the frig at 8am, feed, and use two hours later in the bread recipe?
Thanks!
Yes, if you’ve fed it in the fridge 12 hours before it’s not in the active state. I feed the night before and then again in the morning and use 2 hours later (or once it’s almost risen to twice it’s size)
So just let bread rise once? My starter is your recipe, 1 month today, fed it last nite bout 8, keeping it out, fed every day, it’s 11:00am, should I feed it again? as I am ready to start my bread, thanks Sherry
I’ve been dreaming about sourdough for years. Recently a friend gave me a starter and I had been feeding and refrigerating for 3-4 weeks. I came across your recipe and tried it a couple weeks ago. It was wonderful! My husband hasn’t stopped talking about it. I’m making another loaf today. Thanks sooo much. Followed your timeline and recipe and it couldn’t have been more perfect.
This recipe looks amazing! I am new to sourdough. My question is…after putting the bread in the oven, what do you do to the starter in the jar? Do you feed it immediately or let it sit until it’s next feeding time?
I feed mine immediately.
It took 7+ hours for mine to rise to 1/2″ above the top of the pan. In the 30 minutes of baking it didn’t really rise much. It feels heavy and I’m wondering if it is too dense? I measured everything out the way your recipe prescribes. I used freshly ground Hard White Wheat and the extra water. My sourdough starter is over 2 years old.
I’m new to sourdough – tried it before, but my family didn’t like it – this recipe is great, everyone enjoys it, and it is so simple. Thank you Melissa. Btw is there something special about a cotton bread bag, or would any cotton bag do?
I have tried sourdough bread before, and did not turn out. But tried this recipe and turned out amazing!!
Just got done with taking my bread out of the oven and they turned out wonderful. Made the lavain last night and made up the dough for a double batch this morning, formed the loaves to set to rise. Came home from church and they were ready to bake. I’ve been making sourdough sandwich bread almost weekly for our family. Your recipe is quite easy to make up, I will end up using your recipe again.
I love this recipe. I have made it several times before and again this morning. All the clear, detailed notes are very helpful to me. I recommended it this week as a “first loaf” to my daughter who has just received her starter. Thanks so much!
Hi Melissa! I have successfully gotten my starter going after four weeks and just baked my first two loaves of bread (the very first was a bust, but I figured out why). So delicious! My two questions are: (1) how to store starter once it is established…feeding schedule & can jar be sealed AND (2) any suggestions as to how to deal with fruit flies which mostly appear around the trash can after I have disposed of the discard. Thank you so much!
What can I possibly doing wrong? My first attempt was using reverse osmosis water and it wasn’t rising so I started over with bottled water. My starter doubles, but it’s been almost 5 weeks and it’s still runny. I’m still discarding and feeding every day. I’m also using organic unbleached all purpose flour.
how much water did you use to feed it?
Start with 2 tbsp flour and 2 tbsp water.
Day 2 use 2 tbsp of your mixture from yesterday and then mix it with 1/4 c flour 3-4 tbsp water. Discard the other mixture
Day 3-? do the same as day 2 until it smells like sourdough and is puffy and bubbly.
🙂
This bread is a dream come true! I made it today using fresh ground hard white wheat, used the notes’ suggestion about the water, and used your tip from baking with fresh ground flour (from another of your posts) to start the first 4 minutes of the bake at 425, and then decreased to 400 for the remainder. It’s perfectly moist, chewy, flavorful, and not at all crumbly. You’re a genius, Melissa! Thank you for sharing this. It was my very first time using fresh ground flour, and it made it a banner event.
Can this bread be frozen?
Make this almost daily. Love it!
I love this recipe! I have tried multiple…. bread recipes in attempt to switch out from store bought. Even in earlier attempts with sourdough sandwich breads, they never compared to this one. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for and I had to share my gratitude. In particular, the windowpane test helped exponentially!
My first ever sourdough bread and it came out really good. It was a little dense and I would like it a little lighter. I suspect it’s because we are at 8,000′ and maybe I need to play around with the hydration a little. Thank you for the great start to making yeast-free sandwich bread!
I’ve been making bread for fifty years. This is the best and easiest sourdough bread for sandwiches that I have tried. Thank you Melissa!
Melissa, I love your site/recipes etc. Thanks for sharing. I am a little new to SD life, and loving it. I’ve made your bread several times, the last time, as I was working it with my hands (cause my double recipe won’t go into my kitchen aide), it just started calling for a cinnamon sugar swirl. So, I did it! It was so pretty………….. not cinnamon-y enough, but excellent for french toast! I use a mix of kamut flour on this, as I love it’s velvety texture. Anyway, have you ever tried doing rolls from this recipe? Do you think it’s possible? The dough is a bit dry, so I’m thinking of adding an egg, and maybe sub milk for water. Any thoughts? Thanks so much!
Can you make this in a mixer with a dough hook?
Yes
Recipe didn’t work out for me. Had to add another cup of flour, kneaded longer and it still sticks to my fingers. ??♀️
I know that this is an older post, but I HAVE to comment! I have followed your recipe, using the weights, a few times now. I have even substituted part whole wheat for some of the white flour, making a light wheat loaf. I have no issues making a 9″ by 4″ loaf. They are uniformly delicious! Occasionally I will add a tablespoon or two of local honey, instead of sugar. Last night I took a hot out of the oven loaf to a game night with friends and there was not a crumb left! Thank you for such an easy and terrific recipe!
Can I make this recipe with a bread machine? What size loaf does it make 1, 1 1/2, 2 lb.?
Have you tried this with a gluten free starter and a gluten free all purpose flour?
Hi Melissa,
I was 40 plus minutes into your video on Sour Dough Starter (video was approximately one and a half hours long) when my screen went dark and I had to reboot to get back online ( I’m currently caretaker of a property in southern Wisconsin that is in the country, not the best internet, the job helps to pay the rent. I’m 67 and figuring out how to get away from construction to save wear and tear on my body). Couldn’t locate the video again or the PDF with the info about your sour dough starter process. Just found your videos yesterday and am signed up for an herb webinar today. Hope that you are able to send the link to the video that I was viewing earlier.
Respectfully,
Cruz / axelcruz.com
Hi Melissa,
I was1/3 the way through a video about Sour Dough Starter ( approx 1 & 1/2 hrs long, when my screen went dark, had to reboot to get back on line and I was unable to find the link again ?
Please connect when you have a moment,
Respectfully,
Axel Cruz
AxelCruz.com
Hi Melissa!
I started a sourdough starter about two weeks ago and I found this recipe! It turned out amazing! I didn’t want to have to add extra yeast all the time. So glad I found your recipe! It’s delicious!
Happy Baking! ✌️
So this bread is absolutely delicious! I’m not getting a very good rise, though, even leaving it to rise overnight on the counter. My starter is relatively new, but it’s doubling in a few hours. Could it just be immature starter? I’m also new to baking with freshly milled flour, so could it be I need to grind it finer?
Thanks for your great recipes and tips! 🙂
My guess is your starter isn’t mature enough yet, how old is it?
So can I use my proofing basket for the rise? Or should I just put it in the loaf pan?
Hi Melissa!! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. Can I use coconut oil instead of butter? My son is allergic to dairy.
I used this recipe, substituted the sugar with honey and it came out amazing! My wife and daughters love it!
I made this a few weeks ago. I plan on making it again tomorrow but with fresh ground wheat flour. Can’t wait!!!
Just getting started with homemade bread baking. I have my starter going starting week 4 now, and I was wondering am I supposed to be keeping it in the refrigerator? I feed my starter 2x a day & have it sitting out on my counter. It has bubbles & is rising very well but, I have tasted it & it is tangy, but bitter also. Is this normal?
My family is adoring this recipe. I bake twice a week now to keep up with how much we’re eating. I haven’t bought bread in almost two weeks now – which is just…an amazing feeling. Made 3 batches of Melissa’s Strawberry Jam this year as well and we’ve already gone through 3 half pints of it because we slather it on this bread, toasted, with some Irish butter. Incredible! For how easy this is to follow and how great the outcome is…almost too good to be true. Thanks Melissa!
I usually make Sourdough sandwich bread that has a much higher hydration rate, I was wondering how this recipe will compare with a high hydrations rate recipe. How do you think the final result will differ? Also your recipe doesn’t require much time to make since there aren’t all the folds you do normally with a more hydrated dough. Will the taste be less sour since it seems to me that the longer dough rests the more sour it gets? (I prefer if is less sour). Thank you and sorry for all the questions!
As for comparison, I haven’t tried the recipe you’re talking about so I don’t know. I use higher hydration on my artisan loaves but prefer this one for sandwich bread. Because this bread is kneaded instead of folding, it doesn’t require a longer rise time (and yes, less sour as a result). Let me know how you like it.
How much do I feed my starter in order to get 1/2 cup or 1 cup total volume if I leave 1/4 cup starter after discard?
It doesn’t have to be exact on the remaining 1/4 cup (I’ve done as little as 2 Tablespoons) but if you have a 1/4 cup and need 1 cup volume then I would feed 3/4 cup flour and then 1/4 to 1/2 cup water.
I tried this recipe. SO EASY! I used honey instead of sugar and it turned out great. This is now my “go to” recipe. I also modified it to make cinnamon raisin swirl bread; delicious. I also tried it using 100% fresh milled whole wheat flour; delicious.
Hi Melissa~
Thank you sooo much for your books, blog, podcast, and videos! Even OLD Grammas can learn new things 🙂 I am curious what you use to slice your bread so evenly?
I’ve been baking bread for a few years and last year attempted sourdough. Once I found your recipe, I haven’t used anything else. I did find a recipe for sandwich bread using discard and some added yeast and it works well too. I just baked 2 loaves using your recipe yesterday and I put the loaves in 10″ Calphalon pans. They rose up above the top of the pans and had fantastic ‘oven spring’. I put them in my oven with the light on in the winter to rise. I love that I don’t have to wait till the next day to bake, but I have put them in the fridge overnight when I got a late start preparing them to rise.
Thanks for your wonderful recipe which allows me to brag about my sourdough bread. (My neighbour was married to a professional baker and she said I baked great bread.) High praise I thought and I credit your recipe for the results. I did let them over-proof once and have the photos to remind me to not do that again. They went in the composter!
Thanks again!
Every week for a few months now, I make 1 loaf of this sourdough sandwich bread and 1 loaf of the chocolate sourdough bread. Has become a weekly staple for just my husband and me. My first sourdough recipes to try. They are easy & reproducibly successful. Turns out wonderful every time. Melissa you are a wonderful teacher. Thank you.
So excited. My neighbor gave me a starter, last week, and this was my first sandwich loaf. It looks “almost” just like yours, and is delicious! I’m just checking to make sure that I didn’t miss a proofing step … the dough goes directly from kneading in the stand mixer, into the loaf pan? Just one rising? I let the loaf rise in my Breville, proofing at 85F … took about three hours to double in size. Tastes so much better than instant yeast bread.
Correct, this is a one-rise recipe, the proofing happens in the pan as it’s rising.
The gram measurements do not appear the same on my scale as you have written them. 525 grams is two cups. in another part of the recipe you have 250 grams as 11/4 cup. Very confusing. Please clarify
I only have one gram/cup measurement flour, you can’t compare the gram/volume measurement for flour as you would for starter or liquid, they don’t equate equal volume.
The quantity was a little on the small size for my load pans, so I increased by 50%. This recipe is easy to follow and my family raves about how amazing the bread is!
Hi Melissa. As commented before, I have increased all the ingredients by 25% to make a larger pan loaf which seems to suit my tin size; baking time increased to 35-38 mins. Lately I have also used 90% all purpose and 10% whole wheat flour which seemed to add some body. For the last loaf I included an overnight bulk rise in the fridge then shaping in the tin and room temperature rise. It came out beautifully and had a more pronounced sourdough flavour. I would add photos if this was possible. Regards.
Have you ever made this recipe using fresh ground einkorn flour? I’ve been experimenting with einkorn and it often seems to be stickier so I was wondering if any adjustments would need to be made to your recipe to accommodate using einkorn.
I have Einknorn bread recipes in my bread courses but you have to adapt recipes when using Eiknorn, the gluten is different so usually an extra binder, you can’t knead it as long, and you have to adjust liquid levels. If a recipe isn’t formulated for Einkorn already it usually doesn’t turn out very well when it comes to bread.
I have made this recipe several times, and it is great! I have mixed up the dough in my Compact Cuisinart Bread machine on the dough setting, and then baked in the oven. It’s been a hit!
Great recipe. I’ve made two separate loaves. However, one small problem, when you print out the receipt for two loaves only grams double and the cup/tsp etc don’t change. I didn’t realize this until starting on the double batch…that was my fault for not reading closer. I had done the first two with measuring, I found my scales and was starting to do the double recipe and got ahead of myself. I didn’t have enough starter and it didn’t dawn on me what I did… again my fault. So I’m building my starter and will try again 😊
I am wondering if the 8 hr prep time is for the starter to feed, or if I’m letting the dough proof after putting it together for 8 hrs. I’ve read and re-read the instructions and I don’t see that anywhere. Can you clarify? Thanks!
I made bread yesterday using your recipe. It turned out perfectly, in fact it looks exactly like your photo! I used 1/2 WW and 1/2 white bread flour. I kneaded it by hand as a further test to see if it would be light, tender, and not crumbly. I’m impressed! I’ve been making bread, including sourdough all my life and this recipe is a keeper!!! Thank you!
I started a starter at the beginning of November so it would be strong enough for Christmas but then I got scared and didn’t use it. I finally got up the courage to try to make this bread a couple days ago and I’m so glad I did! It tastes so good with just a subtle hint of the sourdough flavor which is the perfect amount – just enough to add depth! I was going to my parents’ place that evening so I brought half a loaf to let them taste and they both really liked it and were suprised and impressed that it was sourdough. My little brother (arguably as picky as my 4 yr old) was around so I offered him a bite at which point he asked if he could have the whole slice and maybe more!
I may keep my sourdough out and happy so I can make a double batch twice a week! Thanks so much!
I don’t have a stand mixer. But I do have a bread machine. Do you think I could use the bread machine in place of the stand mixer to knead the dough?
I’m sure you could use the knead function of the bread machine.
PERFECT bread!!
Made this today…turned out WONDERFUL! Had to knead for an additional 3 mins…almost 14 total, but totally worth it to have sandwich quality bread!
I really read the recipe and it’s seems as though I can only make this with starter yeast. Can I make it with the basic yeast mixed with warm water? Thanks
It’s a sourdough recipe so you need a sourdough starter to make it. I’d suggest using this recipe that’s formulated for dry yeast from the store https://melissaknorris.com/honey-whole-wheat-bread-easy-sandwich-bread-recipe/
Hi there! I want to make this bread but I am confused with the recipe. I live here in the US so not sure if the recipe. One cup of yeast. Is that correct?!
I live in the US to and it’s not one cup of yeast, it’s one cup of sourdough starter
Great bread recipe! My 11 yo daughter loves sourdough, and she can make this herself. It is very tender, but we have had to increase the time for it to rise to about 18 hours. At least that way (I think!) it is fully fermented! Thanks again.
Great bread…my 11 year old daughter loves sourdough and has made this a couple of times already. We end up letting it rise longer than overnight…maybe 18-20 hours, but it does end up very tender.
So you don’t do 2 rises? My original recipe has an overnight rise (mine rises way before that though) then I punch down, form in loaf snd rise again.
No, only the one rise!
This is my go-to bread recipe now. I have tried it with multiple types of flour and it is so awesome. I always use my Kitchenaid mixer, and I don’t have a cast iron loaf pan yet. Thanks, Melissa.
Just put the dough in the pan. I started the recipe late in the day so if it doesn’t rise fast enough can I put it in the refrigerator until the next morning and pull it out to finish the rising?
Yes, sourdough does great with a slow proof in the fridge!
Been making Artisan Sourdough Loaves for about 2 years.
but we are still regularly buying sandwich bread, i thought it was time to change that.
your recipe was the first i tried…i dont need to try any others this came out amazing.
for the cost of a $10 scale the consistency of a weighted recipe far exceeds using measuring cups. its the only way to prepare a recipe IMO.
Couple of alterations i used;
– 1/8 AP floor changed for spelt
– ~1/6 cup of water
– Sat the bread covered in the fridge overnight to rise, ~15 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
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
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!
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?
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
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.
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.
Turned out great for my very first loaf! It took forever to rise. And even had to put in fridge overnight to finish rising.
how long did it take to rise….seems like it’s taking mine longer than 8 hours… thank you!
That depends on the strength of your starter and the room temperature, if it’s taking longer your starter might not be very strong.
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
Well fallow your sourdough bread it took ove 12 hrs. To raise.i bake it is good and nice flavor
Thank you .
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.
What are the dimensions of your loaf pans?
Standard loaf size 9 x 5
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!
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, 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.
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
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
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!
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.
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.
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!
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
Made this recipe this morning and waiting for it to rise. Compared to other recipes it seems to have a very low hydration.
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!
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.
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.
When kneading with a KA mixer how long do I knead for?
If using store-bought flour then 8 to 10 minutes, if using fresh ground or whole wheat, knead for 4 minutes, let it rest 15 minutes, then knead for another 4 minutes.
This recipe is amazing thank you!!
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.
The measurements for the x2 and x3 are not correct. I realize that after making the bread. I hope it’s still good.
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).
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!
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.
How long does it usually take for it to double?
I’d like to know this as well. It sounds like a quick recipe but it could take 8-12 hours to rise and it doesn’t say in the recipe.
It depends on the strength of your starter and room temperature, you can’t give an exact hour mark.