Sourdough Starter Sandwich Bread Recipe

As I mentioned a few weeks, a number of requests about how to make my mother’s peasant bread with a sourdough starter encouraged me to dip my toe into the wonderful world of naturally leavened breads. You can read more about that experiment here, which led to this simple sourdough focaccia recipe, an adaptation of my favorite yeasted, refrigerator focaccia.

It also led to this sourdough toasting bread, which is essentially the same formula, just baked in a different vessel and without the slick of oil and sprinkling of sea salt on top. I’ve been making this bread even more often than the focaccia these days because I love the shape: it’s so nice for morning toast and for sandwiches.

As always, when mixing sourdough doughs, it’s best to weigh everything with a digital scale. Start with 100 g starter. (If this looks familiar, it is: this is the same basic process for the sourdough focaccia.)

Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread — Delilah Loeppky

Cover with a towel orbowl cover, and let rest for 30 minutes. Then, perform a series of stretches and folds. See video for guidance. Repeat this 3 more times for a total of 4 sets of stretches and folds during the first two hours. Then, let rise for 6 to 18 hours* (see recipe notes) at room temperature:

Drizzle the surface of the dough with a little bit of olive oil; then fold the dough inwards from the sides to deflate.

The makeup of this dough is the same as this sourdough focaccia. Here, the dough is baked in a loaf pan, and there is no sea salt on top.

Honey Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread

This recipe yields one large loaf. You’ll need a 10 x 5-inch loaf pan, such as this one. If you only have two smaller loaf pans, such as 8.5 x 4.5-inch pans, you should probably split the dough in half after the first rise.

Plan ahead: This dough rises first for 6 to 18 hours  (or less if it is super hot out or if you live in a humid area) or until the dough doubles in volume; then again for about 4 to 6 hour or until the dough crowns the rim of the baking vessel.

Troubleshooting: If you have issues with your dough being too sticky, please read this post: Why is my sourdough so sticky? The 4 common mistakes.

Pan Bread With Sourdough Discard

If you’re just getting started with sourdough, check out this post first. You’ll find tips there on procuring a starter as well as how to feed it and maintain it. If you’re up for making your starter from scratch, you can do so in just about 1 week. 

Water: Chlorine in water can adversely affect sourdough. Leaving water at room temperature for 24 hours will allow most of the chlorine to escape. When I am in the habit of making sourdough bread, I fill a large pitcher with water and leave it out at room temperature. I use this for my sourdough breads and starter. Truth be told, I’ve used water straight from the tap and have not noticed a difference.

Water quantity: Also, depending on where you live and the time of year, you may need to cut the water back. If you live in a humid environment, for instance, I would suggest starting with 400 g or 420 g water. If you are not using bread flour, you also may need to cut the water back a bit. So much success with sourdough relies on getting the water quantity right. 

Healthy Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Starter: I use a 100% hydration starter, meaning it is equal parts by weight flour and water. If you need guidance on how to maintain a starter, see this post. Sourdough Natural Yeast Recipes Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread 44 comments By Amy Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Rest assured, I only share my favorite items and am grateful for your support!

My family loves soft white sourdough sandwich bread. Pillowy soft, tender and light, this sourdough white sandwich bread is incredible with just a slight tang from the sourdough. We use it for sandwiches, french toast, making breadcrumbs, etc., and we love adding cinnamon chips or cheese. It’s so versatile and delicious. I’ve spent months working on perfecting this bread and it’s finally delicious every time I make it, which is almost weekly around here. This is 100% natural yeast sandwich bread and I know you will love it too.

This sample baking schedule is what works for me. I’m up early getting kids off to school and can mix up some levain in the morning while they eat breakfast. I mix the dough throughout the day and bake the bread around dinner time. Who doesn’t love a nice hunk of warm bread with their dinner?! I’ll slice it in the evening to use for sandwiches and toast throughout the week. Your schedule could definitely look different than mine, and that’s okay – do what works for you. A more detailed explanation of each step is further down in this post.

Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread

Divide and shape. Proof in a warm place (78-90 degrees F) The temperature you choose will determine how quickly your loaves will rise.

This can take a long time, depending a lot on temperature and how active your sourdough starter is. If the dough is too cold, it won’t rise quickly – move it to a warmer location and wait for the bread to rise. Don’t bake the bread until it has properly risen.

Coconut Oil: I love the soft texture coconut oil gives the dough. You can add cold or liquid coconut oil to the mixing bowl. The heat from the mixing will help the coconut oil absorb fully into the bread dough. You can substitute any neutral flavored oil.

Healthy Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe

Egg: One large egg is about 50 grams. This recipe makes two loaves of bread; if you want to make one loaf instead, mix up the egg in a bowl and then use 25 grams in the recipe.

Water: Depending on the temperature of the other ingredients and the temperature inside your kitchen, you’ll want to use either cool, warm or room temperature water. This strongly influences how well your dough will rise (especially in the winter).

I am still learning to be patient – it’s not my strong suit, and I have failed many times in baking sourdough sandwich bread because I didn’t want to wait for this bread to rise. Natural yeast sourdough bread takes time and requires a warm environment to rise. The temperature of the dough throughout the mixing/kneading process should be around 78-80 degrees Fahrenheit for the yeast to properly activate. Get yourself a food thermometer and take the temperature of the levain. Add warm water to your dough if it’s winter and your kitchen is cold. If your dough’s temperature is under 75 degrees, know it is going to take much longer for the dough to rise.

Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe (with Video Demo!)

Pro Tip: Do NOT bake this bread if the dough has not risen ABOVE the pans. It really needs to rise and fill the pan before you bake it. Use your oven as a make-shift proofing box for your dough (turn the oven light on – but don’t turn the oven on) or splurge on a bread proofer for winter baking.

This recipe uses active sourdough starter. If you are using sourdough starter from the refrigerator, pull it out a day or two before making this bread. Feed it once in the morning and once at night, making sure it doubles or triples in size. The more active your starter is, the better this bread will rise.

For example: If I wanted to bake this bread on Saturday, I would pull my starter out of the refrigerator on Thursday. I would feed it Thursday with 30 grams starter, 100 grams water and 100 grams flour. Let it sit and feed again on Friday. If the starter is feeling sluggish and not doubling in size, feed it once on Friday morning and again on Friday evening. Use this active sourdough starter to make the levain on Saturday morning.

Easy No Knead Sourdough Sandwich Bread

My kids love sourdough bread, but they prefer a more mild than tangy version. In order to achieve this balance, I do a couple things when mixing a levain:

To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the ripe levain, honey, egg, warm water, coconut oil, salt and bread flour. Mix for about 10 minutes until the dough is tacky and strong. Remove dough to a bowl or container. Cover with a plastic shower cap (

Pro Tip: The temperature of the water can have an effect on how quickly the sourdough ferments. If you are baking this bread in the summer, you will want to use cooler water to balance out the warmer ambient temperature in your kitchen. If you bake during the winter, a warmer water (nothing over 98 degrees–temperature of baby’s bath)can help increase the activity and fermentation process of the natural yeast.

Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread

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