Everything you need to know to make delicious Sourdough Sandwich Bread.

Read more: Not My Uncle Herb’s “Everyday” Sourdough Sandwich Bread

My husband’s Sourdough baking reminds me of my favourite Uncle, Herb. Growing up, we always had store bought white bread – and bread was nothing special – until my relatives came to visit.

When my Aunt and Uncle would visit “from out west” as we always said (why did we say that?), my uncle Herb would bake bread for us.  He had been a cook in the army and had all kinds of culinary skills!  The ladies of our neighbourhood would gather in our house for bread baking lessons and according to my mother he became VERY popular to the point that she had to discourage the ladies from dropping in unannounced…..Hmmmmm, my husband has been known to deliver bread to the neighbours.

This bread is special and calling it an “Everyday Sandwich Bread” makes it sound plain and simple which is only half right. Unlike an Artisan Sourdough Boule, there is nothing tedious about making it, as the total touch time is about 15 minutes while the real work happens overnight while you sleep. However, the soft texture and light sour flavor make it ideal for breakfast and sandwiches, toasted or plain. The only additional ingredients are honey and olive oil producing a thin crisp crust and soft crumb. Who would think a delicious Sourdough Sandwich Bread could be so easy to make.

I just love a toasted Sourdough western for breakfast and when my daughter visits a Sourdough vegan BLT is the order of the day!

The most important ingredient in this recipe is you must have a healthy and active Sourdough Starter.  This Starter is over 3 years old and requires little effort to keep and maintain. For more information on how to make and maintain a Starter please visit this post.

We make our sandwich bread about once a week – baking 2 loaves. In the evening, at about 5pm we take 50g (grams) from our Sourdough Starter and mix it with 50g of water plus 50g of all purpose flour (1:1:1 ratio) to create 150g of Levain (Active Sourdough Starter for baking). By 8:30 or 9pm that evening the Levain has at least doubled in size, is bubbly, active and ready for use.

Thanks to Sourdough・Sam whose original bread recipe and process my husband has adapted to create this wonderful bread.

I just know Uncle Herb would be pleased!

Enjoy.

Don’t worry – there is a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post!

Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Tools I Use:

• Digital Scale
• Large mixing bowl
• Silicon mixing spatula
• Parchment paper – I prefer parchment paper rather than greasing the bread tins
• Bread tins (9.25X5.25X2.75 inches) or (23.5X13.3X7 cm) each
• We use a pizza stone to line bottom grill of oven to help prevent the bread bottom from overcooking. 2 cookie sheets can also be used.
• Bench scraper
• Plastic bag and tea towel to cover the bowl (some sort of bowl covering)
• Serrated knife or a lame to score the dough – I use a serrated knife for this bread as the dough ball is much softer than an artisan bread
• Cooking Thermometer
• Water Spray when going into the oven

Ingredients for 2 Loaves

• 600g Warm water – We use spring water but non chlorinated tap water should be fine. Chlorine can be removed by boiling for 15 minutes, by filter or by leaving out for 24 hours to evaporate – high levels of chlorine is bad for the Levain.
• 80g Honey
• 130g Levain (Active Starter) Note: I feed a portion of my Sourdough Starter at about 5pm to have Levain ready by 8:30 or 9pm – 50g all purpose flour + 50g Starter + 50g spring water (1:1:1 ratio)
• 40g Olive Oil
• 20g Salt (I use non-iodized fine sea salt)
• 1000g Bread flour – We will often substitute 50 to 100g of bread flour for whole wheat flour.

Method

Mix Ingredients:

• Add water to the bowl followed by a spoonful of Levain. The Levain should float if ready.
• Add the rest of the Levain, honey and olive oil and mix well to remove clumps of the Levain

• Add flour and salt.

• Mix ingredients together well and cover bowl and let rest in a warm area for 35 to 40 minutes.

Note: This is called autolyze. This process gives the flour time to fully absorb the liquids, soften the dough ball and start gluten development. Technically the autolyze process is without the salt or Levain but not a problem to include all ingredients here.

Stretch and Fold one time only:

• Take a side of the dough and stretch without tearing and fold over the dough ball – continue around the bowl for 6 to 10 folds or until the ball tightens.

• Turn the ball over, round smooth side up and push in around the sides.

• Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap/bag and lightly seal and place the bowl in a warm area of your home to rest overnight.

Shape and Place into Loaf Tin

The next morning, about 11 to 12 hours later, the dough should have at least doubled in size, be jiggly and pillow-like.

Gently pull the dough out and onto a flat surface – there is no need for flour here, as it should not be sticky.

Line bread tins with parchment paper or lightly grease.

Using your bench scraper split the dough in half (eyeball or use digital scale for 2 equal sizes)…the total weight should be about 1860 to 1870g or 930 to 935g for each loaf…give or take, as you will lose some weight due to evaporation.

Use the bench scraper to form each half into a loose loaf shape and place each into the bread tins – not a lot of effort here.

Lightly floor the top and edges of the dough – gently press the dough to fill the entire tin. Break any gas bubbles that may appear at top of the dough.

Cover the dough and let rest in a warm area until it has risen to slightly over the edge of the bread tin – 3 to 5  hours depending on your environment.

Getting Ready to Bake

• Preheat oven to 375F degrees with pizza stone/cookie tins on rack.
• Use a serrated knife or lame to lightly score the dough across the top to allow gas to release in a controlled area. I find the serrated knife works best here as the dough is too soft for a lame.

Lightly spray top of dough with water to create steam.

Into the preheated oven it goes for 35 minutes. I rotate the dough at the halfway point to ensure even cooking.

Remove from the oven and use a thermometer to test for 200F degrees for doneness.

Remove from tins and parchment paper. Place on a rack to cool for 2 hours.

Enjoy Your Bread!

Thank you to my Sourdough Man for sharing this recipe! I just love to have this lovely sandwich bread, everyday. I know exactly what’s in it, it’s nice and soft like white bread, but crispy when toasted. I can slice it as thinly or thickly as I like, and it “holds up”. The outside has a nice crust – and it has a light Sourdough flavour! What could be better?

Below is a printable recipe card from RecipesGenerator. Please give it a try!

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