Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread (Soft + Fluffy)
This easy sourdough sandwich bread is not only perfectly soft and fluffy, it’s also easy to make: the perfect homemade bread for any sourdough enthusiast!
If you are looking for a simple sourdough bread recipe perfect for filling with your favorite sandwich toppings, you’ve come to the right place.
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This easy sandwich loaf features a light, airy, flavorful crumb perfect for sandwiches or toasted and slathered with butter.
But what I love most about this recipe is how easy it is to throw together. Put all the ingredients together in the evening, shape, and let it sit! No kneading, watching the clock, or stretch and folds are required.
Sourdough bread cannot get any better than this! Let’s dive in.
Tools
Scale: There can be significant differences in volume when measuring in cups, so I highly recommend using a scale for best results, especially when baking bread. Here is an inexpensive one.
Mixing bowl: You just need one large bowl for this recipe.
Whisk
9×5 Inch Loaf Pan
Gallon sized ziploc bag or saran wrap (for covering the dough during the final rise)
Tea towel or saran wrap
If you are looking for more simple recipes, check out our same day sourdough and easy sourdough bread for beginners.
Ingredients
This recipe requires just a few ingredients you likely already have on hand:
65 grams active starter (feed your sourdough 4-8 hours before making this recipe)
300 grams lukewarm water (1 1/4 cups)
15 grams olive oil or avocado oil (plus more for coating the pan)
14 grams sugar (1 tablespoon)
400 grams bread flour (3 1/3 cups)
100 grams all-purpose flour (3/4 cups)
12 grams salt (2 teaspoons)
How To Make Simple Sourdough Sandwich Bread Dough
I love how quickly this bread recipe comes together. You do not need to watch the clock or worry about stretch and folds. Just shape the dough, and it’s good to go!
I am including the timeline I use when making this bread, but keep in mind that your exact timeline will depend on the temperature of your home and your schedule.
Sourdough cannot tell time and the art of bread baking is somewhat flexible, so use your own judgement with timing. Go by the look of your dough rather than the clock.
Feed Your Starter: Ensure you have an active, bubbly sourdough starter before making this recipe. (Feed it 4-8 hours before making your bread, depending on the temperature in your home).
I typically feed my sourdough starter at 2 pm, and by the time I make this bread, it is very bubbly and ready to go to work making sandwich bread.
Step 1: Mix Dough + Rest
Mix Dough: 9 pm
Add the water and active sourdough starter to the bowl. Whisk well. Then add the bread flour, flour, sugar, and salt. Mix all ingredients until the dough forms a loose, shaggy ball. You can use a spatula or wet hands.
Let the dough sit for one hour to rest.
Step 2: Bulk Rise
Shape Dough + Start Bulk Rise: 10 pm
Shape the dough into a ball. There is no need to stretch and fold or knead the bread.
Let the dough bulk ferment for 8 to 10 hours or until doubled in size. The time it will take for the bulk rise will heavily depend on your home’s temperature.
Our home is typically at 71 degrees, and it takes 9 hours for the dough to double in size.
Step 3: Shaping The Dough
Shape The Dough: 7 am
Lightly flour your work surface, then turn the dough out onto the flour. Lightly press the dough with your fingertips to release any air bubbles.
To shape the dough, gently roll it into a log, then tuck the ends together, then flip seem side down and shape. See photos below:
Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.
Second Rise
Start Second Rise: 7:15 am
Apply a light coat of olive oil or cooking oil to a 9×15-inch loaf pan.
Gently pull and push each side of the dough towards itself to tighten its shape. Then, place the dough into the pan and cover it with an open Ziploc bag.
(You can also cover it with Saran wrap or a wet tea towel, but I like to use the open Ziploc bag because the top of the dough will not tough the bag as it rises!).
Let the dough rise until the center of the dough is about 1 inch above the edge of the pan. This can take 1-3 hours. In my home, it typically takes 3 hours at 71 degrees.
Step 4: Baking
Bake Bread: 10 am
Place the baking rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top of the loaf is golden brown and the bread has a nice, high rise.
Let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Slice and enjoy
Storage
This bread is best eaten fresh (toasted, with loads of butter); however, it will also last for several days as well as it’s kept in an airtight container.
Store uneaten portion of bread in a zip-loc bag, closed paper bag, or airtight container for 5-7 days.
Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- 1 Large Bowl
- 1 Bread Pan 9×5 inches
- 1 Spatula
Ingredients
- 65 grams active sourdough starter active + bubbly
- 300 grams lukewarm water
- 12 grams salt 2 teaspoons
- 14 grams sugar
- 15 grams oil (avocado or olive) 1 tablespoon, plus more for coating the pan
- 400 grams bread flour
- 100 grams all purpose flour
Instructions
- Feed your sourdough starter 4-8 hours prior to making this bread, so that the starter is active and bubbly when you start the dough.
- Whisk together the lukewarm water and sourdough starter. Add in the bread flour, all purpose flour, oil, sugar and salt. Mix all ingredients with a spatula or with slightly damp hands until all of the dry flour is incorporated.
- Cover with a damp tea towel or saran wrap and let the dough rest for one hour.
- Shape the dough into a ball, then cover.
- Allow the dough to rise until double in size. This can take 8-10 hours, but may be slightly longer or shorter depending on the temperature of your home. Go by the look of the dough, not the clock.
- Slide the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently press on the dough with your fingertips to remove any air pockets.
- Tuck the four sides of the dough into itself and gently roll the dough into the shape of a rectangle. Let sit for ten minutes.
- Lightly oil a 9×15 bread pan and set aside. Gently push the sides of the dough in, tightening the dough and reinforcing the shape of the rectangle.
- Set the dough into the bread pan and cover. I like to cover the dough with a ziploc bag open on one end, but you can use saran wrap or a damp tea towel as well.
- Second Rise: Let the dough rise until it rises 1 inch above the rim of the baking pan. This can take 2-4 hours, depending on the temperature.
- When the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the dough, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until the top of the bread is golden brown and the bread has a nice, high rise.
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer it to a cookie rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Looking forward to making this bread. What kind of oil? Assuming vegetable but just wanted to double check.
Great question Mackenzie! I typically use olive oil or avocado oil. You can use other oils like canola if you prefer. 🙂 Let me know how it turns out!
The recipe card says to bake at 400 degrees, but the blog post says 350 degrees. Do you preheat to 400 then drop to 350 or which temp do you use?
400 degrees is correct. Thank you!
Is it really a 9×15 pan, or is it 9×5? It looks like a 9×5.
Yes, 9×5. Thank you!
Hi, the recipe doesn’t mention sourdough discard but the instructions do. Do I need to add discard in addition to the active starter? How much discard? What is the purpose of adding both active starter and discard?
Hi Kayla! Yes, I found the error—the instructions should have said active sourdough instead of sourdough discard. I apologize, there is no discard in this recipe. Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention!