Sourdough Sandwich Bread
This sourdough sandwich bread is the perfect balance of soft, fluffy texture and incredible sourdough flavor. It slices beautifully, making it ideal for sandwiches, French toast, grilled cheese, and more!
If you’re new to baking sourdough but not quite ready to tackle a rustic artisan loaf, this is the perfect recipe to try. It’s naturally leavened—meaning there’s no commercial yeast—and the long fermentation process enhances both the taste and texture. Plus, it’s simple to make with mostly hands-off time!
What you’ll love about this recipe
✔ Naturally Leavened: No yeast, just your sourdough starter! This is a great recipe to test your starter’s strength.
✔ Soft & Versatile: Perfect for sandwiches, toast, or slathering with butter and jam.
✔ Beginner-Friendly: If you’re ready to move beyond sourdough pancakes and muffins, this is a great first loaf!
This is a great loaf for beginners to try! Also give my easy whole wheat sourdough bread a try, as well as San Fransisco style sourdough bread! Both are great loaves that are perfect for beginners and seasoned sourdough bakers alike!
How to make sourdough sandwich bread
This sandwich loaf takes time, but the process is simple. Follow this overview for a quick rundown, and scroll down to the recipe card for full details.
Step 1: Mix the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, water, sourdough starter, salt, butter, and honey. Mix with the dough hook on low speed for 4-5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Step 2: Bulk fermentation & stretch and folds
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and let it rest for 1 hour. Perform a stretch and fold by gently pulling one side of the dough and folding it over itself. Repeat on all four sides. Cover and rest for another hour, then repeat the stretch and fold one more time.
The total bulk fermentation time is about 3 hours, but this can vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen. You’ll know it’s ready when the dough is puffy and passes the windowpane test (when stretched, it forms a thin, translucent layer without tearing).
Step 3: Shape the dough
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and pat it into a rectangle. Gently roll it into a log, tucking the ends under. Place it into a buttered 8.5” x 4.5” loaf pan, seam side down.
Step 4: Final proof
Cover the pan and let the dough rise for 3-4 hours, or until it has risen about 1.5 inches above the edge of the pan. The dough should spring back slowly when gently pressed.
Step 5: Bake the bread
- Preheat your oven to 425°F. Place a baking stone inside and a small pan of water on the lower rack to create steam.
- Once the oven is hot, place the loaf inside and immediately lower the temperature to 400°F. Bake for 15 minutes with steam.
- Carefully remove the steam pan, then bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the loaf from the pan and place it directly on the baking stone. Bake for another 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Step 6: Cool & slice
Transfer the bread to a wire rack and let it cool completely before slicing. Cutting too soon can lead to a gummy texture!
Tips for the best sandwich bread
✔ Use an active, bubbly starter—it should have been fed recently and be at peak strength.
✔ Stick to all-purpose flour for a soft, tender crumb (no bread flour needed!).
✔ Let it cool before slicing! This helps the crumb set and keeps the bread from being dense.
Ways to use this sourdough sandwich bread
This soft sourdough loaf is perfect for so many things! Try it for:
- Classic sandwiches—perfectly soft and easy to slice.
- French toast—thick slices with a golden crust.
- Grilled cheese—crispy on the outside, melty on the inside.
- Slathered with butter & jam for a cozy breakfast.
No matter how you use it, this sourdough sandwich bread is going to be a staple in your kitchen!
Sourdough is better when shared
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and rating below.
Love and links are always appreciated! If you’d like to share this recipe, please link to the post directly for the recipe, please do not copy and paste or screenshot. Thank you so much for supporting me. XOXO – Jenni
Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Soft and fluffy sourdough sandwich bread made without yeast! This easy, naturally leavened recipe is perfect for sandwiches, French toast, and more. A beginner-friendly loaf with great flavor and a tender crumb.
- Prep Time: 6 hours 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 7 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 311 grams flour
- 205.5 grams 100% hydration sourdough starter fed and active
- 161.5 grams whole milk
- 32.5 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
- 15.5 grams honey
- 8.1 grams salt
Instructions
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Your sourdough starter needs to be fully active before you begin.
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Warm the milk either on the stoveop or in the microwave until it is about 100 F. Stir in the butter until it is melted.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, starter, warmed milk, honey and salt.
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Mix at low speed until the ingredients are well incorporated. If the dough is too dry, add a tablespoon of water. The dough should feel slightly sticky at this stage.
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Switch to the dough hook on your mixer and continue mixing for about 5-6 minutes. You want the dough to be smooth, supple, and not overly sticky.
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Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container, cover, and let it rest for 1 hour.
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Give the dough a few stretch and folds. Keep the dough in the bowl. Grab one side of the dough and stretch it up high above the bowl. Fold the end to the middle of the dough. Turn the bowl a quarter turn to your right and do it again. You will want to repeat for all sides of the bowl, or for four stretch and folds. This will help to strengthen the gluten. Make sure you wet your hands for this to help reduce the sticking.
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Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and let rest for 1 hour.
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Do another round of folds, return to the bowl, cover, and let it rest for 1 hour. The dough should feel more elastic and airy, and be quite smooth and supple.
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Check your gluten structure by doing a window pane test. Take a small piece of dough and stretch it between your fingers. You should be able to stretch the dough quite thin without it breaking, to the point where you can see light coming through it, like a window pane. If it is not done yet, do another series of stretch and folds and let it sit an additional hour.
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Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and prehape it. Pat it into a rectangle and then fold the long edges into the middle like a brochure. It should look roughly like a cylindar. Be gentle with the dough so you don’t push out the air.
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Let rest, covered, for 25 minutes.
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Generously butter an 8.5″x4.5″ loaf pan.
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Reshape the dough more tightly into a loaf shape by pushing it into a rectangle (don’t push out the air. You don’t need to roll it out, just pat it into a general rectangle) Tightly roll the dough to form a log and tuck the ends down. Place it seam side down into the prepared loaf pan.
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Cover with a damp kitchen towel or an oiled sheet of plastic wrap and let rest for 3 hours, or until the top of the loaf has risen to about 1.5 inches above the edge of the pan. If your house is colder, this could take longer. If your house is warmer, this could take less time. Watch your dough, not the clock. You will know it is fully proofed when you can gently dent the dough with your knuckle and it springs back.
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Preheat the oven with baking stone in it, to 425F.
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Get an oven safe pan and fill it with water. You are going to place this in the oven on the rack below your bread, this will help to create steam in the oven which helps keep the bread soft and will help you develop a golden crust later. Make sure to use a pan that is easy to move when filled with water.
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Place the loaf into the oven on the baking stone and reduce the temperature to 400F.
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Bake for 15 minutes with steam.
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Remove the steam from the oven (be careful! it is hot!) and bake an additional 10 minutes.
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Remove the bread from the loaf pan and place it directly on the baking stone and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
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Remove the bread from the oven. Cool on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
