Sourdough Sandwich Bread

4.84 from 600 votes

Make the best soft crust sourdough sandwich bread with our easy no-knead recipe. You'll love our step-by-step instructions and pro-tips for success!

Prep Time1

Cook Time45

Combined Rise Times12

Total Time13 45

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: slices

Calories: 215kcal

Author: Renae Gerhardstein

Equipment

loaf pan See notes for a 12' x 4.5" pan
large bowl
dough whisk

Ingredients

⅓ cup (65 grams) sourdough starter discard or fed 12-24 hours prior *see notes below
1⅓ cups (300 grams) warm water, filtered 95º to 100º F
¼ cup (56 grams) granulated sugar can substitute with 2 rounded tablespoons of honey
3½ -4 cups (500 grams) bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend weighing your flour, see notes for using measuring cups
1½ tablespoons (20 grams) extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons (9 grams) salt

Instructions

Add the starter to a large bowl. Mix in warm water and sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add flour, oil, and salt. Stir with a dough whisk or wooden spoon until a thick, shaggy dough forms.
Flour your hands or wet your hands, and finish mixing dough by hand until most of the flour has been absorbed. Don't worry if there is flour on the sides or bottom of the bowl.
Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 30 to 45 minutes.
Coax the dough from the bowl and stretch and fold the dough by stretching 4 inches then pushing it down the middle and turning 1/4 until you make a circle (see video below for how to do this).
Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise at room temperature overnight (at least 8-10 hours) until double in size. Do not refrigerate dough.
In the morning, lightly flour your counter top. Remove the dough from the bowl, gently stretching it into a rectangle, then your fingers to dimple the rough to release the air from the dough (as shown in photo).
Roll up dough into a log shape. Cover and let the dough rest 10 minutes.
Spray loaf pan with cooking spray. To bake smaller loaves, see Recipe Notes below for directions.
Tighten the dough log by gently pulling it towards you along the countertop for 5-8". Place it in your loaf pan, seam side down. Cover and let rise for 1-2 hours, until the dough is about double in size.
To see if it's ready to bake, press the corner edge of the dough in 1/2" and if the indentation remains, it's ready to bake.
Preheat your oven to 375ºF. If desired, brush the top of the loaf with an egg wash.
Bake in the center of the oven for 40 minutes. See Recipe Notes below for smaller loaves. The top of the loaf should be golden in color. Remove from oven.
After 10 minutes, tilt the pan to remove the bread to cool on a cooling rack.
Wait at least 1 hour before cutting (to prevent the loaf from deflating).

Video

Notes

TFN Pro Tip:

I recommend using a clear glass mixing bowl for fermentation. This allows you to see the activity on the dough's top and bottom. Often, the bottom of the dough will show a lot of activity, reassuring you that it's properly fermented.
Tips for keeping dough warm during colder months:
Place the bowl in the oven with the light on and the door slightly open to create a warmer climate without actually turning the oven on. Before doing this, make sure to take the temperature of your oven with the light on to ensure this method doesn’t get too hot! Or, do a bulk ferment during the day when you can monitor progress until you know how your dough responds to your specific environment.
Use a heated mat (like those used for germinating seeds) for rising. See my Sourdough Tools list to shop what I use.
Use the “proof” setting of your oven (I set mine to 85ºF) and set a timer. This will speed up the rising process, so check it at 4 and 6 hours.
If there is a sunny room in the house that stays warm, keep the dough covered in that area.

This recipe uses a discard or unfed sourdough starter, which means one that was fed 12-24 hours before starting the recipe. Our recipe does not use a starter that's at its peak when mixing the dough. A 100% hydration sourdough starter works best for this recipe.

Measuring the flour

The recipe ingredients call for 3 1/2 to 4 cups of flour because cup measuring is less reliable than using a food scale to weigh the flour.
Be sure to stir the flour, then use a spoon to add it into the measuring cup, and level it with a knife. Start with the lower amount of flour and add up to 4 cups, but only if needed.

Fermentation rising guidelines

Rising times will vary according to your room temperature and humidity:

80ºF about 4-5 hours
75ºF about 6-7 hours
70ºF about 8-9 hours
For temperatures under 70ºF it can take up to 12 hours or more

Do not refrigerate the dough! Our recipe does not use a refrigerated rise. If it gets too cold, the fermented yeast will not rise overnight.

To bake in a 12" x 4.5" pan: bake for 30-35 minutes.

To bake smaller loaves:

If your loaf pans are 4″ x 8″ or 4′ x 9″ then divide the sandwich dough into two equal pieces. Bake at 375ºF for 25-30 minutes.

How will I know if my bread is done baking?

When the baking time is up, I check to see if the top of the loaf is golden and if it sounds hollow when tapped on. If unsure, check the internal temperature, which should be around 195º – 200ºF.

Tips for keeping dough warm during colder months:

Place the bowl in the oven with the door closed and light on to create a slightly warmer climate without actually turning the oven on.
Use a heated mat (like those used for germinating seeds) for rising.
Use the "proof" setting of your oven (I set mine to 85ºF) and set a timer. This will speed up the rising process, so check it at 4 and 6 hours.
If there is a sunny room in the house that stays warm, keep the dough covered in that area.

Storing Your Bread:

Let the bread cool completely. Store it in a plastic bag at room temperature. I use a plastic bread bag with a twist tie to seal it and it stays fresh for about 5 days. For the softest crust, we recommend sorting it out of the fridge at room temperature.

To keep it fresher longer, put it in an air tight, freezer safe container and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it defrost at room temperature before slicing and using.

For more storage tips, see our post on how to store sourdough bread.

Nutrition