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Sourdough Sandwich Bread

October 30, 2020

Sourdough Sandwich Bread

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Having a good sandwich bread in your repertoire of recipes is always a good call. Although classic rustic sourdoughs, and other crusty breads are amazing, they aren’t always what you want. For sandwiches, grilled cheese, and simple French toast, a dense and chewy sourdough sandwich bread is exactly what you need. This recipe is fast compared to other sourdoughs, and comes together easily.

For sandwiches, grilled cheese, and simple French toast, a dense and chewy, sourdough sandwich bread is exactly what you need.

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I wanted to include some photos and videos that follow along with this process, so this post will be a bit longer than my normal recipe posts. And I’ll be walking through the entire sourdough sandwich bread recipe. There is a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, but all the reference photos and videos will be up here.

You will need a kitchen scale for this recipe, and if you don’t have one already I really recommend getting one. They aren’t big or super expensive, and they’re really good to have on hand, even if you don’t use them too much. If you don’t have a sourdough starter, you can get one started by checking out my post Here. It will need to be fed about 6-8 hours before you start this recipe. Meaning the dough can be fed on a Friday night, and mix the dough on Saturday morning. All that said, let’s jump into it!

Equipment You Will Need:

  1. Large Mixing Bowl
  2. Small Bowl
  3. Kitchen Scale
  4. 2 cup Measuring Cup
  5. Dough Scraper
  6. Loaf Pan

Ingredients:

  1. 435g All Purpose Flour
  2. 2g Salt
  3. 40g Sugar
  4. 8g Dry Active Yeast
  5. 300g Filtered Water
  6. 142g Active Sourdough Starter, 80% Hydration

Step 1: Assemble the Parts

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and the salt. weigh out the 142g of starter into a small bowl. In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine the water, sugar, and yeast. Stir the water, sugar, and yeast, then let rest for 10-15 minutes to bloom and become foamy.

assembling the sourdough sandwich bread dough

Step 2: Pre Ferment

Once the yeast has bloomed, add it to the flour and salt. Stir it together until you get a ragged dough.

Allow it to sit for 10-30 minutes to let the gluten relax, and to build flavour.

Step 3: Add the Starter

Scrape the starter onto the dough.

Going from around the outside, lift and fold the dough up and over the starter, all the way around the bowl. See video below.

Next, pinch the dough between forefinger and thumb to ‘cut’ the dough into a few pieces. Then fold those pieces back together using the same method used to cover the starter. Dip your hands periodically into water to help prevent the dough becoming too sticky. Repeat this for 5-6 minutes, until the dough and the starter are fully mixed. See the video below.

Dipping your hands in water throughout the process will help prevent sticking. I didn’t in this video because I didn’t want to jostle my camera man.
Partially mixed sourdough sandwich  bread dough
The dough after it’s pinch and folds.

Step 4: The Folds

This dough needs 3-4 “folds” to help it build strength and elasticity. So cover the fully mixed dough and let rest for 15 minutes, then uncover it and give it another fold. This time it doesn’t need any pinching, and it only needs a few folds. The video below is the whole process.

Excuse the bowl moving, my camera man had to step out!

Repeat this fold every 15 minutes, 2-3 more times. Each time you will notice the dough becoming easier to work with, and gain more strength. The video below is the 3rd fold, and you can see the big difference in texture from before.

Step 5: Let it Rest

Now that you’ve done your 3-4 folds, your dough should be much stronger, and have nice elasticity. So it’s time to let it rest and rise. Cover the bowl tight, and let it rise in a warmish spot for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Step 6: Shaping

Once the bread dough is doubled in size it’s time to shape it.

Scrape the dough out on to a lightly floured surface. Flour the dough a little bit, and flour your hands. Using both hands, flatten the dough out to a rough rectangle (doesn’t need to be perfect). Fold in both sides, into thirds, like folding a letter, and flatten slightly. Grab the folded short ends, and rotate 90 degrees. Stretch out the dough a little, then fold into thirds again. Next roll the dough into a log from the edge closest to you up. Seal the roll by tugging it back towards you while pressing down gently, this should give you a tight-ish log. Lay the log into a greased loaf pan. Video below shows this process.

Step 7: Final Rise (And Heat the Oven)

Oil the top of the loaf lightly, and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place to rise again. This rise will take 40 minutes to an hour depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Now is a good time to Heat your oven to 375F.

sourdough sandwich bread rising

The dough will once again double in size. And when poked gently, the dough won’t spring back immediately.

sourdough sandwich Bread risen!

Step 8: Bake!

Transfer your risen loaf to the oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes. It’s done when the top is golden brown, and when it sounds hollow when you tap on the bottom. (The tap test is a great way to determine doneness. Gently tip the loaf out of its loaf pan into one gloved hand, hold it to your ear, and tap the underside with a finger. If it sounds hollow it’s cooked through! Any further baking is only to darken the crust to your liking.)

Step 9: Enjoy Your Bread!

Allow the bread to cool fully on a wire rack. Store in the fridge for maximum shelf life! We get roughly 14 slices out of one loaf, which gets us about 10 days. Wrapped in plastic in the fridge, this loaf is good for 2-3 weeks. If you slice the whole loaf, then bag it, it can be kept in the freezer for even longer. Just take out and toast however many slices you want! The perfect Sourdough Sandwich Bread.

For more bread recipes check out this other super simple No-Knead Bread, or for something a little more rustic, how about this Hearty Wholegrain Bread. Happy Bread Baking!

Sourdough Sandwich Bread

LizaLeigh
Dense and chewy, but still perfect for sandwiches, toast, and French toast.
Prep Time 1 hr 30 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Rising Time 1 hr
Total Time 3 hrs 10 mins
Course Baked Goods, Bread
Cuisine American
Servings 1 Loaf (~14 Slices)

Equipment

  • Kicthen Scale

Ingredients
  

  • 435 g All Purpose Flour
  • 2 g Kosher Salt
  • 40 g Sugar
  • 8 g Dry Active Yeast
  • 300 g Filtered Water
  • 142 g Active Sourdough Starter 80% Hydration

Instructions
 

  • Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Combine the water, sugar and yeast in a measuring cup, and stir together. Allow the yeast to bloom for 10-15 minutes.
  • Pour the water/yeast mix into the flour, and stir together into a ragged dough.
  • Add the sourdough starter. Fold the edges of the ragged dough up and over the starter to enclose it in dough. Using wet hands, pinch the dough 3-4 times to cut it into chunks. Fold the dough back together a few times. Then repeat the pinching and folding for 5-6 minutes, until the dough is fully mixed. See videos above. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
  • This dough needs 3-4 more folds. The folds for the rest do not include any pinching and only take about 10 seconds each. Each 15 minutes for the next 45 minutes- 1 hour, uncover the dough, fold the edges up and over the center, all around the outside of the bowl. Then cover and rest again. See videos above.
  • After the folds are done, cover tightly and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
  • Once the dough is doubled in size, tip it out onto a floured counter to shape it.
  • Flour your hands and the top of the dough slightly. Press the dough into a rough rectangle, then fold in the right and left sides in thirds, like a letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, flatten it slightly, then fold in the left and right, again, in thirds. Flatten it slightly again. Video above.
  • Roll the dough up and away from you into a log. Seal it tight by pressing gently on the counter and pulling it back towards you at the same time. See video above.
  • Pre heat the oven to 375F. Transfer the log to a greased loaf pan, oil the top lightly, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 45 minutes-1 hour. It's ready when it doesn't spring back immediately when poked.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown, and when it sounds hollow when tapped on the underside.
  • Cool fully on a wire rack before slicing. Once cooled, store in a plastic bag in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. Or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Keyword bread, sourdough


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