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Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe

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Bake this beautiful soft white sourdough sandwich bread recipe for your favorite sandwiches.

Soft Sourdough Sandwich bread is an easy sourdough bread recipe to make. This sourdough recipe is formed into soft and fluffy loaves that are perfect for sliced bread. Make this sourdough sandwich bread once a week to always have yummy sandwich bread on hand.

This dough has delicious sweet flavor and a soft and fluffy texture. We have a few tips and tricks in this post for making the best sourdough sandwich bread ever!

Soft Sourdough bread as a loaf-Cut
Sasha’s Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe

Sourdough artisan breads are famous for their crusty crusts and soft holy crumb. Perfect for dipping in soups and making paninis or crostinis. Who doesn’t love that shattery crust with a steak or plate of lasagna?

However, When you want a soft squishable sandwich with Mayo or a piece of buttery toast? Eat THIS sourdough sandwich bread.

More Sourdough Bread Recipes:

See our complete sourdough bread recipe tutorial and step by step guide for Beginners in our Artisan Sourdough Bread Recipe .

Roasted Garlic Rosemary bread cut
Roasted Garlic Rosemary Bread
Milk and Honey Sourdough dough bread
Milk and Honey Sourdough Dough Bread
Beginner Artisan Sourdough Bread Recipe
Beginner Artisan Sourdough Bread Recipe

How long does Homemade Sourdough Bread Last?

This bread will last about a week when stored in a proper airtight container. Homemade sandwich bread will mold quicker than store-bought bread. This is because homemade bread does not contain the preservatives that you will find in store-bought bread. Keep that in mind when making homemade sourdough bread. Store it properly to avoid a moldy and stale loaf of bread. This recipe makes two 1000 gram loaves of soft sandwich bread.

Is Sourdough Bread good for Sandwiches?

Regular Sourdough bread is great for sandwiches. Many restaurants use sourdough bread to make grilled cheese sandwiches, turkey, toasted sandwiches etc. A regular loaf of sourdough bread has a different shape than sandwich bread. It usually produces long and narrow pieces of bread. A sourdough sandwich bread will be shaped into a traditional bread loaf shape. This makes it easier to toast the sourdough bread in a toaster.

Soft sourdough sandwich bread is great for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, turkey, or traditionally shaped sandwiches. The great thing about this bread is it is really easy to work with and store.

2 loaves of baked sourdough sandwich bread
Baked Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Why is my Sourdough Sandwich Bread not Rising?

Sourdough Sandwich Bread not rising is usually due to a weak or inactive starter. Always ensure that your starter can pass the float test before using it to bake. It can be tempting to make the bread early before the starter is ready. Always wait until your starter can float in a cup of water before baking. There is no way to save a loaf of bread that turns out flat. It is worth it to properly prepare the starter for the best loaf of bread.

Do I need to score Sourdough Sandwich Bread?

There is no need to score a loaf of sourdough sandwich bread. This bread will rise and ferment without scoring it on top. If you wish to score the sourdough sandwich bread, you can do a gentle slice down the center of the loaf prior to baking. However, there is no need to score this type of sourdough bread. It will bake and rise just fine without going through the scoring process.

Watch our video tutorial to see all the techniques I use to make this bread recipe.

Soft Sourdough sandwich bread sliced
This sourdough bread is easily sliced with a soft crust and moist dense crumb. Perfect for sandwiches.

Sasha’s Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe:

Sasha, our master baker contributor, created this sourdough recipe for her hubby. He wanted a soft white squishable bread with a soft crust. We all agree this bread makes great sandwiches.

Sasha’s family is incredibly lucky. And so are we. She is sharing her soft sandwich bread recipe with us so we all can benefit from her expertise.

Sasha also shared her Sourdough Milk and Honey Sandwich bread with us in case you missed it. Thank you Sasha!

Tips on making the Sourdough Sandwich Loaf:

This is a white bread recipe. However, you can mix whole wheat flour up to 50-50 with your white bread flour and still get good results.

  • Begin with an active fed sourdough starter for best results. You do NOT need active dry yeast for this recipe.
  • WATCH our video tutorial for ALL the techniques used in this bread dough making process. If you don’t know a term or technique the video will teach you.
  • Good Flour is critical to the outcome of any homemade bread recipe. Use a fresh high protein bread flour (at least 5% protein).
Soft Sourdough Sandwich Loaf
Brush the crust with a egg wash before baking to keep the crust soft and shiny.

How to Make a Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread Loaf:

Here is a quick visual walkthrough of this recipe. The complete recipe is in our Printable Recipe Card. But here are the main points.

Sometimes a picture really helps. AND don’t miss our video tutorial (playing in the sidebar) if you need further examples of the techniques.

Leaven Float Test
Leaven Float Test- before you begin. Starter must pass float test.
sourdough shaggy ball stage
Mix ingredients as directed.Shaggy ball stage. Autolyse one hour.
begin stretch and folds-sourdough sandwich bread
Perform the stretch and fold every 30 minutes 4 times. Watch video for the technique.
sourdough sandwich bread- stretch n folds complete
stretch n folds finished. The dough should now be resilient and pass the windowpane test.
Window Pane Test-last stretch and fold
window pane test
sourdough soft loaf bulk rise
BULK FERMENTATION: After the dough has passed the window pane test it is ready for the long cold bulk rise.
Soft loaves-bench rest
Bench rest
degassed sourdough sandwich bread
degassed and ready to form.
sourdough rising in two bread pans
The complete process for shaping your loaf is shown in the visual guide section below this one.
water bath bake-sourdough sandwich bread
Set a water bath on shelf below the bread pans. Set a baking sheet under the pans.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread Variation and Soft Cinnamon Sourdough Rolls:

Look at the bread baking in the oven (pictured above). The one closest to the front sideways is This soft sourdough bread made as Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

You will find This Complete recipe post for Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin bread has LOTS of tips. A complete walkthrough and guide for incorporating the plumped raisins, layering the cinnamon filling and forming the loaves.

Sliced cinnamon raisin bread
Soft Sourdough loaf made as Swirled cinnamon raisin bread. It tastes amazing and holds together when cut and toasted too.

Soft sourdough made as cinnamon raisin swirl bread is pretty darn amazing breakfast food. Give it a try.

Sourdough cinnamon rolls

Also make these Soft Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls from this bread dough recipe. They are absolutely scrumptious!

How to Shape A loaf of Bread:

You can bake this recipe in boules. However it is much easier to eat as sandwiches and toast when baked in pans.

Here’s how to shape the dough for baking in bread pans. I use two 9 x 5 inch bread loaf pans for this recipe.

Prepare the dough for Shaping:

  • Remove Dough From Fridge and allow to come to room temperature. This will take about 2 hours.
  • Divide and shape the dough into two 1000 gram balls of dough.
  • Bench Rest the balls loosely covered about 60 minutes until very elastic.
degassed dough ready for shaping.
Degassing means you take the air out of the dough. Do this by flattening with a rolling pin.

Shaping:

  • Choose one dough ball. Set the other aside to be next.
  • Flatten the ball on a floured board with your rolling pin to degass. This may take several passes. (You will notice my bread does still have a few small holes. It needed more degassing)
  • Shape the degassed dough into a rectangle and spritz with water.
  • Bring the long edges into the center and form a closed seam.
  • Fold the two front corners to the middle seam as shown below.
  • Roll the dough tightly. tucking it as you roll to avoid air pockets.
  • Pinch the ends of the loaf and flatten the seam.
  • Place the dough loaf into your OILED loaf pan.
  • REPEAT with second dough ball. Continue with the recipe.
Soft loaves-bench rest
Bench rest
degassed sourdough sandwich bread
de-gass dough by rolling it flat with a rolling pin.
fold the dough to the center
Make dough into a rectangle shape. Fold the outside edge of the dough to the center.
fold front points-forming dough for bread pan.
Fold the front points of the dough into the middle as shown. The back end of dough is left square.
Shaped for the bread pan.
Roll the loaf from the point up to the other end.
sourdough rising in two bread pans
Finish shaping your loaf by pinching the seams together. Lay the loaf into an OILED bread pan. Repeat with second loaf.
final rise in plastic bags-sandwich bread
cover the two bread pans loosely with plastic. Allow your dough to rise in the pans at room temperature until dough is slightly above the pan.

The final rise is done in the plastic bags as shown. Allow the dough to rise to the pan top or slightly above.

Now when the oven is thoroughly preheated, remove one loaf from the fridge, score it deeply and bake as directed with a water bath.

Your Printable Recipe Card:

Read the complete recipe and instructions below. If you print this recipe the pictures will not print. This is to save you ink and paper.

NEW! We now have a complete video recipe demonstration of this bread in the sidebar and the bottom of the printable recipe card.

Soft Sourdough bread as a loaf-Cut
Yield: 2-1000 gram loaves of Sourdough Bread

Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe

Prep Time: 20 hours
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Additional Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 21 hours 10 minutes

Soft Sourdough Sandwich bread is the perfect soft squishy bread for toast and peanut butter sandwiches. You can also grill this bread for amazing grilled cheese sandwiches. The flavor is outstanding.

Ingredients

  • 300 grams starter-freshly fed and active
  • 650 grams warm water
  • 50 grams honey
  • 40 grams avocado oil
  • 1000 grams White bread flour (high protein)
  • 20 grams Salt

Instructions

MIXING:

  1. Begin with a very active recently fed starter. It should pass the float test.
  2. Set a large bowl on a digital food scale set to grams and press the tare button. The scale should read zero.
  3. Pour in the water to weight of 650 g. Press tare.
  4. Pour in 300 grams of starter. Press tare. The starter should form a floating mass on the water.
  5. Add the oil. Press tare
  6. Add the honey. Press tare.
  7. Whisk together the starter, oil, honey and water until they are mixed.
  8. Add the 1000 grams of flour.
  9. Mix the flour into the water/starter with a dough hook, spatula and your wet hands until you have a shaggy ball of dough.

AUTOLYSE:

  1. autolyse 1 hour.
  2. Sprinkle salt across dough.
  3. spritz with water bottle and work in the salt with wet hands.
  4. Rest 30 mins

STRETCH AND FOLDS:

  1. Begin Stretch and Folds. You need 4 rounds of stretch and folds 30 mins apart. See video for technique.

LONG COLD RISE:

  1. Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.

BENCH REST DOUGH:

  1. Remove from fridge and warm to room temperature. (ABOUT TWO HOURS)
  2. Divide the dough into two 1000 grams dough balls by weight.
  3. Bench rest 30 to 45 minutes until dough is elastic.

SHAPE AND FINAL RISE:

  1. Choose one dough ball. Set the other aside to be next.
  2. Flatten the ball on a floured board with your rolling pin to degass. This may take several passes. (You will notice my bread does still have a few small holes. It needed more degassing)
  3. Shape the degassed dough into a rectangle and spritz with water.
  4. Bring the long edges into the center and form a closed seam.
  5. Fold the two front corners to the middle seam as shown below.
  6. Roll the dough tightly. tucking it as you roll to avoid air pockets.
  7. Pinch the ends of the loaf and flatten the seam.
  8. Place the dough loaf into your OILED loaf pan.

REPEAT for second loaf. 

  1. Let sit on counter 2 to 4 hours until the dough reaches to the top of the bread pans. For best oven spring chill two hours in the fridge covered.

BAKING PREP AND INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven and water bath(any pan half full of water. Set it on the shelf UNDER THE BREAD) to 400° F.
  2. Remove the loaves from the fridge and score them deeply. (I do three slashes diagonally accross the top).
  3. OPTIONAL: For a shiny loaf of baked bread, brush the dough with a beaten egg.
  4. Set the loaf pans in the middle of oven.
  5. Bake the loaves 15 minutes.
  6. Reduce the oven temp to 375 degrees F.
  7. Bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes.
  8. Using a digital thermometer check internal Temp of loaf. It is done at 200°. If you don't have a thermometer pop loaves out to test for hollow on bottom. Or thump the loaf. Does is have a hollow sound?
  9. Remove from oven and cool on racks to room temperature before cutting the bread.

Notes

  • Measure the ingredients CAREFULLY for best results.
  • THE SALT: I use Himalayan salt. All salt works. However, they have different volumes by weight. So you need to be careful. Weighing helps get it right.
  • THE OIL: Avocado oil is recommended for best health. Use any neutral flavor oil you prefer.
  • THE FLOUR: Use any high protein (On the label 12 % protein or 5 grams protein) organic white bread flour. You can make this loaf with 50/50 white and WHITE whole wheat.
  • The loaf will stay soft and have a great nutty flavor. Using 100 percent whole wheat or Hard red whole wheat will give you a different result. The recipe may need some adjusting. I suggest you stick with 100 percent white or 50/50.

    Conversion CUPS to GRAMS:


    I do NOT recommend volume measurements for best results with sourdough baking. There are differences in the starter and flours that make weighing by Scale a MUCH more reliable method. But if your not using a scale here are the approximate volume measurements of the ingredients.

    • 2 2/3 Cups -300 grams starter-freshly fed and active
    • 2 3/4 Cups 650 grams warm water
    • 2 3/8 Tablespoons -50 grams honey
    • 3 Tablespoons- 40 grams avocado oil
    • 8 Cups- 1000 grams White bread flour (high protein)
    • 1 Tablespoon-20 grams Salt


    Final NOTE:

    The video in this post is for those unfamiliar with the techniques I use. It is actually demonstrating our Beginner Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe. This soft sourdough sandwich bread process uses many of the same techniques.

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Nutrition Information

Yield

24

Serving Size

1 slice
Amount Per Serving Calories 171Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 0mgSodium 325mgCarbohydrates 32gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 5g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

© Diane Williams
Cuisine: American / Category: Sourdough
Sashas soft Loaf Featured

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the best soft sourdough sandwich bread recipe-pin image
This dough has delicious sweet flavor and a soft and fluffy texture. We have a few tips and tricks in this post for making the best sourdough sandwich bread ever!

Traci

Monday 23rd of December 2024

Diane, I absolutely love your recipes and have made this one and the cinnamon raisin version many times with great success! My question though is, can I use a cast iron pan for this recipe since it has a cold chill period and then directly into the oven? Wondering if that would somehow be detrimental to the cast iron pan since I'm not super familiar with what is and isn't acceptable for cast iron. I have previously just used nonstick pans, but I'd like to start using cast iron for health reasons.

Diane

Monday 23rd of December 2024

Hi Traci, We are delighted you're enjoying our recipes. Thank you so much for letting us know that. Your feedback means a LOT to us. :)

To answer your question: Putting food in a cast iron baking pan and then putting a cast iron pan in the fridge will likely cause condensation, the food can also react with the iron if its acidic and you may see discoloration in the food and rust in the pan. A Parchment paper liner can help here. Enameling on cast iron protects the food and the pan from reacting to each other in the fridge where cold and condensation may degrade the raw cast iron seasoning and even begin rusting your pan. THAT SAID: Putting a cold enameled cast iron pan into a preheated HOT oven is dangerous for the enamel coating. Some bakers have had their pans enameling crack from the extreme temperature change. so we dont recommend this method.

For a high heat sourdough bake where the temps start at 450 to 500 degrees f. (we have several of the recipes on the blog) it is best to preheat the oven with the empty room temperature cast iron pan in the oven and slowly bring the pan to baking temperature. This is the safest method for your pan to avoid cracking the enamel.For this particular recipe, where the temps are lower, I think it's safe to follow the instructions below.

Solution: Skip the final rise in the fridge. This will inhibit the oven spring somewhat but you'll still have a great bake. Just allow the dough to develop in the pan on the counter and bake it once the dough rises. This will protect your cast iron best. Give this method a try and see if you're happy with the bake. Best of luck and Merry Christmas!

Bruce

Wednesday 20th of November 2024

Trying sourdough for the first time, my first mini loafs were great, so I'm encouraged to try your sandwich loaf recipe. Following directions precisely, but only half recipe for one loaf. It's mixed, autolysed, stretched & sat in fridge about 20 hours. Removed from fridge 2+ hours for bench rest, degassed on countertop, folded / shaped / rolled, placed in loaf pan. NOW for your next steps I'm confused... The next step says to let sit on counter two to four hours, but then in bold print it says for best oven spring chill 2 hours in the fridge covered. Is it either sit on the counter or chill for 2 hours, or both? I have chilled it for 2 plus hours, now my confusion is, do I put it straight into the oven or let it sit on the counter for a couple of hours before baking? As a side note my starter has been showing a great rise through all the steps except the to our rest covered in the fridge. Bake it cold or rest on counter before baking?

coco

Thursday 12th of December 2024

@Bruce, I have the same question! Can you clarify? Let rise on coúnter or in fridge? Both? Thanks!

Bruce

Thursday 21st of November 2024

@Diane, thanks for the quick reply. I did that - degassed, folded, rolled & tucked, into a 5"x9" oiled loaf pan. Refrigerated two+ hours, pre- heated oven to 400 with water bath, then baked, reducing to 375 after 15 min. At 20 minutes I inserted my ThermoPro probe which read 117; continued baking at 375 until probe read 200 (which took 15+ more minutes). Let it cool, sliced it, ate it. Sliced some more, toasted, ate it. Sliced some more... You get the picture??? I ate half the loaf. I think what I have to do next is make some more. This is quite possibly, probably, THE BEST BREAD I've EVER EATEN!!! AMAZING! Thanks so much for making my sourdough foray a raging success. Virtual hugs sent your way.

Diane

Wednesday 20th of November 2024

Hi Bruce, Im sorry for the confusion. There are a lot of steps. So far you have it down perfect! The final chill in the fridge is optional if you're in a hurry at this point. Thats why I put it in bold. However, I Always do a final chill in the fridge for a couple of hours to prep the dough for baking. It gives you the best oven spring. While the dough is in the final rise preheat the oven. Onee the dough is thoroughly chilled put it Straight into the oven, cold from the fridge, with the water bath and bake as directed. Hope this helps!

Sara

Friday 18th of October 2024

Hi, I'm making your loaf as I write this. So, after I put in loaf ans I opted to put back in the fridge for 2hrs, sadly they didn't rise in there, do I put the loaves of the bench for 2- 4 hrs before I bake?

Diane

Saturday 19th of October 2024

Hi Sara,The final rise in the fridge is not going to help the dough grow much. It is a chilling of the dough that helps with 'oven spring'. This means when you bake the dough cold in a preheated oven the loaf will gain better rise. But if your starter is very young (less than a month old) or not well fed, the dough may not have the power it needs to rise well. The bread will still be delicious. Just not as soft and fluffy. Rising the dough on the counter will not help much at this stage. Sourdough baking is very different from yeast baking. The dough develops best when it's given the opportunity to grow slowly at low temps. This helps both the texture and flavor improve. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have further questions. We are happy to help!

Shyla

Friday 20th of September 2024

I never comment on recipes, but had to for this one. I have been making sourdough bread for many months and have tried many recipes. This one made the most perfect loaves of bread! I used it to make a regular sourdough- perfect! I mean, wow. Thanks so much for sharing!

Diane

Friday 20th of September 2024

Hi Shyla, You are so welcome! We are very grateful to Sasha for this excellent recipe. Happy Baking!

Jeremy

Saturday 14th of September 2024

Why is your recipe card not the same as your video? You talk about adding salt and just pinching it in, in the video but on the recipe card it says to spray your dough with water and wet your hands and mix in. Can you please have all of your videos and recipe cards corresponding so it's less confusing, please? You make it slightly confusing for beginners like me. Thank you.

Diane

Saturday 14th of September 2024

Hi Jeremy, im sorry this confused you. The tip about wetting the hands in the recipe card is just that. A helping step for bakers that don't have experience with sticky doughs. Wetting your hands a bit is really helpful to keep the dough from sticking to your skin when you work it. We didn't feel it was necessary in the video since its spelled out in the recipe. Thank you for letting us know you felt it was confusing rather than helpful.

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