Love crusty bread for sandwiches, but don’t love the irregular shape of a round loaf’s slices? Try my Sourdough Sandwich Bread recipe! It has all the charm of your favorite artisan bread, but in a tidy, rectangular package.
Making rustic sourdough is one of my favorite pastimes—I probably crank out one loaf a week! But the other day, I went to make a turkey avocado sandwich for lunch and only the teeny-tiny end pieces of my round boulé were left. No sandwich for me that day. 😕(Don’t worry, I ended up making a delicious panzanella with the remnants.)
But, it got me thinking—what if I made my favorite Dutch oven sourdough recipe in the shape of a store-bought sandwich loaf? That way, I could still have all the crusty, tangy goodness I love about sourdough, but in a shape that works for tartines, toasts, and sandwiches to the very last slice. My friends, it was one of those lightbulb moments that I’ll always remember!
This deliciously simple 4-ingredient sandwich bread recipe is made in the same, no-knead manner as my other sourdough recipes but baked in a Pullman loaf pan so every slice is the same size. Problem solved! 🙌
⭐ Why You’ll Love This Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe
- Crusty & Chewy - This is not your mama’s basic white sandwich bread. It’s a textural masterpiece!
- Made With Just 4 Ingredients - And one of them is water, so you know we’re keeping it simple.
- Deliciously Uniform - Haven’t you heard? It’s hip to be square! Even Mr. Monk would approve.
🍴Ingredients
- Active Sourdough Starter - Make sure it’s doubled in size and happily bubbling away before using it. This is your only leavener, so it needs to be strong! Then use to make sourdough cinnamon rolls and sourdough brioche perhaps?
- Bread Flour - Bread flour has a higher protein content than most other wheat flours, which helps to provide structure and create an extra crispy crust.
- Water - Start with filtered water for the best results. Don’t have a filter? Simply boil your tap water for 15 minutes and let it cool, or allow it to sit out overnight, uncovered, so the chlorine has time to evaporate.
- Salt - Use high-quality, fine-grain sea salt for the best flavor.
- Olive Oil - No need to break out the good stuff—at least until the bread is baked. This is just for greasing the bowl.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
⏲️ Substitutions & Variations
This easy sourdough sandwich bread recipe hack can be used with any of your favorite artisanal loaves. Try making:
- Sourdough Rye Sandwich Bread - My easy recipe swaps in rye flour for a portion of the bread flour. Feel free to add some caraway seeds for a pumpernickel vibe!
- Square Cinnamon Raisin Bread - That red bag of cinnamon swirl bread has nothing on the homemade version.
- Parmesan Rosemary Sandwich Bread - When your bread is already laced with salty cheese and fresh herbs, any sandwich you make is bound to be delicious.
- Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread - Add a little whole grain goodness to your sandwiches with my simple recipe.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
📖 Step-by-Step Instructions
Mixing and Folding the Sourdough Dough
Step 1: Levain Magic. Start by combining your active starter and water in a mixing bowl. Add bread flour and mix until the mixture becomes a homogenous blend. Transfer this levain to a covered container and let it sit at room temperature for approximately 12 hours.
Step 2: Autolyse. In a large bowl, mix your levain and warm water until fully combined. Add the bread flour and stir vigorously with a spatula, wooden spoon, or even your hands until the dough is smooth and clump-free. There's no need to have a stand mixer here! Cover the bowl with a tea towel, plastic wrap, or a damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 45 minutes.
Step 3: The Salt Connection. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of kosher salt over your dough mixture and gently mix it in with a spatula or your hands until the salt dissolves completely. Grease a bowl with one tablespoon of olive oil, place the dough in it, cover it, and let it rest for another 45 minutes.
Step 4: Fold the Dough. Every 30 minutes, gently stretch the dough upward before folding it onto itself. Repeat this process four times over a span of 2 hours, rotating the dough as you go. After the fourth fold, allow the dough to rest undisturbed for 45 minutes.
Step 5: Pre-Shape. Shape and allow the dough to rest in a warm place, covered by a towel, for 30 minutes.
Step 6: Final Shape Beauty. Once again, follow the instructions from the previous step, and then place the oval loaf seam side down in an olive oil greased loaf pan.
Baking your Sourdough Sandwich Loaf
Step 7: Preheat. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit and remove your sourdough from the fridge to come to rest at room temperature while your oven preheats.
Step 8: Bake the Magic. Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until you start to see a hint of browning on the edges and top of your loaf. Your target internal temperature is between 200-210 degrees F, if that helps you determine whether your loaf is fully baked or not!
PRO TIP: Remove the loaf from the oven and carefully remove the bread from within. If you notice that the bread looks a little pale, you can place it back into the oven to continue baking for some additional color.
Step 11: Enjoy! Take a moment to revel in the joy of your freshly baked Batard Bread. It's time to slice, savor, and share the fruits of your bread-making labor!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Baking Tips
- Put a Lid On It. Opt for a Pullman loaf with a lid to replicate the steamy interior of a Dutch oven.
- Get Scientific. Invest in kitchen tools that will improve your accuracy—namely, a kitchen scale and an oven thermometer.
- Don’t Rush The Rise. Whenever a leavened bread recipe gives you a timeframe for how long it will take for each rise, think of it as more of a suggestion than a dictate. The ambient temperature of your kitchen, the temperature of your water, and even your altitude can impact how quickly it rises. Look for a puffy consistency that wobbles a bit when you gently shake the bowl. Next, poke it with a knuckle—it should slowly spring back into place. If it springs back immediately, it needs more time!
💭 Recipe FAQs
No need! Just plop in the little dough bundle and bake!
Generally speaking, homemade bread is usually best within 24 hours of baking. That said, it’ll keep at room temperature for a few days, or can be sliced and frozen for up to a month. Read my post on how to store sourdough bread for greater detail!
Uh-oh. It sounds like you probably didn’t let it rise for long enough. Remember: watch the dough, not the clock!
If it isn’t rising at all, chances are you used sourdough starter that wasn’t fully doubled yet, or that had already doubled and collapsed. If this is the case, there’s unfortunately nothing you can do to help. However, don’t toss the dough—you can always roll it out to make sourdough crackers or thin flatbreads like chapati or tortillas.
Alternatively, it could be that your proportions are off—make sure you’re using a kitchen scale for the greatest accuracy. Depending on the sourdough recipe, you may need more starter (e.g. for doughs with whole grain flour) than however much you used.
It should hit an internal temperature between 205-210ºF (96-99ºC).
More Sourdough Recipes You’ll Love
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Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- Loaf Pan (A 9x5 Pullman loaf pan works great here)
Ingredients
Levain
- 20 g (1 Heaping Tablespoon) Sourdough Starter, 100% hydration, float test before using
- 80 g (⅓ cup) Water
- 80 g (⅔ cup) Bread Flour
Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- 100 g (½ cup) Levain
- 360 g (1 ½ cups) Water, 70 degrees F ideally
- 500 g (4 cups) Bread Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Salt
- Olive oil - for greasing bowl & pan
Instructions
Levain
- Make sure to do a float test - It’s the best way to tell if your starter is fresh. Simply pinch off about 1 tablespoon of your starter and place it in a glass of water. If it floats, you're in business!
- Mix starter (20g) and water (80g) together before adding bread flour (80g) and mix until homogenous approximately 12 hours before you start the process of making your Sourdough loaf. Place in a covered container at room temperature.20 g Sourdough Starter, 80 g Water, 80 g Bread Flour
Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- Mix your levain and water together until combined. Then mix in the bread flour until little to no clumps remain with a spatula or your hands and cover for 45 minutes. This is called the autolyse - hydrating your flour prior to moving on to the next step.100 g Levain, 360 g Water, 500 g Bread Flour
- *When making sourdough it’s helpful to have a little bowl of water nearby - dipping your hands in water prior to working with the wet, sticky dough will help immensely!
- Add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to your dough and mix with a spatula or your hands until the salt granules have dissolved completely into the dough. Place in a bowl greased with one tablespoon of olive oil, cover, and set aside to rest for another 45 minutes.2 Teaspoons Salt, Olive oil - for greasing bowl & pan
- Time to start folding the dough - every 30 minutes for the next two hours fold your dough. Gently stretch the dough in an upwards motion before placing back onto itself - do this four times every 30 minutes rotating around the dough as you do so.
- Once you’ve folded the dough 4 separate times, allow it to rest for 45 minutes before continuing.
- Pre-Shape: On a wooden cutting board greased with a touch of olive oil, gently shape the dough into a batard or oblong shape, being careful not to deflate it. Starting from the top edge, fold the dough down about one-third of the way towards the center. Next, fold the bottom edge up towards the center, slightly overlapping the previous fold, and pinch the dough in the middle to secure the seam. This pre-shaping process establishes the foundation for the charming oblong shape. Flip the dough seam side down, gently tuck the two ends underneath, and create some tension by dragging the dough against your work surface around ten times. Allow the dough to rest, covered by a towel, for an hour.
- Final Shape - Once again, follow the instructions above before placing the dough seam side down into a loaf pan greased with olive oil and allow to rise covered by a towel for 1.5 hours before baking. *You can also place your bread in the fridge to bake the next morning if you prefer! Simply remove it from the fridge while your oven in preheating before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place your risen loaf in the oven and reduce the heat to 375F. Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until you start to see a hint of browning on the edges and top of your loaf. Your target internal temperature is between 200-210 degrees F, that can help determine whether your loaf is fully baked or not!
- Remove the loaf from the oven and carefully remove the bread from within - I usually flip the loaf pan upside down using oven mitts, allowing me to remove the hot sourdough loaf and place it on a cooling rack. If you notice that the bread looks a little pale, you can place it back into the oven to continue baking for some additional color.
- It will be very challenging to wait before cutting into the loaf, but I promise you it’s worth it! Cutting into your bread when it is too hot could ruin it’s structure - I usually wait an hour at the very least before diving in unless you don’t mind cutting in early.
Notes
- Where can I get sourdough starter? You can easily make your own using flour and water, or you can buy it online or from specialty stores. If you have any friends who like to make bread, I’d also bet they have some they’d happily gift you!
- How long does homemade sourdough bread last? If you keep it in an airtight container on the counter, it should last for 3-4 days. However, if you want it to last longer, I suggest slicing it, placing it in a plastic bag, and freezing for up to a month. Whenever a bread craving strikes, just grab a slice!
- What is the best flour for sourdough bread? I prefer bread flour, which has a higher protein content than regular all-purpose flour. More protein means more gluten, which in turn means a better structure for the bread to be crusty on the outside and irregularly crumbed on the inside. YUM!
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