White Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Soft, fluffy and deliciously sour, this white sourdough sandwich bread is perfect for toast, sandwiches, and everything in between.

If you’re looking for a sourdough version of classic white sandwich bread, look no further! This no-knead recipe is quick and easy to follow, making it a staple in my kitchen – and I hope it will be in yours, too!

What You’ll Love About This Recipe

Simple, basic ingredients. I love a good recipe that’s also super simple – so simple, that I can memorize it. This recipe calls for only six basic ingredients – making it just that.

Classic white bread texture. This bread has the delicious golden crust and soft, fluffy crumb of classic white bread.

Leavened with sourdough. For all you sourdough lovers out there, this is the white bread recipe for you!

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What You Need to Make This Recipe

Large mixing bowl

Kitchen scale – I measure all my sourdough recipes in grams, so a good kitchen scale is a must! If you are used to using cups and spoons for measurements, give grams a try. It’s more precise, and less dishes!

Wooden spoon

Rolling pin – optional, but recommended for shaping.

Loaf pans – you’ll need two loaf pans for this recipe. I recommend using glass or ceramic loaf pans.

Ingredients for White Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Water – room temperature/luke warm non-chlorinated water is best.

Melted butter

Granulated sugar

Sourdough leaven – or active sourdough starter, if you like to keep a large starter.

All purpose flour

Salt

How to Make a Leaven for This Recipe

I like to make a leaven, separate from my starter, for each recipe I make. Why? I go into detail on how I keep my sourdough starter here, if you’re interested. But the short version is, I like to keep a small starter and make a separate leaven for each recipe because I find it to be a stronger, more robust leavening agent, it feels more precise, and it’s well…less messy.

Here is how to make a leaven for this recipe. In a pint-size jar, add the following ingredients:

• 100 grams water
• 100 grams flour
• 20 grams active sourdough starter (not freshly fed, but not discard)

Mix well, scraping the bottom and sides of the jar to make sure all the flour is combined well. Cover with a lid or damp cloth, but do not seal, and let rest until it becomes active. I know my leaven is ready, at least for this amount which I use most commonly, when it reaches the top of the pint size mason jar.

How to Make White Sourdough Sandwich Bread

In a large mixing bowl, measure water. Whisk in melted butter and sugar, then sourdough leaven.

Measure the flour and salt into the bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.

Cover the dough and let rest for 20-30 minutes. Perform 3 rounds of stretch and folds over the next 45 minutes, 15 minutes apart.

Note: the combination of butter and flour will often form little clumps in the dough. I try to work these out of the dough during stretch and folds, but don’t worry about them too much – they seem to disappear once the bread is baked. If there are clumps on the surface of the dough when I form the loaf, I will pick them out.

Let the dough rest in a warm spot until nearly doubled, approximately 4-8 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen. I always find sourdough recipes rise much more quickly in the summer months.

Prepare the loaf pans by greasing or lining with parchment paper. I like to grease mine with coconut oil.

To shape the loaves, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide in half. Dust with flour and roll one half out into a rectangle, approximately 9×12 inches. Roll the dough up, pinching the seams, and place in loaf pan. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cover the loaf pans and let rise another 1-2 hours. Or, you can cover and place the loaf pans in the refrigerator until ready to bake. I often shape the dough in the evening, refrigerate overnight, and bake the next morning.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Uncover and bake the loaves for 40-42 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in loaf pans at least 20 minutes, then turn the loaves out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Baker’s Timeline

9pm – Prepare leaven the night before you want to make the bread.

7am – Mix the dough.

7:30am – Start stretch and folds – 3 rounds over the next 45 minutes or so.

8:15am – Bulk rise.

2pm – Shape into loaves; second rise (or refrigerate until ready to bake later).

3pm – Bake.