When white sourdough toast bread is fresh and soft, it's a real treat. Am I right? This sourdough sandwich recipe takes some of the best sourdough starter qualities and turns them into a delicious, easy-to-make sourdough sandwich loaf with a soft crust! Its mild-tangy taste and ultra-soft crust make it perfect for gourmet grilled cheese, guacamole toast, or even French toast!
I will walk you through the recipe step by step so that you can bake this delicious soft bread from scratch. By the way, it's the perfect bread to make air fryer French toast!
Note: Please understand that I can only give an orientation of what I have learned from experience and tests. I will do my best to walk you through the process so that you can successfully bake your own sourdough white bread. Every sourdough starter and every bread behaves differently. So there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach. The activity and growth of your bread depend on many different factors and you need to figure out what will work for you in your environment with the products you use. It is also possible that my outlined schedule does not work for you. Thank you for your understanding.
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Baker's Percentages
For this sourdough sandwich recipe, I decided on a medium-wet dough with a hydration level of 65%. If you consider the water and flour content of the sourdough starter, it's 68% hydration. You may have heard that wet dough is better for sourdough bread because wet dough has a mild taste, but I can tell you that this is not necessarily the case.
The sourness of sourdough is determined by many more factors, such as water, dough, and proofing temperature, time, how much sourdough starter discard is used, and how sour the starter leaven is. This white sourdough sandwich bread is mildly tangy and is perfect for a wide variety of uses and dishes from savory to sweet.
| Ingredient | Weight | Percentage |
| Bread Flour | 438g | 100% |
| Sugar | 25g | 5.7% |
| Salt | 8g | 1.8% |
| Water | 285g | 65.1% |
| Leaven | 88g | 20.1% |
| Unsalted Butter | 56g | 12.8% |
Temperature and Time
How long the fermentation takes depends on the dough and ambient temperature and can be anywhere from 8 hours to 24 hours at room temperature. The cooler the temperature, the longer it will take, and the warmer the temperature, the shorter it will take. I recommend storing it at around 72-75°F (22-24°C) so that the dough fully develops in 12-14 hours. Due to the butter and sugar in the dough, it usually takes longer than regular lean sourdough bread for the dough to ferment.
Cold fermentation and make-ahead instructions
You can also let the dough rise in the refrigerator for a few days to suit your schedule. In this case, after about 4 hours at room temperature and as soon as small bubbles form on the sides of the container, place in the refrigerator and store there for up to 3 days. It will still rise and develop in the refrigerator but at a much slower rate. When the dough is fully developed (wobbly and bubbly), take it out of the refrigerator, and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then continue with the recipe. Please note that the longer the bread is stored, the more acidic the bread becomes.
How to achieve a super soft crust
The secret to an ultra-soft crust is to brush the proofed loaf with egg wash before baking. I prefer to use a mixture of one large egg yolk plus 1-2 tablespoons of milk. After baking, brush the top of the sourdough sandwich bread with melted butter and cover it in the pan with a dry and clean kitchen towel for 20 minutes. Then take the bread out of the loaf pan and let it cool down completely at room temperature. You won't believe how soft the crust is after these steps! Watch the video to see how soft it is.
Top tips for the best sourdough sandwich
- Stick to organic white bread flour. All-purpose flour just doesn't deliver the same results. With all-purpose flour, you need a different hydration level, the fermentation time changes, and ultimately, the loaf won't rise as high as with bread flour. For a tall and gorgeous sourdough sandwich bread with a soft and light texture, you need a strong organic flour with a high protein (=gluten) content. I use organic bread flour with a protein content of 13.4%. For best results, anything above 12.5% is great.
- Depending on which climate or environment you live in, the absorption rate of flours can be different. It can be that you need to hydrate your dough more or less, depending on humidity, temperature, or altitude.
- The wild yeast cultures in sourdough are sensitive to chlorine, so it is best to use bottled water or filtered tap water.
- Watch your bread, not the time. Look at the signs (airy, bubbly, wobbly) to determine when it is ready for baking.
Storage and freezing instructions
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or freeze for 2 months. You can freeze it by wrapping it tightly with aluminum or plastic wrap and placing it in freezer bags or containers. To thaw, place it in an airtight container overnight, then toast it before serving. You could also use leftovers by toasting them and fill them with lobster meat and serve either Maine Lobster Rolls or Connecticut Lobster Rolls.
FAQs
How sour is it?
Sometimes it can happen that a loaf ends up sourer as desired due to a long fermentation time, a sour and overripe starter leaven, or a high proofing temperature. This sourdough sandwich bread recipe was specifically developed to make a very mild loaf that is perfect for savory and sweet toppings.
Why is my dough not rising?
It's possible that the starter leaven had already exceeded its peak activity and was exhausted by the time you added it to the bread dough. Make sure the leaven has risen by at least 50% but not more than 100%. A weak leaven does not have the strength to properly rise a loaf of bread.
Why is my bread dense?
This can be due to under-fermentation or over-fermentation. Be sure to let the dough rise until the gluten is fully developed, but not for much longer. If you notice that the dough is starting to deflate and the bubbles are getting fewer and fewer, then the dough has been over-proofed. It's also important to mention that you need to bake it long enough until it sounds hollow when you tap the bottom of the sandwich and that you let it cool completely before you cut it.
Photo tutorial
In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt, water, and sourdough starter, and knead on low speed until it comes together about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Let rest for 20-30 minutes.
Knead on low speed and gradually add the butter until it is completely incorporated.
Once all of the butter is incorporated, increase the speed to high and knead for about 5-6 minutes until the dough is smooth, releases from the sides of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test.
How to do the windowpane test?
To do the windowpane test, let the dough rest for about 1 minute after mixing. Then take a small portion of the dough between your fingers and slowly stretch it until the center is very thin and light can shine through without tearing. This means that you have kneaded and developed the dough sufficiently. If it doesn't pass the windowpane test and it tears, knead for 1-2 minutes longer.
It's a soft, smooth, and satiny dough that is slightly tacky to the touch.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container and lightly oil the top of the dough as well. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 12-15 hours until it has at least doubled, is full of small bubbles and wobbles when you gently shake the container.
Remove the dough from the container with a dough scraper, place it on a floured work surface, and flour the top of the dough. Roughly shape the dough into a square and deflate the dough with your fingers to pop the medium and large bubbles. That is important to create a fine and soft bread crumb. If needed, use more flour to prevent the dough from sticking, but be careful not to work more flour into the dough as necessary.
Then shape the deflated dough into a rectangle that is about 8-inch (20cm) wide and 10-inch (25cm) long.
Starting from a short side, roll up the dough tightly and deflate it even further as you roll it up.
Transfer the dough to the prepared loaf pan and let rise in a warm place (between 75-80°F / 24-27°C is ideal) for about 1.5-2 hours or until it has grown by about 50-75%.
Brush the dough with egg wash and bake. Then, remove from the oven, brush immediately with the melted butter and cover with a clean and dry kitchen towel for 20 minutes. Then uncover, remove the sandwich from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Don't know what to do with the egg white? How about angel food cake?
More bread recipes to try
If you love to bake your bread from scratch, you've come to the right place. Check out the following recipes.
Recipe
Sourdough Sandwich Bread with Soft Crust
Ingredients
Leaven* (see note)
- 10 g sourdough starter
- 50 g bottled or filtered water
- 50 g organic white bread flour
Sourdough Sandwich
- 438 g organic white bread flour
- 25 g sugar
- 8 g salt
- 285 g bottled or filtered water
- 88 g leaven
- 56 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- egg wash (1 large egg yolk + 1-2 tablespoon milk)
- 14 g unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Prepare the leaven
- Combine the sourdough starter, water, and flour and stir until no lumps remain. Let sit in a warm spot (68-75°F / 20-24°C) until it has risen by about 75% and passes the float test, about 6 hours.
Prepare the dough
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add the flour, sugar, salt, water, and leaven, and knead on low speed until it comes together about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Let rest for 20-30 minutes.
- Knead on low speed and gradually add the butter until it is completely incorporated. Once all of the butter is incorporated, increase the speed to high and knead for about 5-6 minutes until the dough is smooth, releases from the sides of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test. It's a soft, smooth, and satiny dough that is slightly tacky to the touch.
- Lightly spray a straight-sided container with oil and transfer the dough to the container; lightly oil the top of the dough as well. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 12-15 hours until it has at least doubled, is full of small bubbles and wobbles like jellyfish when you gently shake the container.Â
- Spray an 8x4-inch (20x10cm) loaf pan lightly with oil or grease with butter and set aside. Also, turn on the light in the oven to create a warm environment for the dough to rise a second time. Between 75-80°F (24-27°C) is ideal.
- Remove the dough from the container with a dough scraper, place it on a floured work surface, and flour the top of the dough. Roughly shape the dough into a square and deflate the dough with your fingers to pop the medium and large bubbles. That is important to create a fine and soft bread crumb. If needed, use more flour to prevent the dough from sticking, but be careful not to work more flour into the dough as necessary.
- Then shape the deflated dough into a rectangle that is about 8-inch (20cm) wide and 10-inch (25cm) long. Starting from a short side, roll up the dough tightly and deflate it even further as you roll it up.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared loaf pan and let rise in the warm oven for about 1.5-2 hours or until it has grown by about 50-75%.
- Remove the dough from the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C) for 15-20 minutes.
- Brush the dough with egg wash and bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown and it sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom of the sandwich.Â
- Remove from the oven, brush immediately with the melted butter and cover with a clean and dry kitchen towel for 20 minutes. Then uncover, remove the sandwich from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
Video
You can find the video in the post above. If you don't see a video, please check your browser settings.
Jennifer H
Hi. I was wondering if could leave the sugar out? Would I need to change anything if I did?
Sabine
You can leave the sugar out or replace it with honey. I hope that helps!