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Simple Sourdough Sandwich Bread

The perfect beginner sourdough sandwich recipe for those learning to bake with natural leavening.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sourdough starter, fed within the last 12 hours
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1/4 cup butter (or coconut oil) melted (fat is optional but good)
  • 1/4 cup honey, melted if crystallized (sweetener is optional but good)
  • 2 cup whole grain flour, such as wheat, rye, kamut, spelt, etc.
  • 3 cup unbleached white flour, more as needed
  • 1 Tablespoon salt, heaping

Instructions

Hand Mixing

  • Add ingredients to a large bowl in the order given. When mixing by hand, it helps to leave off one cup of flour until the batter is mixed well.
  • After the batter is combined, add the cup of flour that was left off. Mix well.
  • Knead in the bowl as long as you are able, adding more unbleached flour as needed, until a ball begins to form. Turn out on to a floured surface and continue kneading, adding more flour as needed. Total additional flour might be 1/2 - 1 cup. Kneading time should be 5-10 minutes, depending on how strong and fast you are.

Kitchen Aid Mixer

  • Add ingredients to the mixing bowl in the order given.
  • Using the paddle attachment on speed 2, mix until the ingredients are just combined, about 30 seconds.
  • Switch to the dough hook, and continue on speed 2 until a ball of dough is formed.
  • Check the dough after a few minutes. If it's really sticking to the side and bottom, add more flour. It's not uncommon to have to add an additional 1/2 - 1 cup of unbleached flour, however you must add it a few tablespoons at a time so as to not overdo it. Once the ball of dough looks close to right, tip it out on to a floured counter and knead by hand until you are sure it's ready.
  • For either method, your dough is ready when it's: Soft yet somewhat firm. Springy or elastic to the touch. Not too sticky, yet not dry either.
  • You may free-form it on a baking sheet lined with parchment, or divide in to loaves or balls and put in pans. My preferred method is the latter, so here's what I do.
  • Weigh out two balls that are 681g/1.5lbs each.
  • Shape in to oblong loaves to fit a 1.5 quart glass loaf pan (8.5” x 4.5” x 2.5”). Grease each loaf well (this helps it to stay moist while rising), and place into the greased and floured loaf pans (dusting the pans with flour really makes releasing the cooked bread easier!).
  • Make a ball with the remaining dough, grease it well, and place it in a greased and floured 2 cup Pyrex round storage bowl. This loaf makes a nice size to give to one of your elderly neighbors.
  • Once your dough is properly contained, set the pans in a place where they will not be disturbed, and cover with a damp bread towel. Why a bread towel (or “flour sack towel” as they are commonly called)? Well, bread towels will not leave behind any lint or fuzzy things on your dough! Also, they will not stick to the dough. They are smooth and hold moisture well. An old white t-shirt with similar qualities makes a good bread towel as well. You may need to damped the towel every 4-6 hours; if you let it dry out, your dough will begin to harden on top and be more difficult to score.
  • Leave the dough sitting until it is double in size. How long? Well, that depends on a lot of things. For instance, dough rises faster in warmer homes and slower in cooler homes. Moisture content in the dough, or lack thereof, has an impact too. The strength of the starter plays a roll as well. There are a lot of variables, and that's why it's good to take notes. Before we got a window a/c, my sourdough bread would be ready to bake in a few hours in the summer. On cold winter days when the wood stove is not going as hot as I'd like it to, I've had bread take about 24 hours to double! Usually however if I get the dough into the pans some time in the morning, we'll have bread before the day is done, and often times we'll have it before supper.
  • After the dough has doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350F.
  • Score the top of the dough using a sharp razor blade (for more complex designs) or a steak knife (for a few simple slashes). Scoring helps prevent bubbles and cracks on the top crust. For a little something fancy, dust the top of the dough with unbleached flour before scoring. This will really make your design stand out after it's baked!
  • Bake at 350F for about 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is medium to darker golden brown. Putting a pan of hot water on the bottom rack helps to make a chewier crust, but it's optional. Another optional step is to spritz the crust with water a few times while it's baking.
  • Once done, turn out immediately on to cooling racks. Wait until it's cool to slice and/or bag. Keep out on the counter for several days, or slice and keep in the fridge or freezer for longer storage.

Notes

If you are an experienced bread maker, here I can just say make bread as usual, adding more unbleached flour until you achieve a nice, soft, somewhat firm, springy, not-very-sticky dough.
If you are not experienced at making bread, this will be a trial and error process. I suggest taking notes to reference back on, and practicing at least once a week, preferably more, until you get the hang of it.