I love great sourdough bread, but sometimes you need soft white bread for a delicious sandwich. This is a combination of the two of them. A soft white bread, with a delicious caramelized crust and a very soft and slightly tangy interior. The best of both worlds. This is my sourdough sandwich bread recipe.
Sandwich bread is made specifically for the preparation of sandwiches. They are easily sliced and usually have a light crumb.
If you are just here for the recipe, you can press the button underneath to be automagically transported to the recipe:
This recipe was originally released in January 2020, but has been updated in October 2022 to a much simpler recipe based on all the experiments that I’ve made on my YouTube channel.
The history of sandwich bread
Sandwich bread, or pain de mie, or sometimes Pullman loaf (named for the tin that it’s baked in) came to prominence in the early 1900s.
In 1928 the first automatic bread slicing machine became available, and with thinner and more uniform slices bread consumption began to rise.
In 1943 a short-lived ban on sliced bread in the United States, as a wartime conservation measure. It resulted in a public outcry and only three months after the ban took effect it was abolished again.
In the second half of the 20th century, sandwich bread became synonymous with really unhealthy bread with nothing good for you in it. That pretty much still holds true if you buy it in the supermarket.
If you make it yourself that is a whole different story.
The formula in this sourdough sandwich bread recipe
Vitals
Total weight
1830 grams
Pre-fermented flour
7.7%
Hydration
69.2%
Yield
2 x 915 grams loaves
Dough
The bread is made with 100% all-purpose flour. Which should be your regular 10-ish percent protein wheat flour. I’d opt for the organic kind. If you want a little bit of a sturdier, but more flavorful bread, you can substitute with up to 20% whole-grain flour.
If you want 100% whole grain sandwich bread, you should try my spelt sandwich bread. It is so good!
This gives you a softer bread, both crust, and crumb, but enough gluten development to make good bread.
It has a little above 10% butter, which gives the bread a wonderful buttery, nutty aroma, and also helps soften the crumb further.
A little bit of sugar has been added to give a sweeter taste, but also temper the tang in the starter. If you have a particularly acidic starter or you like your bread on the sweeter side, you can double this amount.
Part of the fluid in the has been replaced by milk. The softer the crumb you want, the higher percentage of fat in the milk you can use. If you want to be extravagant you can go for half whipping cream, and half whole milk.
The amount of starter is just shy of 17%, which will give you a long fermentation, even if done warm.
Weight
Ingredient
Baker's Percentage
900g
all-purpose flour
100%
100g
butter, salted
11.1%
60g
cane sugar
6.7%
200g
whole milk (3.5%)
22.2%
400g
water
44.4%
20g
salt
2.2%
150g
starter (100% hydration)
16.7%
If you want to change the formula for this bread, you can do it in my bread calculator here.
If you want to use a different pan size, you can calculate the dough weight needed here:
Width
Depth
Height
The conclusion of this sourdough sandwich bread recipe
While this is a bread made with a sourdough starter, it doesn’t seem like that at all.
The crust is really soft but very brown and caramelized with the most delicious buttery smell coming from it.
The crumb is soft and moist, with the slightest hint of a tang from the sourdough starter. Enough to give the bread a wonderful character.
The bread has enough taste to be able to stand on its own if you want that, but not so much that it will overpower the ingredients you put on it.
Because of the relatively high hydration compared to other sandwich loaves, it stays wonderful and moist (if kept in a ziplock bag) for up to 5 days.
It’s a total no-brainer. This should be your go-to sandwich bread.
Please share this sourdough sandwich bread recipe on social media
This is my recipe for sourdough sandwich bread. I hope you will try to make it because it’s absolutely delicious.
If you bake it and post it on Instagram, please tag me as @foodgeek.dk, so I can see it. That would make me very happy.
Add bread flour, cane sugar, and salt to a medium bowl. Mix it up.
Add the melted butter to the water and stir it, then add the milk. Add the starter to the flour and then the liquids.
Mix the dough using your hands. Then add the dough to a medium cambro container, cover it and mark where it will have grown 25%.
Put the dough somewhere warm and let it grow 25%. Don't go by time; go by growth. In my proofer set to 30°C/86°F, it took about 3 hours.
Divide and preshape
Then grab the dough and put it on your unfloured kitchen counter.
Divide it into two equally sized pieces and shape each piece into a ball using your bench scraper.
Final shape
Spray two bread tins with non-stick spray. Lightly flour your counter and flip a dough ball onto the flour.
Degas the dough and tease it out into a rectangle.
Pull the bottom of the dough out and fold it up about a third. Then repeat from the left and the right side.
Roll the dough up tightly, so the seam ends underneath the loaf. Move the loaf to the tin and repeat with the other one.
Final rise
Then let the dough ferment until it grows about 50-75%. In an appropirately sized Pullman, you are looking for it to be about 1 inch/2.5 cm from the top.
When you see the dough is almost ready, heat your oven to 220°C/425°F.
If you bake the bread without a lid, you should glaze the bread with an egg yolk mixed with one tablespoon of milk.
Bake the loaves
Add the bread to the oven and bake for about 35 minutes. Then turn down the temperature to 190°C/375°F. If baking covered you should remove the lid.
Bake for another 10-15 minutes until the bread registers 99°C/210°F on a probe thermometer. Then take it out of the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
I made this bread and it turned out GREAT and have it on my list to make again. Thanks Wayne
Thank you <3
Hello!
I’m making the sourdough sandwich bread and I’m running out of time, can I shaped the dough and put it in the tin and then put it in the refrigerator and bake the next day?
Also, can I substitute a little whole wheat with the AP flour?
Thanks for your help!
Donna
Yes, you can always prolog proofing in a cold environment 🙂
Also, whole wheat makes for a biter heartier but tasty loaf 🙂
Hello again!
Another question about the sourdough sandwich loaf. 😬
The dough took forever to rise. I had it in a Brod and Taylor at 78 degrees for over 5 hours and finally had to bake it. The dough didn’t rise in the tin, but the crumb looked like yours and felt good. I only have a 9×5 loaf pan.
What could I have done wrong. This is my first time making a sandwich loaf.
Thank you so much for your help and I won’t give up! Also, I love your videos!
Donna
How long did the bulk go? Did it rise then?
Hello, just wondering if you can make 2 loaves in “8 x 4 x 2 1/2” high? What would the quantity of ingredients be? I’m fairly new at the Sourdough baking, love it but find the crust quite tough for my teeth. Hoping you can help me. Thank you so much!
I’ve made it successfully in one try. I had to leave the last proofing a lot longer than it is suggested. The dough did not double in size the first day; I put it in refrigerator overnight. The next day, the dough proofed in less than two hours. The texture and the taste came out great. Thank you so much for posting the method and the video.
Proofing is one of those things. There’s many factors that play in, but you did the right thing 🙂
Hello Sune, would I need any changes if using all bread flour?
No, but depending on your flour it may become a bit more chewy. I’d say give it a go! 🙂
Thanks for quick response, Sune. Will try it and let you know my results.
Gale
Hi Sune, well I am not having much luck with sourdough. Have been working on my starter 3 weeks and it never seems to double in 4-6 hours. I did make this recipe and let’s just say the loaves would make nice doorstops! ha ha
I know the dough did not rise properly and not sure where I went wrong; will keep trying!
I have made this bread 3 times and it’s always a success! I don’t own a kitchen aid so I instead use a wooden spoon and a strong will. Whole wheat flower requires a bit more water I found. Also, the last fold before the run cast really decide wether the dough Will ride or not so make sure to practice.
Tack så mycket för detta grymma recept! 😉
Impressive that you do it with a spoon. How much whole wheat did you use 🙂
Lord have mercy! 😍 Absolutely amazing. I opted to do it with whole wheat flour. 1 loaf only, so I cut the measurements to half ( Exactly as yours.) Left it overnight inside microwave with night light on high.
(From 8pm till 7:30 am). Because I know my oven very well, I baked it at 375°F for 35 minutes lower rack, then transferred it to middle rack for 10 mts.
Thank you! #ILoveSourdough!
That sounds wonderful 🙂
Can I use olive oil and oat milk instead of milk and butter?
Absolutely 🙂
Sourdough baking teaches important life lessons like patience, flexibility, and belief in one’s own intuition. This recipe is outstanding and the video and instructions are extremely helpful. During the pandemic, AP flour is becoming scarce in supermarkets so I used a King Arthur flour labelled “white whole wheat.” The bulk fermentation was taking too long so I let it finish in the refrigerator overnight. It rose beautifully. The final proof took slightly longer because the dough was still cold but rise it did. My only failing was I did not tent the loaves toward the end of the bake and they got a little too dark but I forgave myself when I tasted the first slice – a soft crumb and what a sandwich I had! Thanks so much.
Thank you so much and great to know it also works with white wheat. It makes for a little bit of a more healthy loaf, while not skimping of the softness 🙂
Please advise… So I heard this was a good recipe onand came here to try it. I was only looking to make one loaf so I figured I would cut the recipe in half. I’ve made bread many times, but am new to sourdough. I did everything perfectly until it came time to add the starter (I had a lot so I figured I’d go with the 150g starter option). I forgot to do half… I panicked after this and added the other half of all the other ingredients to try and save things. My scale had the battery die while doing the water weight so I had to guess if I was close enough. I have another scale but no way to figure out measurements from this point. Everything else was done and I was adding water and salt last. It’s all mixed but looks very wet, like a batter. Is this what they consistency should be or did I really mess things up? Please help haha. Thank you!
If you have a look at the video you can see what kind of consistency to go for. It’s tacky but not sticky. Not wet at all.
Hi!
This recipe was great! One thing I might point out- when entering the dimensions for the size bread pan I have, it gave me the ingredient amounts for one loaf, not 2 like your total recipe is for.
I was actually dividing that dough in half and realized it was far too small to fit in 2 pans. I checked my hunch by entering in the dimensions of a pullman loaf pan and it gave me the weight you used for each loaf after divided.
It makes sense to only give the ingredients amount for 1 pan, but you might want to note that so people aren’t dividing their dough when they shouldn’t be by using the pan dimensions calculator.
Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks. I added a not near the calculator so people know what they are getting 🙂
My bread was very dense, any ideas what went wrong? I will try again tomorrow.
Did you let it rise before shaping and did it rise after being put into the tin? 🙂
Can I replace the milk with extra water? If so, how much? I am using a 13x4x4 covered pan. Thank you for all the tutorials.
Yes you can. Just the same amount of water as milk 🙂
Thank you so much for making this recipe available online English. I feel so fortunate to have come across this recipe as the bread is delicious- it’s so good that it’s hard to believe I actually made it! I really appreciate the precise instructions and measurements. If I were to make this with 1/2 whole wheat bread what sort of adjustments would I need to make to the other ingredients? I assume that it would require more liquid.
If you want to do this bread with whole wheat, I’d do it in stages. Try it out with 25% whole wheat first. The only thing you may want to change is the hydration so you get a consistency of the dough that is comparable to the one with ap-flour 🙂
Followed the recipe to the “T” did not rise and dough was too loose(sticky). Don’t think I will waste my flour on this recipe again.
All flour is different, so following any sourdough recipe will require some adaptation on your part. My all-purpose flour has about 10.5% protein, if yours had a much lower amount you will need watch the gluten development closely or maybe add some Vital Wheat Gluten to get to a higher amount of protein 🙂
Hi.. I plan to do stretch and fold today, then shape it and put it in loaf pans for the night in the refrigerator ( I live on the equator). Tomorrow, when I bake it, shall I bake directly from fridge ( like I do with my usual sourdough boule) or let it rise till over the height of pan? Thank you for a quick response please.
I’d let it rise to close to the edge 🙂
I have tried this recipe 3 times now and it isn’t working for me. My final bread is dense still good but dense almost like a sweet bread. It rises both times and it domes in the oven. But neither pan has risen to the top no matter how Long I Let them rise.
The only difference I make from the recipe is that I don’t own a mixer so I use my hands, would that be the issue?
It is really hard work to mix in the butter and if it doesn’t get properly distributed it can affect the rise. Otherwise it could be the lack of gluten development. How does the dough feel after you’ve finished the stretch and folds?
How much do you let it rise during bulk?
i Stretched and folded 3 times and you could feel it getting stiffer after each time.
I let it bulk rise for 3 hours and it rose just over double
Can I use bread flour instead of all purpose?
Yes, the crumb may not be as soft, but it will be fine 🙂
Thank you for the recipe. I haven’t used a bread calculator before. I want to half the qty so I can make only one loaf. Do I just half all the ingredients including those for the levain? TiA
Yes, halve everything 🙂
I’ve tried this recipe twice! Both times it didn’t rise and there was no crumb. What could’ve gone wrong?
How active is your starter? Meaning how high does it rise after you feed it?
Hello Sune!
I have a question about the levain. Recipe says that levain has to be prepared 12h befor mixing into dough. My levain is peak after 5-6h after that it starts to drop. Do I need to feed it again and wait for the peak again and then mix into the dough?
Best regards,
Josip
No, it’s still good. It just has to have peaked in the last 12 hours 🙂
couple questions
1. Salted or unsalted butter?
2. My first attempt was a bit dense… I got ok rise the first prove, but the 2nd one I let rise for 2 hours, then into the fridge overnight. Still a bit dense… but edible. I used recipe calculator for an 8.5×4.5×3 pan but that only called for 60g starter, can I use 100g to maybe get more rise?
Thanks
I always use salted, but I understand that Danish salted butter may not be as salty as, say, US salted.
Sure. Just recalculate the hydration and weight and you’re good to go. Alternatively, just wait a bit longer than 2 hours 🙂
I’m going to try this bread next week. My Pullman pan is 13x4x4. How can I adjust the recipe to fit my pan?
Use the calculator provided in this article 🙂
This bread was perfect! Easy to follow recipe. I baked a bit less but the bread was still nice and dark on the crust and the right temp inside.
That sounds wonderful <3
Hi Sune and thank you for all your extremely helpful instructions and tools! Recently I made my own lard and I was wondering if I could substitute butter with this without changing the dough consistency. What do you think?
Thanks for your help!
You can use whatever fat you like. Lard, butter, oil or any vegan option 🙂
Oh my! I made this with some kind of big adjustments to suit my taste, and it was SOOO good. Changes I made: I used a tangzhong and increased the hydration a bit, and used some whole wheat, some coarse-ish oat flour, and a proportion of bread flour (figuring those flours would be thirstier anyway), and used coconut oil instead of butter, also barely melting it rather than beating in cubes. I fermented in the fridge overnight and baked it right on the pizza stone. I was sort of going for something in between a hearty multigrain sourdough loaf and a soft and tender sandwich loaf. And that’s what I got! One of the yummiest things I’ve ever made, I think! Thanks so much for this delicious recipe.
Sounds like some delicious tweaks 😀 <3
The bread rose beautifully but it developed a big crack on top of the bread like a sourdough. I also followed your sourdough recipe but could never get the oven spring with them. Tried making three sourdough loaves with similar results.
How come I got the oven spring so nicely for this sandwich bread?
Also, what do you do to prevent the cracking on top of this sandwich loaf?
Thanks so much for your hard work. Your website and videos are excellent!
To avoid the cracking you need to ferment longer 🙂
Hi can I add seeds into this loaf? Do you think it would be suitable, and if yes, at which step should I add the seeds? Thank you so much!
I’m sure it’d be delicious if seeded. Soak the seeds and add them during the first set of stretch and folds. Add a quarter for each fold.
Hi. I would like to add some CIA seeds to mia loaf.
Do you have any recommendations?
Do I need to change any of my proportions of flour/water?
Thanks
Chia seeds are a bit difficult, because as they become wet they become sticky.
I’d try with 100g at first and see how it goes. Keep hydration the same.
Hello! I’m looking forward to making this bread, but I had a question about the sugar. Does it add very much sweetness to the bread? I prefer my sourdough to be on the tangy, sharp side, but I don’t have any bread flour or wheat flour with which to make the more traditional sourdough bread.
Then leave out the sugar. The sugar does speed fermentation up a bit, but nothing crazy, so you can just drop it 🙂
Should this be salted or unsalted butter? Thanks!
I use Lurpak Salted butter, but I love salt 🙂
Hello Sune – I don’t have a pullman loaf pan so I used two 9×5″ loaf pans. They just came out of the oven and smell rather intoxicating 🙂 Can’t wait to cut into them and have a taste. Thanks so much, Sune, for this recipe and all your videos and blog posts!
You are welcome <3
Hello! Does it matter if my levain is back to it’s original height? It doubled overnight and I missed it. Thank you!
It’s okay as long as it’s about 12 hours since it peaked 🙂
Love this user-friendly website! I made this twice now. The first time, I substituted coconut oil for butter, as I was out of butter. It did not rise; I realized that coconut oil is antibacterial and must have killed the microbes! It had good oven spring though, and made a mini, domed loaf that still tasted good. Today I made another loaf using butter, and it turned out perfectly. So there you have it: don’t use coconut oil in sourdough!
That’s a good tip 🙂
I love butter too much to substitute it, so I’ve never tried 🙂
I have not tried this recipe yet and I wanted to check something with you before I do. I have plain flour (10g protein content) not AP flour. Can I use this or do I need to add some bread flour, say 50%, to up the protein content?
My AP is 10% protein, so just use that 🙂
Hi! I want to follow this recipe but I don’t have cane sugar. Is it okay to use brown sugar instead? Thanks!
Yes, you can use any kind of sugar you like. I just happen to like cane sugar more than the others 🙂
Thank you for the great recipe. I used the steam bake setting on the oven–the loaves are beautiful and delicious. Can’t wait to try the rest of your recipes:)
Thank you <3 That’s wonderful to hear 🙂
Hi, Thank you for recipe and calculation🙏. I try it today and the texture is really really great but….too sour. Is it come from my starter?
When do you use your starter in the process? It shouldn’t be very sour if you use it when it’s at its peak.
Followed the recipe to a tee. Even used the calculator for the 4x4x13 pan. It worked perfect and made the best sourdough loaf my wife and I ever had. I wish I could post a picture of how it turned out. Thank you!
That’s wonderful to hear! 🙂
You can send me an email to my business email which you can find on my youtube about page 🙂
Hi,
I am having trouble with very moist crumb that is rather gummy in texture.
I’ve tried cooking it a bit longer both covered and uncovered.
Where do you suggest I troubleshoot this issue?
Thanks!
John
It sounds like the dough might have proven for too long.
I make this almost every week using 50% freshly milled wholegrain flour of different kinds (emmer, spelt, einkorn) and roughly half the sugar. It’s my kids’ favourite bread and I’m in deep trouble if we go too many days without it. Great for making toasted sandwiches with and matches perfectly with a nice tomato soup
That sounds awesome.
Love tomato soup too 😀
Sune! Hi !! Namaste! It’s Meghna here from India.
I am so delightful. The way you’ve guided through this process has helped me so wonderfully so far, in making my absolute first scrumptious sourdough sandwich bread! 🙂 I’m half way through already! Nevertheless Sune, may I ask, since I don’t eat eggs and don’t like them either, what can I substitute the egg yolk bit just before baking?
Thanks. Hope you receive my message sooner than.
Gratitude,
M.
Hello Meghna,
You can omit the egg. It’ll be fine. Just less rich in flavor. 🙂
Hi Sune. I’m going to attempt this using a Tangzhong. When I use the calculator, it removes all the milk (I’m using buttermilk) and just has water. Can I still use 200 grams of milk?
Yes, you can still use the milk 🙂
I’ve tried 2-3 other sourdough sandwich breads but didn’t get the desired result. I heard about your recipe in the reddit forums I think. I used your dough size scaler and doubled it to fit my two aluminum loaf pans, and it turned out perfect! My bulk fermentation took several hours longer than yours, but it is the middle of Winter, so maybe that was a factor. I did have it in the over with the light on around 85 F. I really appreciate the time and effort you went to, to provide the tool and the recipe. The whole family loves it. The top egg-wash was a nice finish. Next I’m interested in adding some raisins – I have to think about that.
That’s wonderful to hear <3
Made this in a 13 inch pullman pan and it was amazing!
Only thing that I changed was using straight starter instead of making a dedicated levain. My starter is fed with whole wheat so I figure my loaf was about 8% whole wheat.
The bread is soft and springy, rich and buttery, and slightly sweet with a good tang.
I would recommend to use VERY soft butter to help incorporation. That’s how I make my brioche, I’ve done it with slightly harder butter, and it is not fun trying to get those clumps to break down.
This is a really great recipe and I will decimal be making it again. Thank you!
I’ve gone away from using levains unless I need to change the composition of the starter 🙂
Great tips. Thank you <3
I love this bread! Since it does take a while to complete the recipe, I have found it very effective to ferment the loaves overnight and bake in the morning. The rise is superb and the spring is plentiful.
Good to know. Thank you 🙂
Sune, Can I use bread flour instead of AP ?
Yes, but you might get a more chewy bread 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! I’ve just baked two loaves, they are still cooling down. 🙂 One thing I noticed is that the bottom side of the loaves are a bit curved inwards / upwards. Is that a sign of something? I’m guessing underproofing…
That happens on mine a lot too. I don’t think it means anything 🙂
I have been using this recipe for over a year and it is my favourite. I live at a high elevation; I’m not sure if that’s why I’ve found doubling the levain makes the perfect loaf or if it has something to do with my starter or my process. This is my go-to weekly bread recipe with that minor modification. I have added whole wheat and rye and the bread is still perfect.
It’s quite possibly the elevation. Do whatever works 🙂
I have an 11 inch Pullman pan. Will the recipe work for one large loaf?
Use the calculator in the article to calculate the dough size for your pan 🙂
Excellent, excellent results!! Didn’t change a thing, and though I put it in the oven when I thought it was not quite ready (was afraid I’d overproof it – my nemesis, haha!!) I got good oven spring and great interior. Super tasty, too! Thank you for the recipe!
Could oil be used instead of butter in a 1:1 ratio? Or would I need to decrease the amount of oil as it’s a liquid? Thank you!
Use about 3/4 the amount of oil 🙂
Can I substitute honey for the sugar?
Yes, gram for gram 🙂
Can I use sourdough discard for this recipe? The discard has been sitting in the fridge for 1-3 days.
If so, should I add a pinch of instant yeast, approx 1-2g per loaf.
In my experience, you can use month-old discard directly in a dough with only minimal bad effects 🙂 Even without extra yeast 🙂
I am using bread flour mostly because you call for bread flour in the step by step but in the video and the ingredients list you say all purpose flour. I will hope for the best. oh also in the step by step you don’t mention letting the dough sit for 20 minutes before putting it in the tin for final proofing. I made note if these things for my next batch.
Oops. It should be all-purpose, although I think it’ll be fine with bread flour 🙂
Hi! So I make the original version of this every week . This one has no stretch and folds at all?
Nope, it’s easier that way 🙂
After you divide the dough, could you freeze half of the dough to bake at a later date?
Absolutely, but let it thaw in the fridge to avoid over proofing.
I’ve made this bread twice now and both times, there was virtually no oven spring. It increased about 25% on the bulk fermentation, which also took a bit over 3 hours, maybe 4. I let it more than double in the Pullman pan, but it didn’t rise beyond that in the oven. Fermentation time in the pan was over 6 hours at 78-80° F. My starter was at peak (about 8 hours since last feeding). I followed your recipe exactly. Should I expect oven spring? How long is your usual second rise? Could I have over-proved it? Help! Would really like to perfect this for sandwiches and toast. It does taste great, but light is not a word I would use to describe it. Thanks for all your great videos!
The recipe says to let it grow 50-75%, and doubling is 100%, so you over proved it. I’m sure if you go for 50% you’ll have a much better spring.
I made this over the weekend and I was blown away by how delicious, soft and springy it is. I’m currently feeding my starter to make another loaf in order to do a sandwich platter for guests. Really looking forward to that (more than they are!!).
Thank you ❤️
Hi, I made the sourdough sandwich bread for the first time. I used 80% white bread flour and 20% whole wheat flour. It didn’t rise much at all in the oven, is there anything I can do? Can’t wait to try it :-).
How much did you let it rise before putting it in the oven?
Tx for all your wonderfull insights in bread making.
I have my 2 loafs in the fridge at the moment (1st time using my pullman loaf pan). Do I let them come to room temperature and rise before baking or do I put them directly in the oven.
Yves
It really depends on when you put it in the fridge. If it rose enough just bake it right away, if it needs to rise more let it rise until it’s good.
Be aware that it will rise faster and faster when it comes up to temperature 😊
Tx for the quick answer Sune.
Since I woke up to a pre warmed oven, I tried one of the loaf straight from the fridge this morning. It rose to the cover of the pullman loaf pan, I just lowered the oven temperature for the final 10-15 minutes final bake without the cover.
I will bake the second one after work today.
Have a nice day,
Yves
In this recipe and in the video there is no mention if stretching and folding. Is the gluten development strictly from the proofing?
Yes, most of my newer recipes skip stretching and folding since it’s unnecessary. It does take a little more pre-shaping to align the gluten, though 🙂
Absolutely delicious loaf of bread. I have had many fails in my sourdough journey, one just last week attempting to make a different sourdough loaf recipe. This came out great. Mine rise time was double yours but I don’t have a place to let it rise under constant temperature. My loaf cracked on the side when baking. It had roses more than 50% and I was afraid it was becoming overproofed. Was it a sign of underproofed dough? Also, thank you for the calculator as I didn’t want to bake two loaves and waste ingredients of it was a fail. It made things very easy on this novice baker. I’ll be making this again.
The cracking is a sign of under proofed dough, at least for this type of bread. It’s what you’d want if you want oven spring in your regular sourdough bread.
I made this bread and it turned out GREAT and have it on my list to make again. Thanks Wayne
Thank you <3
Hello!
I’m making the sourdough sandwich bread and I’m running out of time, can I shaped the dough and put it in the tin and then put it in the refrigerator and bake the next day?
Also, can I substitute a little whole wheat with the AP flour?
Thanks for your help!
Donna
Yes, you can always prolog proofing in a cold environment 🙂
Also, whole wheat makes for a biter heartier but tasty loaf 🙂
Hello again!
Another question about the sourdough sandwich loaf. 😬
The dough took forever to rise. I had it in a Brod and Taylor at 78 degrees for over 5 hours and finally had to bake it. The dough didn’t rise in the tin, but the crumb looked like yours and felt good. I only have a 9×5 loaf pan.
What could I have done wrong. This is my first time making a sandwich loaf.
Thank you so much for your help and I won’t give up! Also, I love your videos!
Donna
How long did the bulk go? Did it rise then?
Hello, just wondering if you can make 2 loaves in “8 x 4 x 2 1/2” high? What would the quantity of ingredients be? I’m fairly new at the Sourdough baking, love it but find the crust quite tough for my teeth. Hoping you can help me. Thank you so much!
Yes, about 600g of dough.
Here it is scaled for 2 rye breads: https://fgbc.dk/16e 🙂
I’ve made it successfully in one try. I had to leave the last proofing a lot longer than it is suggested. The dough did not double in size the first day; I put it in refrigerator overnight. The next day, the dough proofed in less than two hours. The texture and the taste came out great. Thank you so much for posting the method and the video.
Proofing is one of those things. There’s many factors that play in, but you did the right thing 🙂
Hello Sune, would I need any changes if using all bread flour?
No, but depending on your flour it may become a bit more chewy. I’d say give it a go! 🙂
Thanks for quick response, Sune. Will try it and let you know my results.
Gale
Hi Sune, well I am not having much luck with sourdough. Have been working on my starter 3 weeks and it never seems to double in 4-6 hours. I did make this recipe and let’s just say the loaves would make nice doorstops! ha ha
I know the dough did not rise properly and not sure where I went wrong; will keep trying!
I have made this bread 3 times and it’s always a success! I don’t own a kitchen aid so I instead use a wooden spoon and a strong will. Whole wheat flower requires a bit more water I found. Also, the last fold before the run cast really decide wether the dough Will ride or not so make sure to practice.
Tack så mycket för detta grymma recept! 😉
Impressive that you do it with a spoon. How much whole wheat did you use 🙂
Lord have mercy! 😍 Absolutely amazing. I opted to do it with whole wheat flour. 1 loaf only, so I cut the measurements to half ( Exactly as yours.) Left it overnight inside microwave with night light on high.
(From 8pm till 7:30 am). Because I know my oven very well, I baked it at 375°F for 35 minutes lower rack, then transferred it to middle rack for 10 mts.
Thank you! #ILoveSourdough!
That sounds wonderful 🙂
Can I use olive oil and oat milk instead of milk and butter?
Absolutely 🙂
Sourdough baking teaches important life lessons like patience, flexibility, and belief in one’s own intuition. This recipe is outstanding and the video and instructions are extremely helpful. During the pandemic, AP flour is becoming scarce in supermarkets so I used a King Arthur flour labelled “white whole wheat.” The bulk fermentation was taking too long so I let it finish in the refrigerator overnight. It rose beautifully. The final proof took slightly longer because the dough was still cold but rise it did. My only failing was I did not tent the loaves toward the end of the bake and they got a little too dark but I forgave myself when I tasted the first slice – a soft crumb and what a sandwich I had! Thanks so much.
Thank you so much and great to know it also works with white wheat. It makes for a little bit of a more healthy loaf, while not skimping of the softness 🙂
Please advise… So I heard this was a good recipe onand came here to try it. I was only looking to make one loaf so I figured I would cut the recipe in half. I’ve made bread many times, but am new to sourdough. I did everything perfectly until it came time to add the starter (I had a lot so I figured I’d go with the 150g starter option). I forgot to do half… I panicked after this and added the other half of all the other ingredients to try and save things. My scale had the battery die while doing the water weight so I had to guess if I was close enough. I have another scale but no way to figure out measurements from this point. Everything else was done and I was adding water and salt last. It’s all mixed but looks very wet, like a batter. Is this what they consistency should be or did I really mess things up? Please help haha. Thank you!
If you have a look at the video you can see what kind of consistency to go for. It’s tacky but not sticky. Not wet at all.
Hi!
This recipe was great! One thing I might point out- when entering the dimensions for the size bread pan I have, it gave me the ingredient amounts for one loaf, not 2 like your total recipe is for.
I was actually dividing that dough in half and realized it was far too small to fit in 2 pans. I checked my hunch by entering in the dimensions of a pullman loaf pan and it gave me the weight you used for each loaf after divided.
It makes sense to only give the ingredients amount for 1 pan, but you might want to note that so people aren’t dividing their dough when they shouldn’t be by using the pan dimensions calculator.
Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks. I added a not near the calculator so people know what they are getting 🙂
My bread was very dense, any ideas what went wrong? I will try again tomorrow.
Did you let it rise before shaping and did it rise after being put into the tin? 🙂
Can I replace the milk with extra water? If so, how much? I am using a 13x4x4 covered pan. Thank you for all the tutorials.
Yes you can. Just the same amount of water as milk 🙂
Thank you so much for making this recipe available online English. I feel so fortunate to have come across this recipe as the bread is delicious- it’s so good that it’s hard to believe I actually made it! I really appreciate the precise instructions and measurements. If I were to make this with 1/2 whole wheat bread what sort of adjustments would I need to make to the other ingredients? I assume that it would require more liquid.
If you want to do this bread with whole wheat, I’d do it in stages. Try it out with 25% whole wheat first. The only thing you may want to change is the hydration so you get a consistency of the dough that is comparable to the one with ap-flour 🙂
Followed the recipe to the “T” did not rise and dough was too loose(sticky). Don’t think I will waste my flour on this recipe again.
All flour is different, so following any sourdough recipe will require some adaptation on your part. My all-purpose flour has about 10.5% protein, if yours had a much lower amount you will need watch the gluten development closely or maybe add some Vital Wheat Gluten to get to a higher amount of protein 🙂
Hi.. I plan to do stretch and fold today, then shape it and put it in loaf pans for the night in the refrigerator ( I live on the equator). Tomorrow, when I bake it, shall I bake directly from fridge ( like I do with my usual sourdough boule) or let it rise till over the height of pan? Thank you for a quick response please.
I’d let it rise to close to the edge 🙂
I have tried this recipe 3 times now and it isn’t working for me. My final bread is dense still good but dense almost like a sweet bread. It rises both times and it domes in the oven. But neither pan has risen to the top no matter how Long I Let them rise.
The only difference I make from the recipe is that I don’t own a mixer so I use my hands, would that be the issue?
It is really hard work to mix in the butter and if it doesn’t get properly distributed it can affect the rise. Otherwise it could be the lack of gluten development. How does the dough feel after you’ve finished the stretch and folds?
How much do you let it rise during bulk?
i Stretched and folded 3 times and you could feel it getting stiffer after each time.
I let it bulk rise for 3 hours and it rose just over double
Can I use bread flour instead of all purpose?
Yes, the crumb may not be as soft, but it will be fine 🙂
Thank you for the recipe. I haven’t used a bread calculator before. I want to half the qty so I can make only one loaf. Do I just half all the ingredients including those for the levain? TiA
Yes, halve everything 🙂
I’ve tried this recipe twice! Both times it didn’t rise and there was no crumb. What could’ve gone wrong?
How active is your starter? Meaning how high does it rise after you feed it?
Hello Sune!
I have a question about the levain. Recipe says that levain has to be prepared 12h befor mixing into dough. My levain is peak after 5-6h after that it starts to drop. Do I need to feed it again and wait for the peak again and then mix into the dough?
Best regards,
Josip
No, it’s still good. It just has to have peaked in the last 12 hours 🙂
couple questions
1. Salted or unsalted butter?
2. My first attempt was a bit dense… I got ok rise the first prove, but the 2nd one I let rise for 2 hours, then into the fridge overnight. Still a bit dense… but edible. I used recipe calculator for an 8.5×4.5×3 pan but that only called for 60g starter, can I use 100g to maybe get more rise?
Thanks
I’m going to try this bread next week. My Pullman pan is 13x4x4. How can I adjust the recipe to fit my pan?
Use the calculator provided in this article 🙂
This bread was perfect! Easy to follow recipe. I baked a bit less but the bread was still nice and dark on the crust and the right temp inside.
That sounds wonderful <3
Hi Sune and thank you for all your extremely helpful instructions and tools! Recently I made my own lard and I was wondering if I could substitute butter with this without changing the dough consistency. What do you think?
Thanks for your help!
You can use whatever fat you like. Lard, butter, oil or any vegan option 🙂
Oh my! I made this with some kind of big adjustments to suit my taste, and it was SOOO good. Changes I made: I used a tangzhong and increased the hydration a bit, and used some whole wheat, some coarse-ish oat flour, and a proportion of bread flour (figuring those flours would be thirstier anyway), and used coconut oil instead of butter, also barely melting it rather than beating in cubes. I fermented in the fridge overnight and baked it right on the pizza stone. I was sort of going for something in between a hearty multigrain sourdough loaf and a soft and tender sandwich loaf. And that’s what I got! One of the yummiest things I’ve ever made, I think! Thanks so much for this delicious recipe.
Sounds like some delicious tweaks 😀 <3
The bread rose beautifully but it developed a big crack on top of the bread like a sourdough. I also followed your sourdough recipe but could never get the oven spring with them. Tried making three sourdough loaves with similar results.
How come I got the oven spring so nicely for this sandwich bread?
Also, what do you do to prevent the cracking on top of this sandwich loaf?
Thanks so much for your hard work. Your website and videos are excellent!
To avoid the cracking you need to ferment longer 🙂
Hi can I add seeds into this loaf? Do you think it would be suitable, and if yes, at which step should I add the seeds? Thank you so much!
I’m sure it’d be delicious if seeded. Soak the seeds and add them during the first set of stretch and folds. Add a quarter for each fold.
Hi. I would like to add some CIA seeds to mia loaf.
Do you have any recommendations?
Do I need to change any of my proportions of flour/water?
Thanks
Chia seeds are a bit difficult, because as they become wet they become sticky.
I’d try with 100g at first and see how it goes. Keep hydration the same.
Hello! I’m looking forward to making this bread, but I had a question about the sugar. Does it add very much sweetness to the bread? I prefer my sourdough to be on the tangy, sharp side, but I don’t have any bread flour or wheat flour with which to make the more traditional sourdough bread.
Then leave out the sugar. The sugar does speed fermentation up a bit, but nothing crazy, so you can just drop it 🙂
Should this be salted or unsalted butter? Thanks!
I use Lurpak Salted butter, but I love salt 🙂
Hello Sune – I don’t have a pullman loaf pan so I used two 9×5″ loaf pans. They just came out of the oven and smell rather intoxicating 🙂 Can’t wait to cut into them and have a taste. Thanks so much, Sune, for this recipe and all your videos and blog posts!
You are welcome <3
Hello! Does it matter if my levain is back to it’s original height? It doubled overnight and I missed it. Thank you!
It’s okay as long as it’s about 12 hours since it peaked 🙂
Love this user-friendly website! I made this twice now. The first time, I substituted coconut oil for butter, as I was out of butter. It did not rise; I realized that coconut oil is antibacterial and must have killed the microbes! It had good oven spring though, and made a mini, domed loaf that still tasted good. Today I made another loaf using butter, and it turned out perfectly. So there you have it: don’t use coconut oil in sourdough!
That’s a good tip 🙂
I love butter too much to substitute it, so I’ve never tried 🙂
I have not tried this recipe yet and I wanted to check something with you before I do. I have plain flour (10g protein content) not AP flour. Can I use this or do I need to add some bread flour, say 50%, to up the protein content?
My AP is 10% protein, so just use that 🙂
Hi! I want to follow this recipe but I don’t have cane sugar. Is it okay to use brown sugar instead? Thanks!
Yes, you can use any kind of sugar you like. I just happen to like cane sugar more than the others 🙂
Thank you for the great recipe. I used the steam bake setting on the oven–the loaves are beautiful and delicious. Can’t wait to try the rest of your recipes:)
Thank you <3 That’s wonderful to hear 🙂
Hi, Thank you for recipe and calculation🙏. I try it today and the texture is really really great but….too sour. Is it come from my starter?
When do you use your starter in the process? It shouldn’t be very sour if you use it when it’s at its peak.
Followed the recipe to a tee. Even used the calculator for the 4x4x13 pan. It worked perfect and made the best sourdough loaf my wife and I ever had. I wish I could post a picture of how it turned out. Thank you!
That’s wonderful to hear! 🙂
You can send me an email to my business email which you can find on my youtube about page 🙂
Hi,
I am having trouble with very moist crumb that is rather gummy in texture.
I’ve tried cooking it a bit longer both covered and uncovered.
Where do you suggest I troubleshoot this issue?
Thanks!
John
It sounds like the dough might have proven for too long.
I make this almost every week using 50% freshly milled wholegrain flour of different kinds (emmer, spelt, einkorn) and roughly half the sugar. It’s my kids’ favourite bread and I’m in deep trouble if we go too many days without it. Great for making toasted sandwiches with and matches perfectly with a nice tomato soup
That sounds awesome.
Love tomato soup too 😀
Sune! Hi !! Namaste! It’s Meghna here from India.
I am so delightful. The way you’ve guided through this process has helped me so wonderfully so far, in making my absolute first scrumptious sourdough sandwich bread! 🙂 I’m half way through already! Nevertheless Sune, may I ask, since I don’t eat eggs and don’t like them either, what can I substitute the egg yolk bit just before baking?
Thanks. Hope you receive my message sooner than.
Gratitude,
M.
Hello Meghna,
You can omit the egg. It’ll be fine. Just less rich in flavor. 🙂
Hi Sune. I’m going to attempt this using a Tangzhong. When I use the calculator, it removes all the milk (I’m using buttermilk) and just has water. Can I still use 200 grams of milk?
Yes, you can still use the milk 🙂
I’ve tried 2-3 other sourdough sandwich breads but didn’t get the desired result. I heard about your recipe in the reddit forums I think. I used your dough size scaler and doubled it to fit my two aluminum loaf pans, and it turned out perfect! My bulk fermentation took several hours longer than yours, but it is the middle of Winter, so maybe that was a factor. I did have it in the over with the light on around 85 F. I really appreciate the time and effort you went to, to provide the tool and the recipe. The whole family loves it. The top egg-wash was a nice finish. Next I’m interested in adding some raisins – I have to think about that.
That’s wonderful to hear <3
Made this in a 13 inch pullman pan and it was amazing!
Only thing that I changed was using straight starter instead of making a dedicated levain. My starter is fed with whole wheat so I figure my loaf was about 8% whole wheat.
The bread is soft and springy, rich and buttery, and slightly sweet with a good tang.
I would recommend to use VERY soft butter to help incorporation. That’s how I make my brioche, I’ve done it with slightly harder butter, and it is not fun trying to get those clumps to break down.
This is a really great recipe and I will decimal be making it again. Thank you!
I’ve gone away from using levains unless I need to change the composition of the starter 🙂
Great tips. Thank you <3
I love this bread! Since it does take a while to complete the recipe, I have found it very effective to ferment the loaves overnight and bake in the morning. The rise is superb and the spring is plentiful.
Good to know. Thank you 🙂
Sune, Can I use bread flour instead of AP ?
Yes, but you might get a more chewy bread 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! I’ve just baked two loaves, they are still cooling down. 🙂 One thing I noticed is that the bottom side of the loaves are a bit curved inwards / upwards. Is that a sign of something? I’m guessing underproofing…
That happens on mine a lot too. I don’t think it means anything 🙂
I have been using this recipe for over a year and it is my favourite. I live at a high elevation; I’m not sure if that’s why I’ve found doubling the levain makes the perfect loaf or if it has something to do with my starter or my process. This is my go-to weekly bread recipe with that minor modification. I have added whole wheat and rye and the bread is still perfect.
It’s quite possibly the elevation. Do whatever works 🙂
I have an 11 inch Pullman pan. Will the recipe work for one large loaf?
Use the calculator in the article to calculate the dough size for your pan 🙂
Excellent, excellent results!! Didn’t change a thing, and though I put it in the oven when I thought it was not quite ready (was afraid I’d overproof it – my nemesis, haha!!) I got good oven spring and great interior. Super tasty, too! Thank you for the recipe!
Could oil be used instead of butter in a 1:1 ratio? Or would I need to decrease the amount of oil as it’s a liquid? Thank you!
Use about 3/4 the amount of oil 🙂
Can I substitute honey for the sugar?
Yes, gram for gram 🙂
Can I use sourdough discard for this recipe? The discard has been sitting in the fridge for 1-3 days.
If so, should I add a pinch of instant yeast, approx 1-2g per loaf.
In my experience, you can use month-old discard directly in a dough with only minimal bad effects 🙂 Even without extra yeast 🙂
I am using bread flour mostly because you call for bread flour in the step by step but in the video and the ingredients list you say all purpose flour. I will hope for the best. oh also in the step by step you don’t mention letting the dough sit for 20 minutes before putting it in the tin for final proofing. I made note if these things for my next batch.
Oops. It should be all-purpose, although I think it’ll be fine with bread flour 🙂
Hi! So I make the original version of this every week . This one has no stretch and folds at all?
Nope, it’s easier that way 🙂
After you divide the dough, could you freeze half of the dough to bake at a later date?
Absolutely, but let it thaw in the fridge to avoid over proofing.
I’ve made this bread twice now and both times, there was virtually no oven spring. It increased about 25% on the bulk fermentation, which also took a bit over 3 hours, maybe 4. I let it more than double in the Pullman pan, but it didn’t rise beyond that in the oven. Fermentation time in the pan was over 6 hours at 78-80° F. My starter was at peak (about 8 hours since last feeding). I followed your recipe exactly. Should I expect oven spring? How long is your usual second rise? Could I have over-proved it? Help! Would really like to perfect this for sandwiches and toast. It does taste great, but light is not a word I would use to describe it. Thanks for all your great videos!
The recipe says to let it grow 50-75%, and doubling is 100%, so you over proved it. I’m sure if you go for 50% you’ll have a much better spring.
I made this over the weekend and I was blown away by how delicious, soft and springy it is. I’m currently feeding my starter to make another loaf in order to do a sandwich platter for guests. Really looking forward to that (more than they are!!).
Thank you ❤️
Hi, I made the sourdough sandwich bread for the first time. I used 80% white bread flour and 20% whole wheat flour. It didn’t rise much at all in the oven, is there anything I can do? Can’t wait to try it :-).
How much did you let it rise before putting it in the oven?
Tx for all your wonderfull insights in bread making.
I have my 2 loafs in the fridge at the moment (1st time using my pullman loaf pan). Do I let them come to room temperature and rise before baking or do I put them directly in the oven.
Yves
It really depends on when you put it in the fridge. If it rose enough just bake it right away, if it needs to rise more let it rise until it’s good.
Be aware that it will rise faster and faster when it comes up to temperature 😊
Tx for the quick answer Sune.
Since I woke up to a pre warmed oven, I tried one of the loaf straight from the fridge this morning. It rose to the cover of the pullman loaf pan, I just lowered the oven temperature for the final 10-15 minutes final bake without the cover.
I will bake the second one after work today.
Have a nice day,
Yves
In this recipe and in the video there is no mention if stretching and folding. Is the gluten development strictly from the proofing?
Yes, most of my newer recipes skip stretching and folding since it’s unnecessary. It does take a little more pre-shaping to align the gluten, though 🙂
Absolutely delicious loaf of bread. I have had many fails in my sourdough journey, one just last week attempting to make a different sourdough loaf recipe. This came out great. Mine rise time was double yours but I don’t have a place to let it rise under constant temperature. My loaf cracked on the side when baking. It had roses more than 50% and I was afraid it was becoming overproofed. Was it a sign of underproofed dough? Also, thank you for the calculator as I didn’t want to bake two loaves and waste ingredients of it was a fail. It made things very easy on this novice baker. I’ll be making this again.
The cracking is a sign of under proofed dough, at least for this type of bread. It’s what you’d want if you want oven spring in your regular sourdough bread.