Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread

This has been my go-to sourdough sandwich bread recipe for years! I love it because it's easy to make (and makes a lot!), has the most delicious sourdough flavor, is perfectly soft, and is just all around a great starting point to a 10/10 sandwich.

Usually the difference between a week feeling like we always have something to eat and meals are easy, and feeling like I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas is whether or not I've made this bread.

Got sourdough sandwich bread? You can slice it up and use it for toast, pb&j's, French toast, some of the best grilled cheese you've ever had, deli meat sandwiches, this bread does it all!

This recipe originally came from The Clever Carrot (an amazing resource for sourdough recipes!), though I have modified it in several ways throughout my years of making it. Most notably, by doubling it, which makes it where you need one stick of butter, and you wind up with two loaves of bread. If you won't eat two loaves of bread within 5 days of baking, wrap the second one in plastic wrap and place in a zip lock bag, and freeze until you need it.

The Butter

I prefer to use butter over oil in almost all instances, and this bread is no exception!

(That said, if you want to use oil, just substitute the same amount and carry on.)

My favorite trick here is you can use cold(!!!) butter. No need to plan ahead to soften or add extra steps doing it in the microwave.

You'll add straight-from-the-fridge butter along with the dry ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix it with the paddle attachment. The butter will be broken up into small pieces, almost like you're making a pie crust. Then, the wet ingredients get mixed in and it all rests for about 30 minutes.

The rest time allows the pieces of butter to soften (which happens quickly because they're so small!), then you'll switch to the dough hook and knead it all for 6-8 minutes. This will fully incorporate the butter.

All the flavor and texture benefits of butter, with so little effort! I love it.

The Rise

Remember that when making sourdough, time estimates are VERY ROUGH. It will depend on many factors, most importantly the strength of your starter and the temperature of your kitchen.

For the first rise, you want it to double in volume. Use a clear vessel with measurements marked to make this easy to see! The recipe says 10-12 hours, but it could plausibly be anywhere from 8 to 18 hours.

For the second rise, you want the dough to rise about 1-inch above the rim of the pan. When I make this in the summer, it takes about an hour. In the winter, it usually takes close to 6. The recipe says 1 ½-2 hours, but the visual is more important than the time. Just keep an eye on it! Once you've made this a few times, you'll know almost exactly how long it will take.

Here are my loaves at the beginning and end of their second rise. This took 6 hours in our cold kitchen!

Shaping sandwich bread

Shaping sandwich bread for a loaf pan is slightly different than shaping round sourdough loaves. I find it way easier - you don't have to worry about surface tension since the sides of the pan will support the loaves as they bake.

Start by turning your dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide it in half. Starting with one of the halves, press it out into a rough rectangle. Don't flour the surface of the dough!

Then, starting at the edge farthest from you, fold the top over onto itself. Continue rolling until the dough is rolled into a log. Press the edge to seal it well, then place the seam facing down. Pinch the edges to seal, then tuck them under the loaf.

Transfer to a buttered loaf pan, repeat with the remaining dough, and you're done!