The Best Sourdough Sandwich Bread
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Many home bakers have wondered “Can you bake sourdough in a loaf pan?” The answer is yes! Learn how to bake this super soft sourdough sandwich bread with a beautiful crust in a loaf pan. This recipe is not only delicious, but it also gives you consistent results. A sourdough bread recipe that will be a favorite for the whole family!
Did this happen to you?
A week was spent (or more) developing the perfect sourdough starter. Now it is active and bubbly and you are antsy to FINALLY bake some bread.
All your ingredients are laid out on the counter ready to make the perfect loaf. You have your favorite sourdough bread recipe pulled up on your phone…ahem…maybe mine?! You take a final glance over the instructions until you see this – “Bake in a large Dutch Oven.”
And the disappointment sets in when you realize you don’t have one.
The good news is that not all is lost! Though you might not be able to bake that signature crusty sourdough loaf today, you still can bake a delicious sourdough sandwich bread with a loaf pan.
Praise! Bread will still be baked today.
This super simple recipe creates a tender crumb, with a soft and gold brown crust, perfect for your everyday bread, but with a sourdough tang!
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What is Sourdough?
Sourdough is a slow-fermented food that uses a natural leaven – a sourdough starter.
Don’t have your own sourdough starter? Let me be your guide on how to create your very own sourdough starter from scratch! All you need is flour, water, and one week! Here you will find simple step-by-step directions, plus a sourdough starter schedule free printable.
A sourdough starter is what creates that light and fluffy texture we all love about bread and baked goods. Give your sourdough starter enough time to ferment, and it will break down the phytic acid naturally found in wheat.
Not only is sourdough full of rich flavor, but its fermented dough is easier for our bodies to digest.
Why Do I Need a Dutch Oven to Bake Sourdough Bread?
Baking a sourdough loaf in a Dutch oven is the best practice in order to achieve a perfect rise (what bakers refer to as the best oven spring) and for even cooking throughout the loaf.
This is due to the fact the Dutch oven captures all the steam while the bread bakes. The steam keeps the loaf soft so it can rise fully until the very end of the baking time before it becomes golden brown with a crispy crust.
Can You Bake Sourdough Bread in a Loaf Pan?
What if you don’t have a Dutch oven? Can you bake sourdough bread in a loaf pan?
Let me cut to the chase and tell you – YES, you can!
Too often bread bakers stall their sourdough bread baking journey when they find out that they need a large Dutch Oven to cook an artisan bread loaf. But let the relief set in when you hear that you can still bake sourdough bread without a cast iron Dutch oven!
This basic sourdough recipe will give you the most delicious sourdough sandwich bread and all you need is a loaf pan – you don’t even need a banneton!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
No Fancy Equipment Required:
As I revealed above, for the best results all you need is a tin loaf pan to bake a delicious loaf of bread. No fancy Challenger bread pan or Le Creuset Dutch Oven is needed here.
Delicious and Soft Sourdough Bread the Whole Family Will Love:
Say goodbye to Sarah Lee and all of her sliced sandwich bread buddies! This sourdough sandwich bread recipe gives you soft and incredibly delicious bread without all the additives. It will be the easiest swap, no one will notice the difference between this homemade bread and store-bought!
Bare Minimum Kneading:
Only 20 seconds of kneading is required, that’s all! Can this recipe get simpler than that?
Can Be Made and Baked in 1 Day:
I’ve included two baker’s schedules with step-by-step instructions. One schedule will even give your fresh bread all in one day. How about that for sourdough?
Ingredients:
Active Sourdough Starter – No commercial yeast is needed for this recipe! Your active starter will do all the work to give you that soft and chewy slice of sandwich bread.
Warm Water – Make sure that the water isn’t boiling. This can kill your sourdough starter, causing the dough not to rise and instead be dense.
Unsalted Butter, melted – Adding butter to this recipe makes this everyday bread so soft. You can substitute for a 1:1 ratio with olive oil if preferred.
Sugar – For some sweetness and color! While the bread bakes, the crust will turn golden brown due to the Maillard reaction.
Bread Flour – Bread flour has a higher gluten count, which helps this homemade sourdough bread keep its shape.
All-Purpose Flour – Incorporating some white flour keeps the bread nice and soft.
Salt – To enhance the overall flavor of the bread.
Supplies:
Large Bowl
Kitchen Scale – Baking is about precision and this help tremendously.
Dutch Dough Whisk – Great for mixing bread dough and pancake batter!
Bench Knife
Wire Rack
Baker’s Schedule:
Bake the Same Day:
9 am: Make the Dough
10 am: Knead the Dough
10 am: First Rise
7 pm: Shape
7 pm: Second Rise
9 pm: Bake
Bake the Next Day:
9 pm: Make the Dough
10 pm: Knead the Dough
10 pm: First Rise
Next Morning:
7 am: Shape
7 am: Second Rise
9 am: Bake
How to Make Sourdough Sandwich Bread in a Loaf Pan:
Make the Dough
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the starter, warm water, melted butter, and sugar. Add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients and mix with a Danish dough whisk until all the flour has been incorporated. The bread dough will be shaggy and a little sticky.
Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel, a tied plastic bag, or plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes to an hour to allow the gluten to relax a little bit.
Knead the Dough
First, wet your fingers so the dough doesn’t stick to them.
Then, take a piece of the bread dough, pull it upwards, and fold it towards the center of the dough. Push the heel of your hand into the dough.
Turn the bowl clockwise a quarter turn and repeat the same motion. Continue to knead the dough for about 20 seconds. The dough should become more stiff and smooth looking.
Grease another bowl with butter and place the dough with the seam side down.
Bulk Fermentation
Cover the bowl again and let the dough rise till doubled in size. In my 70 degree F kitchen, the bulk rise will take anywhere from 8-10 hours. If your kitchen is cooler, then this will take longer. If your kitchen is warmer, then it will take less time.
Shape the Dough
Once the dough has doubled in size, remove the bowl cover and punch the dough. Do so by placing your fist in the center of the dough and pushing it downwards. Punching the dough helps to release all the gas. This creates a tighter crumb that you want for sandwich bread.
Remove the dough onto a non-floured surface. Stretch the bread dough into a large rectangle on your work surface. Roll the bread dough into a log, like you would a cinnamon roll. Curl the ends of the sourdough sandwich bread under itself and pinch the seams together.
Second Rise
Using a bench scraper, gently lift the sourdough bread dough and place it into a greased 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan with the seam side down. Cover the dough for the final rise. In my 70 degree F kitchen, this typically takes 1-2 hours before the dough is 1″ above the rim of the pan.
DO NOT rush this step. If you bake your loaf before it has properly risen, it will bake up dense and gummy. Continue to check on the loaf often.
Bake
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the pan in the hot oven on the middle rack and bake for 40-50 minutes.
To prevent the sourdough sandwich bread crust from tearing, I like to place a cast iron skillet or baking sheet on the oven rack below the bread with a cup of ice cubes. This creates extra steam in the oven while the bread bakes, which keeps the surface of the dough soft allowing the bread to expand and rise without tearing.
If you notice the top of your loaf is browning to quickly, cover it with a piece of aluminum foil and continue to bake.
A baked sourdough sandwich loaf will have the internal temperature of 190-200 degrees F.
Remove from the oven and place the bread pan on a wire rack. Keep the pan loaf in the tin pan for an extra 5 minutes before removing it to cool.
While it is still warm, spread butter all over the top of the bread for a super soft crust.
Cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
How to Serve
This sourdough sandwich bread is your everyday kind of bread. Slice and toast it up for some morning eggs and toast or stack it high with your favorite meat, cheese, and veggies for today’s lunch.
Even when the bread gets a bit stale, I love transforming it into either crunchy croutons or convenient bread crumbs.
The options are endless with this versatile sourdough bread!
How to Store/Freeze:
Sourdough sandwich bread will stay fresh for 3-5 days when stored in a plastic bag.
My favorite way of storing this bread is actually by freezing it. Once the bread has cooled completely, I will slice it up and store the pieces in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. I also like to place small pieces of parchment paper in between the slices so they don’t freeze together.
To refresh, I will either pull out some slices and bring them to room temperature or pop them straight into the toaster. Super simple, but still super tasty!
Happy Baking!
More Sourdough Recipes Like This:
Soft Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Easy Sourdough Bread for Beginners
Roasted Garlic, Rosemary, and Cheese Sourdough Bread
FULL RECIPE TUTORIAL
Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe
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Ingredients
- 65 grams active sourdough starter heaping 1/4 cup
- 300 grams warm water 1 1/3 cups
- 57 grams unsalted butter, melted 4 Tablespoons
- 25 grams white sugar 2 Tablespoons see notes*
- 400 grams bread flour 2 3/4 cups + 1 Tablespoon
- 100 grams all-purpose flour 3/4 cup
- 9 grams salt 1 1/2 teaspoons
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In a large mixing, whisk together the starter, warm water, melted butter, and sugar. The water and butter shouldn't be hotter than 110 degrees F, otherwise this can kill the starter. For the best results, use a kitchen scale and measure ingredients by grams.65 grams active sourdough starter, 300 grams warm water, 57 grams unsalted butter, melted, 25 grams white sugar
- Add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients and mix with a Danish dough whisk or your hand until all the flour has been incorporated. The bread dough will be shaggy and a little sticky.400 grams bread flour, 100 grams all-purpose flour, 9 grams salt
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a reusable shower cap. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes to an hour to allow the gluten to relax a little bit.
Knead the Dough
- First, wet your fingers so the dough doesn't stick to them. Then, take a piece of the bread dough, pull it upwards, and fold it towards the center of the dough. Push the heel of your hand into the dough.
- Turn the bowl clockwise a quarter turn and repeat the same motion. Continue to knead the dough for about 20 seconds. The dough should become more stiff and smooth looking and feel tacky to the touch.
- Grease a straight edge mixing bowl with butter and place the dough with the seam side down.I love using this straight-edge bowl because it allows me to clearly see when the dough has doubled in size.
Bulk Fermentation
- Cover the bowl again and let the dough rise till doubled in size. In my kitchen at 70 degrees F, the bulk rise will takes anywhere from 8-10 hours. If your kitchen is warmer, it will take less time. Check often and look for signs that your dough is done, rather than the time. The dough will have doubled in size, be domed on top, remove easily from the bowl and if you are using a glass bowl, you'll see bubbles all throughout the bottom of the dough.
Shape the Dough
- Once the dough has doubled in size, remove the cover and punch the dough. Do so by placing your fist in the center of the dough and pushing it downwards. Punching the dough helps to release all the air bubbles.
- Remove and stretch the bread dough into a large rectangle on your work surface, then roll the bread dough into a log, like you would a cinnamon roll. Curl the ends of the sourdough sandwich bread under itself and pinch the seams together.
Second Rise
- Using a bench scraper, gently lift the sourdough bread dough and place it into a greased 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan with the seam side down.
- Cover the dough for the final rise. In my 70 degree F kitchen, this will typically take 3-4 hours. To speed this step, I like to place the dough in my proofing box at 90 degrees F or in an OFF oven with just the light on. This creates a toasty environment for the dough to rise quickly, about 1-2 hours. Don't rush this step, allow the dough to rise until it is 1″ above the rim of the pan. Otherwise, the loaf will bake up dense and gummy.
Bake
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place the loaf pan in the hot oven on the middle rack and bake for 40-45 mins, or until golden brown on top and the internal is 190-200 degrees F. If you notice that the top is browning too much before the loaf has finished baking, place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the loaf. for the rest of the baking time.
- Keep the loaf in the tin pan for an extra 5 minutes before removing it to cool on a wire rack.
- While the loaf is still warm, spread butter all over the top of the bread for a super soft and shiny crust.
- Place the loaf on a cooling rack for at least one hour before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Tips
- To prevent the sourdough sandwich bread crust from tearing, I like to place a cast iron skillet or baking sheet on the oven rack below the bread with a cup of ice cubes. This creates extra steam in the oven while the bread bakes, which keeps the surface of the dough soft allowing the bread to expand and rise without tearing.
- Sourdough sandwich bread will stay fresh for 3-5 days when stored in a plastic bag.
- Sourdough sandwich bread freezes exceptionally well. Once the bread has cooled completely, slice and store the pieces in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Place small pieces of parchment paper in between the slices so they don’t freeze together.
Can I use honey instead of sugar?
Absolutely! Just use the same amount in grams.
This is the first sourdough sandwhich loaf I’ve been able to execute perfectly. I did a cold proof overnight after shaping and this turned out so divine! Softest bread I’ve ever made and so incredibly simple. This will 100% be a new staple for our household.
This makes me so happy to read! I love that you tried the overnight cold proof and it turned out soft and just right for you. It means a lot that it’s becoming a staple in your home—thank you for sharing!
Very encouraging! The loaf turned out great. My only issue is that it does not have the sourdough taste. Any ideas to fix this?
I’m so glad your loaf turned out well—that’s a great win! If you’re looking for a stronger sourdough flavor, you could do an overnight cold proof after shaping the loaf! This will help develop more tang. Pull it out the following morning to complete the second rise before baking.
Hi! Could you use a glass loaf pan of the same size, and does it change the process at all? Thank you!
Great question! Yes, you can absolutely use a glass loaf pan of the same size. The process stays the same, but glass tends to retain heat more, so the loaf may bake a bit faster and the bottom/sides can brown more quickly. I’d recommend keeping an eye on it toward the end of baking and possibly lowering the oven temp by about 10–15°F if you notice it browning too fast.
Loved this bread recipe. It was my first almost perfect loaf of sourdough sandwhich bread. Taste was great. My only issue was at the bottom crust it had a small area that looked gummy. Did I need to bulk ferment longer?
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you loved the flavor — that’s a big win! If the dough was very puffy and fragile before baking and didn’t get much oven spring, it may have been slightly overproofed and compressed at the bottom. But most of the time a gummy line is from being just slightly underproofed or underbaked. A small adjustment either way should fix it — you’re very close!
Such an easy and delicious recipe. This was my first “soft sandwich” try and it came out perfect! I was so impressed with myself. I love how there is no mixer, minimal kneading, no multiple stretch and folds. The easiest sandwich bread recipe out there. I sliced then froze and it tastes freshly baked. Your YouTube video on this is so helpful!
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’m really glad you found the process simple and approachable, and that the YouTube video helped along the way. I appreciate you taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment.
I love this recipe! It can easily be doubled or tripled!
I am so glad to hear you love the recipe, and you are absolutely right—it scales really well when doubled or tripled. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
When you double or triple do you do it all in the same bowl or separate bowls?
You can do it all in the same bowl as long as your bowl is large enough to handle the dough as it rises. If it feels tight on space, it’s better to split it into two/three bowls so it has room to properly ferment.
Made this for the second time today. Not sure what I did differently, but wow! The design dough more than doubled then the second rise it actually made it above the pan this time! In the oven now.
Question- I doubled the recipe and after the second rise I was going to put one loaf in the fridge overnight to cold proof. Could I have and then just tossed it in the oven in the morning? Wish I could share pics!
Thank you so much for making it again! It sounds like the fermentation really lined up perfectly this time!
IF you want to refrigerate one of the loaves, I would do so just after shaping the loaf! That way the dough doesn’t over proof. Cover the pan well and place it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, let it sit at room temperature until it rises above the pan, then bake as usual. I wish I could see the photos too. It sounds like it turned out beautifully!
Tried this today and it was fantastic! Started yesterday and was in the middle of the second rise at 11:00 PM. Too tired to bake, I put it in the fridge overnight, let it rise a bit more this morning and then baked. Still came out perfect and husband said it was his favorite of all the sourdough things I’ve made.
Thanks for the great recipes and tips!
This makes me so happy to hear — thank you! And husband-favorite is always the best compliment. So glad you both enjoyed it!
Excited to start my Sourdough Bread making and still waiting on my Dutch Oven to deliver!!
Would you be able to make this loaf with all the same flour? I don’t have access to bread flour just normal all purpose flour, so would that change anything?
How exciting — welcome to sourdough baking!
Yes, you can absolutely make this loaf with all-purpose flour instead of bread flour. Just keep an eye on the dough — it may feel a touch softer, but no major changes are needed. Happy baking (and I hope your Dutch oven arrives soon!)
Love this recipe! Can you put the dough in the fridge at any point during the process?
I’m so glad you love it — thank you! Yes, you can use the fridge to help fit it into your schedule. The best time is after shaping — place the dough in the loaf pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Pull it out the following day, allow it to rise at room temperature and bake!
My house is very cold in the winter months (65-68). My initial rise can take about 10-12 hours. I would probably do a 2 day bake. Should I refrigerate the dough overnight?
Yes — a longer first rise is expected at those temperatures! You can absolutely do this as a 2-day bake, and refrigerating overnight works well. Two options that tend to work best:
Let the dough bulk rise during the day, shape in the evening, then refrigerate overnight. The next day, let it finish its second rise at room temperature before baking.
Or, if timing allows, you can also let it rise overnight on the counter, then shape and proof the next day.
The fridge step is mainly there to slow things down and make the schedule more flexible — go by how the dough looks and feels rather than the clock. Great question!
I made this recipe today and it came out DELICIOUS! This will definitely be my new go to sandwich loaf recipe!! Thank you so much.
So thrilled to hear that you loved it, Heather! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this thoughtful comment.