Making the EASIEST Sourdough Sandwich Bread!

Hi everyone!

I do not like overly complicated recipes of any kind🙂  It seems that sourdough recipes on the internet are so intricate with very specific timelines, etc., and I just don’t have time for that. It was not worth it to me to babysit a starter, throw out lots of discard, then follow really detailed instructions using special equipment I didn’t already have in my kitchen – for a loaf of bread. I make a couple different easy sandwich bread recipes we love so I didn’t feel the need to go to any extra effort – especially as my husband and I need to eat low carb on a regular basis so bread is something we only have occasionally.

I also do not want crusty bread that I need a chainsaw to cut into, nor do I want it extremely chewy on the inside. I wanted a simple recipe with few ingredients that someone like me who is not really a baker could easily make. I wanted simple – as in what the great great grandmothers would have actually done. They didn’t have scales, didn’t measure in grams, didn’t have proofing boxes or special tools to score, etc.  I wanted bare bones sourdough. I went through a lot of recipes and finally came up with a combination of several, as things can always vary, like oven and house temperature, altitude, etc.

As for a starter, mine is geared to the fact that I only need to bake one loaf a week, and I didn’t want a lot of discard. My process was really just playing around with it until I got a nice bubbly active starter. I do feed mine with rye flour. I leave it in the fridge, take it out the night before I plan to bake, then add about 1/3 cup flour and a little less than 1/3 cup water. By morning, it has more than doubled so I start my process.

Here is a great link if you’re making a starter from scratch at Rosie’s Kitchen Adventures.

Here is another super easy recipe I recommend: Insanely Easy No Knead Sourdough Bread

My recipe is here below, and I’ve found it gets better with each loaf I make.

Easy *Same Day* Sourdough Sandwich Bread

5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 ½ C water **I generally only use about 1 cup because I find it hard to work with the dough if it's too sticky and wet.
• ⅝ C active starter **I feed mine the night before and make sure it's doubled by morning.
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 TBSP honey or sugar
• 1 ½ TSP kosher or sea salt
• 3 C Bread flour **You can substitute 1 cup bread flour with 1 cup whole wheat flour

Method

 

1. Add water and active starter to a large bowl and stir until dissolved.
2. Add oil and honey/sugar to starter mixture and stir until dissolved.
3. Add salt and flour and mix until a shaggy ball starts to form. Make sure flour is well incorporated. (You can wet your hands with water if it feels sticky)
4. Let dough rest for 30 minutes covered. (I cover my bowl with a plate)
5. Start four rounds of stretches and folds, then cover and let rest for 30 minutes. (I do about four stretches and folds each time)
6. After the fourth stretch and fold, cover bowl and allow to rise for 6 hours.
7. Remove the dough from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Flatten it out to remove any air pockets. Shape into a loaf and place the dough into a buttered loaf pan. Cover (I turn another bread pan upside down to cover) and let rise for about 2 hours, or until dough has risen to the top of bread pan.
8. Bake for about 35-40 minutes in a 375° oven until top is golden brown.
9. Remove from oven, butter top then remove bread from pan and place on a cooling rack. Wait at least 2 hours before cutting.

I’ve linked a video showing the process below so be sure to check that out🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Anita