This eggless, no-knead sourdough sandwich bread recipe is a keeper. It yields the fluffy, soft crusted, uniform crumb, and flavorful loaf.
I have been working a lot with sourdough possibilities. Be it sourdough cinnamon rolls, sourdough pizza, sourdough savory waffles, sourdough pancakes, or sourdough pretzels. I will be sharing the recipes soon.
For the time being, lets focus on the sourdough sandwich bread recipe.
It is easy. All you need is a stand mixer, some active sourdough starter, and a little bit of patience.
This is an overnight recipe. I normally start early in the evening. Starting around 4-5 pm works great for me.
I make sure to activate the sourdough starter well ahead of time. If you keep your starter refrigerated like me, take it out in the morning and feed it and make sure that it is good to go by the evening.
Why should you make this Sourdough Sandwich recipe:
Why should you be making this Sourdough Sandwich recipe
- Utterly delicious: A buttery slice of bread with a note of sourness from the sourdough.
- Easy
- Free of any preservative
- No Commercial Yeast Recipe
- No bread machine needed
- Stand mixer recipe
- Can be easily made by kneading with hands
- A perfect recipe to utilize that sourdough starter resting your fridge.
Mixing ingredients and Incorporating butter
Add all the dry ingredients first, followed by the butter and then water and starter.
If you live in a colder region, use slightly warm water for kneading. But if you are in a warmer place like LA in peak summer just go ahead with room temperature water.
Cut the butter into small cubes so that it can be easily incorporated in the flour. Also ensure that the butter is at the room temperature. If not using a stand mixture crumble the flour between the palms of both the hands till all the butter is incorporated. The flour should form a delicate ball when pressed between the palm and fingers.
Kneading
Dough kneads well at lower speeds. So, always use lower speed settings to knead the dough. Towards the end, I increase the speed as it helps to bring the dough together by pulling it off the bowl bottom with its thrust and speed. Also, the dough attached to the hook is slashed against the bowl walls with speed. It strengthens the gluten structure and helps to brings the dough together.
If you will be kneading with hands, let the dough rest for an hour before kneading. Fold the dough ( stretch from a side and fold over)multiple times as we do in sourdough bread, before eventually turning it on to the floured working surface. Work the dough by slashing and folding till it becomes smooth.
Bulk rise
This recipe involves cold fermentation in the refrigerator. We want the dough to bulk rise overnight in the refrigerator. This not only enhances the flavor but also strengthens the gluten structure. I cover the bowl with a cling wrap or a kitchen towel before putting in the refrigerator. I use a big bowl with ample room for the dough to proof.
Shaping the sourdough sandwich loaf and proofing
The next morning I take out the bowl of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about half an hour. Then, turn it on to a floured work surface. While shaping, the dough will still be cold. Cold dough is easier to handle and shape.
I flatten the dough to form a rectangular shape with my fingers. Then roll it to form a log. Using the tips of my fingers I seal the edges of the log. Then, I gently lift it and place it in a greased loaf pan with the seam side down.
I usually cover the dough with a greased cling wrap so that it does not stick to the top of the dough. Sometimes I use a dome cake-cover or a polybag. The loaf pan can be placed in the polybag and close the top of the bag by tieing a knot.
Sourdough takes a long time to proof and there is a possibility of the dough surface getting dry. A slight spray of water prevents the dough surface from drying.
When it comes to sourdough, never go by time. Depending on the weather, it may take 2 hours to 6 hours to proof the bread. Just take note of the rise in the dough. The Dough should have risen well above the rim of the pan. Normally about 1 inch above the rim is perfect to go into the oven.
Baking
The professional ovens have a mechanism to induce mist into the oven chambers that keep the bread moist and soft while baking and prevents it from getting hard and dry. So, keeping a baking tray lined with a foil in the bottom rack of the oven filled with ice cubes keeps the oven humid.
Storage
Once done baking, I let the loaf cool for half an hour before slicing.
As far as the storage is concerned, store the sourdough sandwich bread in an airtight plastic bag, when the loaf is cooled down. It will keep well for 3-4 days at room temperature. Do give this Sourdough sandwich bread recipe a try and share your experiences in the comments section down below.
Sourdough sandwich bread recipe
Ingredients
- 520 g All-purpose flour (4 cups + ¼ cup approx)
- 6 g Salt (1 tsp)
- 8 g Sugar (2 tsp)
- ¼ cup Butter
- 55 g Ripe Sourdough Starter (¼ cup)
- 350 ml Water (1 ½ cup approx)
Instructions
- Into the bowl of a stand mixer add flour, salt, sugar, and butter.
- At low-speed mix for about 2 minutes till butter is crumbled in the flour.
- Now add water and starter. Knead at low speed for 1-2 minutes till the flour is hydrated and the dough comes together.
- Stop and cover with a wet kitchen towel or a cling wrap and let the dough rest for about half an hour.
- Now, knead the dough at low speed for 5-7 minutes. Increase the speed and knead for an additional 5 minutes till the dough becomes smooth.
- Transfer into a bowl and apply little oil on the surface of the dough.
- Cover the bowl with the cling wrap and let bulk rise in the refrigerator overnight or at least for 6-7 hours.
- Remove from the refrigerator and let it rest for an hour on the kitchen counter.
- Remove on to a floured kitchen counter and flatten using your palms.
- Roll to form a log and seal the dough using the tip of your fingers. Transfer into a 9x5 inch greased loaf pan.
- Spray the dough with water and keep for rising in a warm corner of the kitchen.
- Let the dough rise till it rises about an inch above the rim of the loaf pan. It may take somewhere from 3-7 hours depending on the ambient weather.
- Preheat the oven to 385 0 F and place a pan covered in aluminum foil. Put ice cubes in the pan to induce steam in the oven while baking.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes in a pre-heated oven till the crust turns brown.
- Let cool for half an hour before slicing.
Notes
- Use mildly warm water for making the dough during winters.
- Make sure that the starter is ripe. Never use a refrigerated starter directly.
- Butter should be at room temperature. Cut the butter into tiny cubes to facilitate easy incorporation in the flour.
- Though the recipe has been broken down into cups and teaspoons try to use a scale if possible.
- If you are willing to reduce butter amount, you can reduce up to 1 tablespoon without much altering the result. But remember that the bread will start to become dry by the next day. So take care to store it in an airtight bag as soon as it cools down completely.
Joe
Love all your bread recipes Meena. This one is next on my list. The milk bread that I made last month has given me a boost to bake more.
Meenakshi
You will love it Joe, Do give it a try.
Tony
Hi this is one of the best recipes I have tried yet. But I can't understand why when leaving it to prove, my dough, instead of rising upwards reaches the top of the loaf tin and collapses to the sides can anyone help me I'll give me an idea as to what is going wrong here? I am using organic spell flower which is a more dense flour.
Meenakshi
Hey Tony, That is probably because spelt flour is way weaker than normal wheat flour. It is unable to hold up the shape, which is why it collapses to the side. Spelt flour bread is denser and lesser in volume for the same reason. You should probably bake once it reaches the top of the loaf tin. I have never tested this recipe with spelt flour, so this is a kind of surprise to me that this recipe worked for spelt flour.