When I first started making sourdough bread, it never occurred to me to make a loaf of sourdough sandwich bread. I love the crusty artisan bread so much and I had a favorite white sandwich bread recipe already, so I never thought about looking for a soft sourdough sandwich bread. That all changed a few months ago.

During this coronavirus epidemic, yeast is proving difficult to find. I am looking for more and more recipes that don’t use very much yeast so I can conserve the amount of yeast I do have…considering we don’t know when this pandemic is going to end. This sourdough bread is perfect because it calls for such small amount of yeast and can even be made with no yeast at all, if you have a really strong sourdough starter (just leave the commercial yeast out completely)! 

With the amount of sourdough starter used in this recipe, the rise time will be a little longer than most commercially yeasted breads. That is the nature of sourdough and natural yeast. Just make sure that your bread rises a little bit above your loaf pans before popping them in the oven and you will be good to go.

The crumb of this white bread is absolutely delicious, tender and great for the perfect sandwich, cinnamon sugar toast or just to eat plain. My whole family loves this bread and even when this whole pandemic ends, it will be one of my go-to white bread recipes. The sourdough doesn’t give any “sour” flavor to the bread, it just enhances the tenderness and flavor. It is such a delicious bread that I am already scheming for when I can make my next loaf. If you have a sourdough starter you’ve been playing around with these last few weeks, this is definitely a recipe you will want to try and bookmark. It’s delicious!

Yield: 2 loaves of white sourdough sandwich bread

Time: Overnight build leaven, 20 minute mix/knead, 2 hour rise, 10 minute shape, 2 hour rise (using leaven as the main yeast in the recipe makes the dough rise a bit slower than commercial yeast)

Ingredients:

Leaven:

• 50 grams sourdough starter
• 150 grams white flour
• 150 grams warm water 

Dough:

• 340 grams water (1 ½ cups)
• All of the ripe leaven
• 50 grams of sugar (¼ cup)
• 2 ½ teaspoons salt, 20 grams
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast, 10 grams
• 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil, 50 grams
• 690 grams all purpose flour (about 4 ¾ cups)

Directions:

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1. The night before making the bread, mix the ingredients to form the leaven. 
2. In the morning mix together the water, all of the ripe leaven, sugar, salt, instant yeast and vegetable oil. Add flour a cup at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. The dough will still be sticky but should form a ball easily. Knead for 5-10 minutes. This helps develop the gluten and elasticity in the dough.
3. Put a drop of oil in a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel (or plastic wrap) and let rise in a warm place. To encourage rising I will turn the light on in my oven (don’t turn the oven on) and place my covered dough inside the oven (not directly under the light). This acts as a “proofing” box and will keep the temperature warm for a quicker rise.
4. After the dough has doubled in size, turn the dough out onto the counter and cut in half. This recipe makes two loaves of bread. Shape the dough into a rectangle. You will be rolling the dough into a cylinder shape. Starting at the edge closest to you, roll up the dough. Take care to press in the dough at the seam after each roll and pinch the seam closed at the end.
5. Transfer the dough, seam side-down to a bread pan. I use an 8.5 by 4.5 bread pan. Repeat with the second loaf of bread.
6. Allow the dough to rise again (1-2 hours), covered and in a warm place. The dough should just rise a little bit over the top of the bread pan (it will rise more in the oven). 
7. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake the bread for 35 minutes. Top with melted butter if desired. Enjoy!

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Recipe Notes: This bread will work without the addition of the commercial yeast if you have a strong sourdough starter. It will take more time for the bread to rise (2-4 hours for each rise depending on the temperature of your kitchen), but if you have no commercial yeast (or can’t find any), you can still make a delicious loaf of white bread. Just leave the commercial yeast out and use the power of your strong sourdough starter to raise the bread.

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