Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread

Slices of discard sandwich bread on a cutting board.

4.92 from 156 votes

Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread

Light, fluffy and super soft, this sourdough discard sandwich bread is the perfect way to use up your sourdough discard. Bake two delicious loaves of sandwich bread with as much or little "tang" from your sourdough discard as desired. This is the perfect bread for sandwiches and toast. You won't be buying bread from the store anymore with this sandwich bread!

Prep Time30

Cook Time40

Rise Time2

Total Time3 10

Course: Bread, lunch, sandwich bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices (2 loaves)

Author: Amy Coyne

Equipment

stand mixer
2 8.5 inch by 4.5 inch loaf pans

Ingredients

200 grams sourdough discard 100% hydration, see recipe notes, a scant 1 cup
330 grams warm water around 95-100 degrees F, about 1 1/3 cups
15 grams instant yeast about 1 Tablespoon
160 grams honey see recipe notes, about 1/2 cup
50 grams coconut oil or any neutral-flavored oil, see recipe notes, about 1/4 cup
1 large egg about 50 grams
20 grams salt about 1 Tablespoon
850 grams bread flour see recipe notes, about 6-7 cups

Instructions

Mix the Dough: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add warm water, honey and instant yeast. Watch for the yeast to activate with a "yeasty" sweet smell and it should start to bubble a bit. See recipe notes for using dry active yeast.
Note: Technically, instant yeast doesn’t need to be bloomed or activated first. But I like to play it safe and make sure it’s active before mixing it into my dough—because nothing’s worse than finding out your yeast was dead after you’ve already measured, mixed, and waited.
Add the sourdough discard, salt, egg, coconut oil, and most of the flour to the bowl. Gradually add the rest of the flour as needed and knead for 8-10 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl or gather all together as it kneads. It will feel tacky to the touch but should not be overly sticky. If it is very sticky, add a little bit more flour 10-20 grams at a time, until it feels tacky but cohesive.
Note: This dough can be kneaded by hand for about 10-15 minutes. If you are kneading by hand, use liquid coconut oil. If you are using a stand mixer, you can add the coconut oil in at any state and it will incorporate easily.
First Rise: Transfer the dough to a large container and cover with a plastic shower cap, plastic wrap or kitchen towel. Let dough rest for about an hour or two until doubled in size. How long this takes will depend on the temperature of your dough. To speed up the process, keep the dough in a warm place.
Separate: Once the dough has doubled in size and is light and airy, punch the dough down and separate into two equal portions, about 800 grams each.
Shape: Pat one of the portions of dough into a rectangle (about 7 inches by 12-14 inches). 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. Pinch and round the ends of the dough just a bit to get a uniform loaf. Place in a greased 8.5 by 4.5 loaf pan and cover. Repeat with the remaining portion of dough. You can watch a shaping video here.
Rise: Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let the bread rise in the pan for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the dough has risen above the edge of the loaf pan. Press in gently on the dough with a finger. If the dough springs back immediately, it needs a little more time to rise. If it leaves a little indentation and springs back a little bit, it is ready to bake.
Temperature Note: Keeping the dough at a warm temperature, around 85º F will encourage the dough to rise more quickly
Bake: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake loaves of bread for 40 minutes until golden brown and the internal temperature is 195-200ºF. Spread melted butter on the tops of the loaves if desired. Let bread cool for about 5-10 minutes in the loaf pans, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing for sandwiches. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Sourdough Discard: I use 100% hydration sourdough discard in discard recipes. You can use fresh, bubbly sourdough starter or discard that’s been in your refrigerator for a week. The older the discard, the more sour your bread will taste.

Honey: This recipe calls for a lot of honey and it is a sweeter sandwich bread. You can cut the honey in half with good results. You will need to reduce a little bit of the flour in the dough to compensate.

Coconut Oil: Coconut oil makes this bread super soft. Coconut oil can be added in its solid or liquid state. As the dough heats up from the mechanical mixing, the coconut oil will incorporate itself into the dough. If you prefer to use butter or a neutral flavored oil, you can substitute that instead.

Bread Flour: I use 12.5% unbleached bread flour from my local mill. If you use a flour with a lower protein content, you will need to add more flour to the recipe. If you use a bread flour with a higher protein content, you'll want to use a little less flour.

Whole Wheat Flour: I often substitute about half of the flour in this recipe for freshly milled whole wheat flour with great results.

Dry Active Yeast: This recipe calls for instant yeast which doesn't need to be activated. If you choose to use dry active yeast instead, you will need to activate it before adding it to the recipe. Use the same amount of yeast and activate it in some of the warm water with a little bit of the honey called for in the recipe. Let it stand for about 5-10 minutes until bubbly and active. Once active, add to the recipe.

Loaf Pans: I prefer using non-stick metal loaf pans for an even bake. Grease the loaf pans with butter or use parchment paper to keep the bread from sticking to the loaf pan.

Nutrition