→ 
Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread
By Alexandra Stafford
—
Last Updated: 03/04/2026
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This 4-ingredient sourdough sandwich bread requires no complicated shaping, no scoring, and no preheated heavy Dutch oven. Grab your mixing bowl, pull out a spatula, and butter your loaf pan. This one is simple and delicious!
As its name suggests, this sourdough sandwich bread recipe is easy, a simple mix of flour, water, salt, and sourdough starter. In sum, it’s an adaptation of my mother’s peasant bread recipe with the sugar and yeast omitted and sourdough starter added. Like this sourdough focaccia, the dough is high-hydration, which yields a soft crumb, perfect for sandwiches when freshly baked and excellent for toast, too.
In the world of sourdough bread baking, crusty boules, open-crumbed rolls, and pillowy focaccia get all the glory. But I would argue a simple sandwich loaf deserves just as much praise, if not more, not only for its ease in assembly, but also its utility.
Find step-by-step instructions as well as video guidance below.
PS: How to Build a Sourdough Strater from Scratch
PPS: How to Activate, Feed, and Maintain A Sourdough Starter
How to Make Sourdough Sandwich Bread, Step by Step
First, place 100 grams of starter in a large bowl. As always, for best results, please use a digital scale to measure.
Add 10 grams of salt.
Add 430 grams of water. (You may need to use less water: see recipe box for notes.)
Stir to combine.
Then add 512 grams of bread flour.
Stir to form a sticky dough ball.
Cover with a towel or cloth bowl cover or, preferably, a lidded vessel, and let rest for 30 minutes.
Then, perform a series of stretches and folds. See video for guidance (skip ahead to 1:13). Repeat this 3 more times for a total of 4 sets of stretches and folds during the first two hours. Then, let rise for 6 to 18 hours* (see recipe notes) at room temperature:
Drizzle the surface of the dough with a little bit of olive oil; then fold the dough inwards from the sides to deflate.
Transfer the dough to a large, buttered loaf pan. I use this 10 x 5-inch loaf pan but a 9×5-inch loaf pan will also work.
Let the dough rise just until it begins to crown the rim of the pan, about 6 hours.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown all around.
Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
It makes excellent toast, too.
I love this tall-sided pullman loaf pan, too:
Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- Total Time: 24 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Description
This easy sourdough sandwich bread requires no complicated shaping, no scoring, and no preheated heavy Dutch oven. Grab your mixing bowl, pull out a spatula, and butter your loaf pan. This one is simple and delicious!
Notes:
Pan: You’ll need either a 10 x 5-inch loaf pan or a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
Plan ahead: This dough rises first for 6 to 18 hours (or less if it is super hot out or if you live in a humid area) or until the dough doubles in volume; then again for about 4 to 6 hours or until the dough crowns the rim of the baking vessel.
Troubleshooting: If you have issues with your dough being too sticky, please read this post: Why is my sourdough so sticky? The 4 common mistakes.
If you’re just getting started with sourdough, check out this post first. You’ll find tips there on procuring a starter as well as how to feed it and maintain it. If you’re up for making your starter from scratch, you can do so in just about 1 week.
Water: Chlorine in water can adversely affect sourdough. Leaving water at room temperature for 24 hours will allow most of the chlorine to escape. When I am in the habit of making sourdough bread, I fill a large pitcher with water and leave it out at room temperature. I use this for my sourdough breads and starter. Truth be told, I’ve used water straight from the tap and have not noticed a difference.
Water quantity: Also, depending on where you live and the time of year, you may need to cut the water back. If you live in a humid environment, for instance, I would suggest starting with 400 g or 420 g water. If you are not using bread flour, you also may need to cut the water back a bit. So much success with sourdough relies on getting the water quantity right.
Starter: I use a 100% hydration starter, meaning it is equal parts by weight flour and water. If you need guidance on how to maintain a starter, see this post.
Ingredients
- 100 grams (about 1/2 cup) active starter, see notes above
- 10 grams (about 2.5 teaspoons) kosher salt
- 430 grams water (or less, see notes above), room temperature
- 512 grams (4 cups) bread flour, such as King Arthur Flour
- a few tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- room temperature butter, for greasing
Instructions
- Mix the dough: Place the starter, salt, and water in a large bowl. Stir with a spatula to combine — it doesn’t have to be uniformly mixed. Add the flour. Mix again until the flour is completely incorporated. If you have a straight-sided vessel, transfer the dough to it — it really helps monitor the rise and allows you to see the true growth in volume of the dough.
- Perform one (or more) “stretches and folds”: 30 minutes after you mix the dough, reach into the bowl and pull the dough up and into the center. Turn the bowl quarter turns and continue this pulling 8 to 10 times. See video for guidance. If time permits, repeat this “folding” step every 30 minutes for the first two hours. (Note: even if you perform just 1 fold, your dough will be in good shape.)
- Let it rise. Drizzle with a splash of olive oil and rub to coat. Cover bowl with a tea towel, bowl cover, or a lidded vessel, and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF/21ºC) for 4 to 18 hours — if it is super hot out or if you live in a humid environment, it may only take 4-6 hours. When the dough has nearly doubled in volume (or UPDATE: increased in volume by 50%, which is when I now end the bulk fermentation), it is ready. (Note: Do not use an oven with the light on for the bulk fermentation — it will be too warm. It is best to rely on visual cues (increasing in volume by 50% or doubling if you’ve had success with doubling) as opposed to time to determine when the bulk fermentation is done. A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy.)
- Prepare the pan. When the dough has nearly doubled, grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan or 10 x 5-inch loaf pan with butter (or nonstick spray).
- Let it proof. Drizzle dough with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Rub your hands with a little bit of oil to coat. Use your hand to release the dough from the sides of the vessel, being careful not to completely deflate the dough. Video guidance here. Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Quickly, shape the dough into a rectangle — fold the dough envelope-style first; then use a bench scraper to shape the dough into a rough rectangle. Transfer dough, seam-side down to prepared loaf pan and gently stretch into an oblong shape. (At this point, you can transfer the pan to the fridge if it makes sense with your schedule: rub the dough with oil and cover with plastic wrap, or tuck the whole pan into a 2-gallon ziptop bag. Transfer to the fridge till the next day. Then proceed with the recipe.) Leave the pan alone for 5 to 6 hours, or until the dough reaches the rim of the pan — this may take less time when it is very warm out. Do be patient with this second rise: to get good height, the dough should be near the rim of the pan before you transfer it to the oven.
- Bake it. Heat oven to 425ºF. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375ºF. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes more or until golden all around. If you have an instant read thermometer, it should register 206-210ºF or so before removing. Remove the pan from the oven and turn the bread out onto a cooling rack. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Sourdough/Natural Leavening
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
1,556 Comments on “Easy Sourdough Sandwich Bread”
I love this recipe! I got a 10 x 5 pan but is there an adjustment if I use a 9 x 5? Thanks in advance!
Great to hear, John. You can use a 9×5-inch pan for this recipe — you’ll get a loftier loaf, but I don’t find it bakes as evenly… you’ll see some denser areas of dough near the edges, especially if you don’t bake it long enough. The two sizes of pans are so similar that to me it doesn’t make sense to scale the dough down a fraction to accommodate the 9×5 pan, but it’s certainly something to consider if you prefer that size/shape. Let me know if you give it a go in the 9×5 pan. I can help with the measurements if you’d like to scale it down slightly.
Love this recipe. I have been making it every week or so for the last couple of years. I accidentally discovered that it is fine to put the dough in the fridge after the bulk ferment without shaping the dough. I can then take it out in the morning, shape it and let it rise in the pan as usual. It is a small change, but the added flexibility is really helpful!
Great to hear, Celia! Thanks so much for writing and sharing this tip — so helpful for others. It is so important to have these tools in our toolboxes to make sourdough work with our schedules 🙂
Haven’t baked this yet, so I’m not commenting on the final product (perhaps it’ll come out just fine).
This is a VERY wet dough. I left out 30g of water, only using 400g with the same flour listed and even after 4 sets of 6-8 stretch and folds and all the rests, the dough was a shapeless blob. I could fold to get it into the pan, but it immediately dropped into a shapeless blob. Lifted as best I could to get it into the pan. Environment stayed between 70-75°
Not sure why your video shows a dough you can handle. I didn’t find that at all.
Well, baked, it turned out very nice. Soft, good crumb. Upgrade the rating to a 4.
I have made this bread many many times and we have had a more humid summer. I always use 400g of water. Any wetter and it’s very loose. Also the folds in the bowl are crucial to create strength and hold the structure.
Thanks for sharing your notes, Ashley!
Hi Chad! Sorry to hear about your troubles here. To clarify: you are using King Arthur bread flour?
Do you live in a humid environment? It’s definitely possible that given your environment and the flour you are using, you may need to hold back more than 30 waters next time around. The dough should be wet and sticky, but it shouldn’t be unmanageable.
I have been trying to follow sourdough recipes for two years following every detail of professional instruction (online). Every time was exactly as you describe! I finally shifted to limiting water drastically. I measured 350g, but poured only the amount that made a ‘real bread dough’ appearance and measured the amount left behind. Turns out I only used about 300g of water. My bread still took a long time to do its thing, but the final product was incredible!
Kristi, thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. I do think sourdough is all about finding that ratio of flour to water given your environment and the flour you are using.
After establishing my starter I have used your sourdough recipes almost exclusively. Just tried this recipe for the first time and WOW. Will likely only make this bread from now on. So easy and so delicious. Lovely chew. I used 25% whole wheat flour. The dough was quite soft and sticky so I couldn’t really shape it, but I found it was fine to just plop it into the pan. Didn’t butter the pan, just lined it with parchment paper. Such a great recipe!
Great to hear, Laura! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. Very encouraging for others. I love using 20-25% ww flour in all my loaves now, too 🙂
Wow. Will this double pan method work for any bread loaf? Doesn’t have to be sourdough?
I would like the answer to this question as well!
I think so! I’mg going to try it with this recipe soon: Simple Soft Sandwich Bread (6-Ingredients, No-Knead)
Alex, I am fairly certain you recently featured a kitchen scale that had 2 separate platforms for weighing heavy/light amts. I thought I had saved it in my Amazon cart but I didn’t! Would you please let me know which it was, I need to move on, my scale has seen better days! Thank you.
Hi Denise! Here’s the scale: Ooni Dual Platform Digital Scale
I am going to try one. Can I use glass loaf pans?
Glass should work!
This is my go to recipe for a sourdough sandwich loaf. We slice it and freeze it so it’s always fresh (and so we don’t eat it all in one sitting 😉). It’s great as is, but even better toasted, with butter. Today I made a loaf for our weekend of camping. What a treat, and so easy.
Great to hear, Jackelin! Thanks so much for writing and sharing this. I love it toasted with butter, too 🙂
My bread came out beautiful!! This was a great recipe and I appreciate the video that goes with it for the visual aid. Im so pleased and proud of how it turned out – it tastes delicious and the crumb is perfect. Thank you!
Great to hear, Renee! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
WOW!!! I have tried making sourdough sandwich bread so many different times—with butter or oil, sugar, honey, etc. and somehow without the extra add-ins this is by far the best! It is so fluffy and light. I have a lodge 10 x 5 inch cast iron that worked perfectly. It is a very wet dough that was more floppy than I’m used to with my normal loaves, but just trust the process because it was great. I’m making it again tonight to give to neighbors it was so good! I did do the stretch and folds, which I think helped make it more workable in the morning when I shaped it.
Great to hear, Erin! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. A few people have written in noting the use of that same Lodge pan. It sounds like such a good one!
I use this recipe adding sunflower lecithin. I love the simplicity.
Great to hear, Kay! Thanks for writing 🙂
I have made this bread three times now, and it is a great recipe! The last couple times I baked with a second loaf pan on top for the first twenty minutes, and it created a great rise. Also, for my particular oven, no need to lower the temperature. Bakes through better left at 425 the whole time. My husband looks forward to this bread every Sunday!
Great to hear, Kristen! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes! I have been meaning to update the recipe to include the note about covering the loaf for the first part of the baking — it makes such a lofty loaf!
Forgot to rate! Five stars
This turned out great! I doubled it and baked in two 9×5 loaf pans. I used about two-thirds AP and one-third whole wheat bread flour. I was thrilled with the great rise, nice even crumb, and soft chewy texture. A keeper for sure.
Great to hear, Helen! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
Well, I was so frustrated by failing at sourdough so many times, that I threw out all the recipes I’d collected, thinking I didn’t need to try it ever again…and then a friend gave me the pot of gold starter and encouragement and voila, I’m now successful!
This recipe is wonderful – the bread is light, not dense and after spending much of a day making the first loaf, I’ve had success with putting in the fridge overnight after the first folding, then continuing the process once more the following day, the final loaf rose even more with baking!
Thank you!
Great to hear, Helen! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes and experience 🙂 So glad you’ve found success with sourdough. Isn’t it fun?!
Great sandwich recipe! I’ve tried many different sourdough sandwich recipes and keep coming back to this one. It’s simple and the bread comes out perfect every time. Only adjustment is less water – 410g
Also I use 9×5 pans
Great to hear, Rany! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
First time making sourdough after making my starter. I only had to proof for 6 hours because my kitchen is really warm and then I put it in the fridge overnight and baked in the morning. It turned out perfect. So easy and the video was very helpful.
Great to hear! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂