I'm always looking for ways to use sourdough discard, and this soft sandwich bread is one of my new favorite solutions. I originally developed it for someone who needed an egg-free soft sandwich bread, and it worked beautifully. As a bonus, it uses a full ½ cup of sourdough discard, so less waste when feeding the starter.
Sourdough Flavor and Sweetness Level
The sourdough flavor will vary in strength depending on how fresh or aged your discard is. For instance, if you are feeding your starter and use fresh discard, the sourdough flavor will be more subtle than with discard you've stashed in the refrigerator. Also, you can vary the sweetness of the bread. I use 3 tablespoons of sugar, but adding a tablespoon of honey gave it a little more sweetness and background flavor.
Texture of Sourdough Sandwich Bread
The texture is perfect for sandwiches. This is a soft sandwich loaf, but it's still sturdy enough for slicing, toasting, and making hearty sandwiches. It's tender, but not flimsy thanks to the milk powder and bread flour, which add extra protein and structure. Those, plus kneading thoroughly with the dough hook, give the bread the structure to stay cohesive and sliceable without need eggs.
Full Size or Cube Shaped Loaves
When I first tested the recipe, I needed one loaf to give away and one to keep for taste-testing, so I divided the dough between two small cube-shaped loaf pans. I'm officially obsessed with this size. If you don't have a big household, cube pans are perfect for making smaller loaves you can gift, freeze, or just enjoy without committing to a full-sized loaf. Another nice thing about these pans is the loaves pop right out. I do brush a little butter or oil in them just to be safe, but the nonstick coating seems to work.
No worries if you don't have the special loaf pans because the recipe is written for a standard 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan. Also, I'm pretty sure you could make this without the discard. You'll lose the sourdough flavor of course, but if you don't have discard just make a mixture of 60 grams flour and 60 grams of water and use that.
Recipe
Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ¾ cup warm water (110 degrees F)
- ½ cup sourdough discard (120 grams)
- 3 tablespoons sugar (36 grams)
- 3 tablespoons instant dry milk powder
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt (Morton)
- 2 ¼ cups bread flour plus more if needed 320 grams plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons melted or very soft butter
- Optional: 1 tablespoon melted butter for brushing
Instructions
- Proof yeast in warm water with a pinch of the sugar; let stand 5 minutes until foamy.
- In stand mixer bowl, combine discard, remaining sugar, salt and milk powder. Stir in yeast mixture.
- Add 1 cup of bread flour and mix well. Add another cup and mix until a rough dough forms. Add the softened butter.
- Begin kneading with the dough hook, allowing dough to absorb the softened butter. Continue kneading for 6-8 minutes, adding any remaining flour as needed, until smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky but not sticky. The dough should be very soft, but not sticky. It should snap off the side of the bowl.
- Scrape the dough into a very lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise for about 45 minutes. It will not quite double in bulk at this point.
- Punch dough down lightly, then shape into a log and place in a greased 8½×4½-inch pan or divide in half and used two cube shaped pans.
- Cover and let rise 60 minutes.
- Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes (tent if needed). If using the cube shaped pans, it will most likely be done between 40 and 45 minutes.
- Brush with extra butter if desired. Cool at least 45 minutes before slicing.
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