Elm Farm

Family owned & farmed in Marshfield, MO

Soft Sourdough Sandwich Loaf

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This is my go-to sourdough recipe. I memorized it and I make it every week. I’ve messed it up many times and it’s still completely edible, it’s basically indestructible, but it keeps its heart soft no matter how badly you treat it.

My preferred method for making this bread goes as follows: I feed my starter in the morning so it’s ready to use that afternoon. I mix up the dough right before dinner and do the stretch & folds through dinner, clean up & bedtime routines. I cover the bowl and do one of the following:

Winter: Bowl sits on the counter all night and in the morning, I shape it into a loaf pan and bake it that afternoon for the next morning’s toast.

Summer: The bowl goes into the fridge all night. I bring it out in the morning and let it finish the bulk ferment on the counter. I shape it into the loaf pan when it’s finished doubling in size and if it’s early enough in the day, it sits on the counter until I bake it that evening.

If it took a long time to finish the first bulk ferment, I let it sit on the counter for a few hours after shaping in loaf pan and then put it in the fridge. The next morning, I pull it out (it’s usually fully risen at that point) and let it come to room temp (there’s grace for a cold loaf) and then bake.

Soft Sourdough Sandwich Loaf

Soft Sourdough Sandwich Loaf

Recipe by Cherith Mitchell
Servings

1

loaf
Cooking time

55

minutes
Bulk Ferment

6-12

hours
2nd Proof

4-8

hours

We spent a whole year tweaking this sandwich bread until it was perfectly springy, light and soft every time. Excellent for PB&Js and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Ingredients

  • 500g all-purpose flour

  • 25g sugar

  • 9g salt

  • 65g butter or lard, room temp

  • 270g warm water (110 degrees)

  • 100-150g active sourdough starter

Directions

  • Place mixer bowl on scale and weigh out ingredients. Precision is not required for perfection. (Warm water will speed up your ferment, but cool water is acceptable. Chunk up the butter if it’s not adequately softened.)
  • Use dough hook to mix all ingredients into a rough, wet paste. Cover and let sit for 30-45 minutes. The warmer your environment, the less time between the next few steps.
  • After sitting, turn on mixer for 2-4 minutes until dough comes together smoothly.
  • Oil a large bowl. Fold dough into a ball and place in oiled bowl. Cover (I use a beeswax wrap until the stretch & fold steps are done, and then switch to a proofing bag) and let sit for 30-45 minutes.
  • Practice your favorite method of the fold & stretch steps found in every sourdough recipe you’ve ever made. I do 3 more sets of stretch & folds after placing it into the oiled bowl.
  • Cover and allow to bulk ferment for your preferred time. Less time for warmer kitchens, longer for chilly environments such as refrigerators and old farmhouses in the winter.
  • When doubled in size, grease (I use butter) one standard sized glass loaf pan (or two small ones – like these lunch containers). Sprinkle a few drops of water on counter and flatten dough into a rectangle with a rolling pin to remove the bubbles. Fold half way in on itself longways to make an even skinnier rectangle with a seam down the middle; press together with rolling pin. Roll from one short end to the other to make a pudgy cylinder.
  • Place in greased loaf pan and cover with proofing bag until it rises over the top of the pan about 2″ at the peak. You want a nice voluptuous rise. If you over-proofed in the bulk ferment stage (only let it double, not triple), the dough will be a little more poofy and delicate. It’ll still be edible, but don’t proof it for as long during this stage.
  • Lower your oven rack to the lower-middle of your oven and heat to 500 degrees and then lower to 350 when you put the loaf in. Bake for 55 minutes (50min for smaller pans). The top of the bread will turn dark brown and feel hard when you pull it out of the oven, but it softens as it cools.
  • Turn bread out of the loaf pan after it cools for 10-15 minutes and finish cooling completely on a rack. This step doesn’t seem important, but the loaf slices up better and thinner for sandwiches if you allow it to completely cool to room temperature before slicing into it. It even slices better on the second day, so feel free to just leave it whole until you need it tomorrow. (It’s delicious warm, though, so go ahead and try it piping hot. You won’t regret it.)
  • This loaf will keep fresh and delicious for about a week in a ziplock on your counter. I don’t know how much longer after that it would keep because we’ve never had bread hang around that long in our house.