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This quick and easy sourdough discard sandwich bread is a great sourdough recipe to have in your repertoire for when you need to use up some discard or you need a loaf of sourdough bread in a hurry. This bread takes around 2 to 3 hours from start to finish, depending on how warm your house is. It utilises 100g of sourdough discard and is perfect with homemade butter! You’ll get a super soft, light and airy crumb with a soft crust that’s easy to eat. It’s egg free and can be made without butter if you prefer.
Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!
Tested thousands of times – this is one of the first recipes I posted on my site back in 2019 and it has been made by thousands of people in my sourdough community. It has been shared over 130,000 times and has hundreds of 5 star reviews! It’s a well tested recipe that guarantees great results.
It’s so easy! – Pop the ingredients in your stand mixer and let the dough hook attachment do the work for you! If you have a warm place to make the dough rise more quickly, you’ll have this loaf done in around 3 hours or less. There’s not need for fridge time!
Easy to slice, freezes perfectly – Perfect for making a double batch, eat one, freeze one.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Sourdough Discard – I developed this recipe using unfed sourdough starter, however, as with all sourdough discard recipes, you can use active starter if you prefer.
- Water – if you want a super fast rise, warm water is best here. It always gives the yeast a boost and gets this loaf on the table much faster!
- Bread Flour (or All Purpose Flour)
- Salt
- Sugar – this adds to the soft texture of the crumb of this loaf. You can substitute the same weight of honey if you prefer.
- Butter – salted butter softened at room temperature. If you don’t want to use butter, you can use swap this out for vegan butter or olive oil.
- Instant Yeast – using a little commercial yeast gives your bread rise since we are using sourdough discard, rather than active sourdough starter. I use instant yeast because unlike active dry yeast, it doesn’t need to be bloomed in water first and can be added straight to the dough.
How To Make Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
This loaf comes together really easily, particulary if you use a stand mixer to knead the dough. Combine the sourdough discard, water and flour into the bowl of your stand mixer and mix until it forms a shaggy dough (around 30 seconds will do it). Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes. No matter what machine I’m using, I usually just use a spatula to get the dough to this stage, and then add the dough hook attachment for the next stage.
Next you’ll need to add the salt, sugar, butter and yeast to the bowl and knead the dough for around 3 to 6 minutes. The time it takes to knead the dough will depend on what you’re using (you can see my recommendations on stand mixers further down the post).
You want the dough to be elastic, silky and slapping the sides of the bowl. Just keep the mixer going at a low speed until you achieve this. If you’re using a Kitchenaid, I recommend giving your machine a break from kneading every few minutes.
Now you need to let your dough rise. You are using instant yeast as the leavening agent in this recipe, rather than sourdough/wild yeast, so it will rise very quickly, particularly if your home is warm. Leave it for around an hour (it will take longer if your house is cooler). You want it to double.
Shaping The Dough
Shaping sandwich bread is so so easy. Of course, like anything, there are a million ways to complicate it, however I like to stick to this simple method – it’s so easy my kids can do it!
Remember that this dough will feel different to traditional sourdough sandwich bread because it has been leavened with instant yeast. You won’t need extra flour for shaping, the dough won’t need it.
You need to pop your fermented dough out onto the kitchen counter so that the smooth side is underneath and the sticky side is on the top. Gently ease the dough out into a rough rectangle, with the short edge closest to you.
Then roll the dough up into a log and tuck the ends under. Try and create as much tension as you can on the top of the loaf. This will help it to develop a lovely shape when it’s baked.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Easier Shaping Technique
If you want an even easier shaping technique, divide the dough into 3 or 4 equally weighted pieces and roll them into balls. Place the balls into your chosen loaf pan, making sure they’re touching.
Once the dough is shaped, gently place it into a well greased bread pan with the seam underneath. Leave the dough to rise until it’s just above the rim of the tin (I usually cover the dough with plastic wrap lightly coated in olive oil or an elastic dough cover for this step). This second rise will take around an hour, depending on the temperature of your home. You really want to make sure the dough has time to proof, even though you want this to be ready in just a few hours. If it’s not soft and puffy, you’ll end up with a dense loaf.
Let’s Bake It
Once the dough has risen, you’ll need to bake your loaf.
Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF and allow it to warm for around 10 to 15 minutes. Spray the top of your dough with some water mist and place into the oven. Bake for around 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top of the loaf is golden brown and the loaf feels hollow when you tap the base.
Remove from the loaf pan once done and place on a cooling rack to cool before slicing. You can brush the baked loaf with melted butter if you want to. This keeps the crust really soft, however this is totally optional.
If you’d like a more artisan style sourdough discard bread, you could try this crusty sourdough discard loaf made in a Dutch Oven, or these sourdough discard hamburger rolls might be more your style. I’ve also created a sourdough discard sandwich bread recipe in a bread machine and a whole wheat sourdough discard sandwich bread recipe.
Equipment for Making Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
Stand Mixer – I highly recommend mixing this dough in a stand mixer as its much easier and faster knead mechanically than by hand. I have tested this loaf in a Kitchenaid, Thermomix TM31, TM5 and TM6, Ankarsrum Assistent and the Ooni Halo Pro Spiral Mixer. The Kitchenaid and Thermomixes can handle one batch of dough at a time without becoming overwhelmed. The Ankarsrum Assistent can comfortably handle 3 to 4 batches, however I don’t love the way it kneads this dough (I use the dough roller). I make a triple batch of this dough in the Ooni Halo Pro Spiral Mixer very often (at least once a week). I LOVE the way the dough comes out of this machine and it kneads it very quickly and effectively. The crumb turns out super soft and supple when I knead it with the Ooni Halo Pro Spiral Mixer. I get a much nicer crumb than when I knead it with the Kitchenaid or even by hand.
Sandwich Loaf Pans – I have made this recipe literally hundreds of times and tested more loaf pans than I’d like to admit! After years of testing, I almost always make this loaf in a USA Pan 1.5 pound loaf pan. The pan measures 5 x 10 x 3-inches and makes a lovely family sized loaf. If you prefer a more uniform loaf, placing a second 1.5 pound pan on top while its baking will give you this.
I also like to use the USA Pan Pullman Pan measuring 9 x 4 x 4-inches (it comes with a lid, however I never use it). This gives a very high, lofty loaf. If you prefer a loaf that is a little less lofty, split the dough in two at shaping and put half in each pan (you could even use the lid if you want to when splitting the dough in two). Let the dough rise until it’s level with the rim of the pan and then bake.
Ziplock Bags – this sourdough discard sandwich loaf is best stored in a ziplock bag after it’s cooled to room temperature. This will keep the crumb and crust soft and supple.
Mercer Bread Knife – I always use this Mercer Bread Knife to slice my sourdough discard sandwich bread evenly. You can also use a bread slicing guide if you want to, however I find as long as the loaf is cool, it’s pretty easy to create even slices.
Flavor Variations and Inclusions
There are lots of ways to jazz up this easy sourdough discard sandwich bread. Here are a few suggestions:
- Honey & Oat Sandwich Loaf – Add 20g of honey and 50g of oats to the mixture when you add the butter, sugar and salt. If you’d like to add oats to the top you should do so when you put the dough into the tin – spray the loaf lightly with water so the oats stick to the top.
- Multigrain Sandwich Loaf – Add 50 to 100g of your favorite seeds to the mixture when you add the butter, sugar and salt. Seeds like sesame, sunflower, pumpkin and flax work really well.
- Wholemeal Sandwich Loaf – Replace half the Bread Flour with whole wheat flour for a more hearty country style sandwich loaf. You could top with sesame seeds when you place it into the tin.
- You could also turn this loaf into sourdough discard rolls.
How to Store + Freeze
Room Temperature – this loaf stays soft at room temperature for around 24 to 48 hours if stored in a plastic ziplock bag. This keeps the moisture in the crumb and ensures it stays soft and supple. For the best storage results, don’t slice the loaf until you need to. This helps further retain the moisture in the crumb.
Freezing – This loaf freezes so well! I almost always make a triple batch, one to eat today and 2 for the freezer. For best results freeze the whole loaf, uncut. Place uncut, cooled sourdough discard sandwich loaves into large ziplock bags and place into the freezer for up to 3 months.
Sourdough Discard Sandwich Loaf Recipe
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (easiest kneading option)
- Digital Scales
- Loaf Pan (I use USA Pan 1.5 pound loaf pan measuring 5 x 10 x 3-inches)
Ingredients
- 100 g Sourdough Discard , (unfed sourdough starter)
- 250 g Water
- 500 g Bread Flour, (or All Purpose Flour)
- 10 g Salt
- 20 g Sugar
- 60 g Butter, (salted, room temperature)
- 7 g Instant Yeast
Instructions
- Combine the sourdough discard, water and flour into the bowl of your stand mixer or Thermomix and mix until it forms a shaggy dough (around 30 seconds will do it). Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
- Now add the salt, sugar, butter and yeast to the bowl and knead the dough for around 3 to 6 minutes. You want the dough to be elastic, silky and slapping the sides of the bowl. Just keep the mixer going until you achieve this. If you are using a stand mixer you'll need to use your dough hook attachment for this step.
- Now you need to let your dough rise. You are using instant yeast as the leavening agent in this recipe, rather than sourdough/wild yeast, so it will rise very quickly, particularly if your home is warm. Leave it for around an hour (it will take longer if your house is cooler). You want it to double.
- While you're waiting for the dough to double, lightly butter a sandwich loaf or pullman pan so it's ready to go when the dough is shaped.
- Once the dough has doubled, tip it out onto the counter top with the smooth side underneath and the sticky side on the top. Gently ease the dough out into a rectangle. It should be quite easy to do this as the dough is very elastic.
- Now you want to shape your dough into a sandwich loaf. This is fairly easy. Make sure that the short side of the rectangle is in front of you. Fold each side of the dough into the middle, then roll the dough into a tight log with the seam underneath. Tighten the top of the dough by putting your hands at the base and pulling the dough towards you, without lifting if off the countertop.
- Once the dough is shaped, gently place it into the buttered loaf tin. Leave the dough to rise until it's just above the rim of the tin. This will take around an hour, depending on the temperature of your home.
- Once the dough has risen, you'll need to bake your loaf. Turn your oven on and set the temperature to around 180C/350F. Let it warm for around 10 minutes. Spray the top of your dough with some water mist and place into the oven. Make sure that there's plenty of room for it to grow in the oven as it will generally keep rising.
- Bake your bread at 180C/350F for around 40 to 45 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown.
- Remove from the loaf tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Rate and comment below!
Made 2 loaves today and this is the best ever!!!
Love love love this recipe it’s my kiddos favorite. They wanted me to make it in miniature bread pans so they could have their own. How would I adjust the temp and time?
Great idea! Use the same temperature, but start with 20 minutes and check on them. 🙂
Can I use olive oil instead of butter? Do I use the same quantity?
You can. You’ll use the same amount of olive oil as you would butter. 🙂
I’ve been experimenting with freezing the dough after the shaping and then thawing for the second rise to bake. I’ve had some success, but I haven’t nailed it yet. I’ve thought about parking for maybe 10-15 minutes, freezing, and then baking from frozen the rest of the way. Do you have any suggestions for that? I’m thinking I’d bake on 350 for another 15-20 minutes?
Hi there! This is a 50% hydration loaf. If I add more water will it make it lighter and fluffier? I like to add seeds, so a higher hydration would be better. Thank you!
Hi Jacki, For a loaf with seeds, try this recipe. 🙂
When making the Honey & Oat Sandwich Loaf, is the honey added in addition to the sugar or do you leave the sugar out? Thank you!!
When making the Honey & Oat Sandwich Loaf, is the honey added in addition to the sugar or do you leave the sugar out? Thank you!!
The honey is added in addition to the sugar. 🙂
This is an all time favorite… I need advice on refrigerating the dough (when made late at night) and freezing loaves, how to defrost, etc…
Love that, Ashley! Not sure if the dough will freeze okay. We usually bake before freezing, but some readers have had success refrigerating the dough overnight.
My boys asked for bread at 3pm so I needed something fast.
This was super easy and turned out great. I did bake in a 13” Pullman pan with the lid on and it worked.
This recipe turned out amazing! It’s my first attempt at a sandwich loaf, and I’m so amazed that I made this absolutely delicious bread! I don’t have a stand mixer so I kneaded by hand for about 8 minutes which I found very easy. If you think it feels greasy and wrong, just keep going, it comes together beautifully if you keep working it. The top started to get prematurely dark brown at about 20 minutes so I just tented it with foil, all good. The crumb is perfect, soft and airy and it tastes SO GOOD I hope I don’t eat the whole loaf in one sitting 🙂
So glad you loved this one! Thank you so much for your review and tips. 🙂
My dough isn’t doubling, or rising at all. This recipe was just strange to me, as the yeast goes in dry, and not dissolved in the water? I have never followed a bread recipe whereas the yeast was ‘activated’, but I am new to sourdough and that process.
You can do this with instant yeast because it doesn’t have to be bloomed first, it can be tossed into the dough and it will work. If you’re not using instant yeast, you will need to bloom it first, so you would add it to the water instead 🙂
Best loaf of bread I ever made! It was soft and delicious, raised beautifully tall, and it doesn’t take all day. If you’ve made rustic styles and just want a traditional white loaf for sandwiches, this is it. Just for fun, I used my lame and slashed the loaf down the center before baking. That made the slices have an interesting shape, like Mickey Mouse ears on top.
Can I use more sourdough discard, and then not use the instant yeast?
Unfortunately, no, this isn’t how sourdough works. However, you could swap out the discard for active sourdough starter and then omit the yeast if you want to.
Oh, I love love this bread. It’s lovely, slightly crusty on the outside and soft and fluffy inside. It’s great with anything, whether it’s a PB&J sandwich or any type of sandwich. It will be my go-to recipe from now on. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
A PB & J on sourdough is hard to beat. Thank you so much for your review, Rowena. We’re so glad you enjoy this one. 🙂
If we wanted to sub the sugar for honey, what adjustments would you make?
Hi Hales, You can sub honey for sugar 1:1 without any other adjustments. 🙂
Hi!
I really like this recipe and it’s been thorough enjoyed by my family. But every time I bake them one of the loaves always tears on top or on the side.
Is there something I’m doing wrong in the process? Am I tightening it too much when I shape it? Underkneading?
Thank you!
If the dough is tearing in the oven this is an under fermentation issue. Allow your dough to proof a bit longer before placing it in the oven. You could also score the top of the loaf to control where it’s opening too 🙂
I am going to try this. FYI, you should have an alias of “Queen of Sourdough”
Haha! Love that, Wayne!
I have lots of discard and NEEDED to bake something the other night so I looked online and found this recipe and tried it. I used half and half whole wheat and bread flour and used my einkorn discard and so was very curious as to how this would taste. I have to say it is DELICIOUS! It baked nice and high and the crumb is soft yet tight and it has a beautiful sweet flavor. Next time I will half the sweetener and maybe add oats as well. Also, I didn’t notice it said instant yeast and just mixed my Active Dry yeast in with the honey and butter and salt and it worked just fine. In fact I was surprised how high the loaf was baking when I peaked at it. This is definitely a keeper – and I’m glad because I’m loathe to throw out too much discard. The most recent ones are my insurance policy in case in case I mess up the starters (which happened just recently). I love sourdough baking!
We love to hear that. Thank you for your review, Mary!
I already commented but suggest you put your newest comments first. This is a long list of compliments but the top ones are quite old – from 2020.
THE LOAF I’VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR
Easily the best sandwich bread I have ever made! Lasted the week, fresh and soft, for sandwiches and toast. Made in a Corningware loaf pan and yielded a huge loaf like the one depicted in the recipe. I scored the loaf and put in a 375 f oven for 10 min, spritzing the sides of the oven. Spritzed again after a few minutes and again at the 10 min mark then reduced heat to 350 and baked for 30-35 min more. Perfection indeed. I’ve been looking for the recipe to replace store bought sandwich bread and this is it! Thank you !
This really does make a very nice dough and loaf.
Thanks for the recipe, I was running out of things I want to use discard in.
Thanks, Carolyn. So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Wow! Best sandwich loaf recipe! I made a double batch and I’m glad I did! I’ve tried probably 10 different recipes and this one takes the cake! I did smother the top with butter when I pulled it out to make the top soft. So so good!!
So glad you enjoy this one, Eve. Thank you so much for your review. 🙂
Best bread I’ve baked in a long time. Thank you❤️
We love hearing that so much. Thank you, Theresa!
I know I’ve already reviewed this recipe, and found it wonderful, but Oh My Gosh, croutons and breadcrumbs from the Everyday Discard Sandwich Bread are great! For croutons (unseasoned) I cubed up bread (approx 1″) that was about to get tossed, baked at 325° for 15 -18 minutes (or until they get browned up and crispy). Once cooled, if you find they’re not crispy enough stick them back into the oven for a while. For breadcrumbs I just whizzed up the croutons in the food processor. I’m looking forward to using the breadcrumbs in my meatballs tonight!
Thanks for a great and adaptable recipe!
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing with us, Lisa! 🙂
This is a fantastic and easy recipe! I sub about 100g whole wheat flour and honey instead of sugar and it turns out magnificent! The kids are happy with “real” sourdough too, but this is just such an awesome wonderbread adjacent recipe for non artisanal pb+j and tuna fish 😂
Thank you!
Ha! So glad you enjoy this one. It’s a great all around bread. 🙂
Hi, is this one loaf? And I’m assuming the water is to be warm ? Thank you I’m in the middle of the dough rising !!!
Yes this is one loaf. You can use warm water or cold water – but if using cold water, the dough will take a lot longer to rise.
Can’t wait to try this! I have a huge amount of discard and was looking for ways to use it. This will be perfect. Wish me luck!!!
I followed your recipe, I used bread flour, and the dough became a huge, hard ball, very dry, it was impossible to add the rest of ingredients… to the trash😒
It sounds like the bread flour absorbed a lot more water so adding more water would have fixed this issue. Not all flour is the same, so sometimes you have to adjust things to account for different batches of flour 🙂
Hi! I baked this today but the sides and bottom of the loaf are pale although fully baked. I baked at the 2nd lowest rack as I’m afraid it will rise and hit the roof of the oven. Thanks
If you want to brown up the sides and bottom a little more, you can take it out of the loaf pan at the end of baking and pop it back into the oven for a few minutes. The sides and bottom will often stay pale because they are covered by the loaf pan.
I know this is an old post but I just made this today and it’s fabulous! But my mom prefers to make old fashioned sourdough without the sugar. Can the sugars be omitted in this recipe or is it needed since yeast also is added?
You can omit the sugar if you prefer, yes.