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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!
Since I discovered your recipe this has become a weekly bake for us, ours is half wholemeal and seeded with pumpkin and sunflower seeds and is delicious every time, thank you
After adding the discard, flour, and water, my dough is so tough and dense.. is this normal? I measured with the grams
I have made this twice now. Both times the bread tasted delicious but the second time, the loaf is falling apart round the edges when I cut it, it’s like the crust is falling off. What we would cause this?
Can one use olive oil instead of butter. If so. How much?
Help! I put the dough after the first rise in the fridge raider for a few hours. I was hoping I could just come back and do the second rise. Was this a bad idea?
I’m a little confused by the oven directions. Do you place this in the oven as it is heating up to 350° or place it in there at 350 like you normally would when cooking?
Absolutely amazing discard bread! New to the whole sourdough thing and this was the first thing I made with 10 day old discard and I have to say it was easy and tasted absolutely amazing! Will be making this time and time again. Also will be making the roll version of these for Thanksgiving!
Can i use a normal 9×5 tin?
I’ve tried baking sandwich bread before only to have it disappoint. This recipe made up the prettiest and best-tasting loaf I’ve ever made. I am so happy to have found and tried this!!
Excellent! We’ve been spending over $5.00 per loaf of Dave’s Killer bread and decided to give this recipe a try. I replaced the butter with olive oil, cut back a bit on the sugar and replaced ~200g of the bread flour with seeds, oatbran and whole wheat flour. It was perfect! Thank you!
This recipe turned out fantastic! I lessened the flour by 125g., and the salt by ½, but stuck to the the recipe otherwise. This is definitely a keeper!
We LOVE this recipe! It makes the most delicious bread! Although I also love turning the dough into dinner rolls. It’s perfect!
Wow. This is hands down the best sandwich bread I’ve made and perfect way to use up my discard! The flavor is outstanding and fluffy texture is second to none. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your gift! I’m a newbie and on day 10 of making a homemade starter. I’m trying this recipe out right now…so far it’s been sitting to rise over an hour and not risen one bit 🙁 Iive followed the recipe perfectly and am using fleischmanns dry active yeast and 100g of my starter. My kitchen is not cold, is it typical for it to sometimes take double the amount of time to rise? How long do I wait until I decide this one is a dud? Thanks in advance for your help!
This had turned into my go-to recipe, the family favorite!
Here in Portugal the yeast comes in 11 gram packaging, being horrible in such calculations:
What would be the amounts recalculated so that I can use a sachet of yeast per bread?
I would just use half the packet of yeast and it will be fine. If you want to recalculate the bread ingredients you’d need to use baker’s percentages 🙂
I made this and it was wonderful!
I used organic all purpose flour instead of bread flour and it turned out great
A new family favorite!
Thank you!
Came across this recipe looking to use up some discard, but I don’t have bread flour. Can all-purpose unbleached flour be used with this recipe?
Any idea on why mine would’ve turned out super dense and moist? It’s not airy at all. 🙁 I don’t have a stand mixer so mixed by hand.
Super bread recipe, I tried it as needed to use some discard up and didn’t have the time to wait for sourdough bread. Nearly overproofed as house warmer than I thought so ended up with a very tall loaf well before the hour was up.
I will be using it again as one person in my house does not like the sourdough bread and this was a great compromise, I had to stop them eating it so I could use for sandwiches for lunch next day.
Beautifully textured and tasted great, also made lovely toast with butter & raspberry jam. Very happy I tried this recipe
I made this today because it was a snow day so why not? It was **ridiculously** good. I’ve been making artisan sourdough boules for a few years now, but this was an absolutely lovely change of pace. My husband and I sliced into the semi-cooled loaf after the kids were in bed, and it looks embarrassingly smaller than when it came out of the oven!
I’m waiting on my loaf to do a second rise.. I have no hope for it. I don’t own a scale so I did conversions and I don’t think it’s going to turn out..never had an issue converting in the past but this loaf of dough was extremely dense. I had to add more water to the discard, flour, water mixture because it was all flourly
crumbs. The loaf barely rose on the first rise. Fingers crossed the second rise is better and it bakes ok… I have a strong feeling this is going to go to the chickens.
I made this last night with inactive starter from the fridge and just a pinch of yeast (not instant, not mixed with water). 30 g olive oil instead of butter. I kneaded by hand and let it rise n the counter for about 7 hours. It didn’t double. Degassed, shaped, into pan, and in fridge for a few hours. Baked as directed and sliced when hot so I could make my kid a sandwich for school. Despite my doubts, it’s excellent! Keeping this recipe.
First I’d like to start by saying thank you for sharing this recipe! I made it last night and it was an huge success. Perfectly soft and tasty. I had no issues at my altitude of just under 6000 feet.
My question for you, is there a way to successfully add more starter to give it more tang without compromising its texture? What would you suggest?
LOVE this recipe! Makes wonderfully fluffy and soft sandwich bread but still has the sourdough goodness from the discard. It does come out very large and tall, which is fine but a little daunting at first lol. I sometimes will place it in the fridge for an hour or so after the first rise and the cooling creates a more dense but equally as good, soft loaf.
How do I keep my tops soft. I followed the recipe and my top came out like a crust not soft like the sides and bottom. The crust gets so hard as it cools. I don’t want my bread to be crunchy. I want it to be soft like sandwich bread from a store. How do I achieve this! I’ve never been able to and I don’t know how to. Thanks for all your guides they are so helpful.
But two this I definitely suck at is my crust is never soft when I want it.. and my rolls are always biscuits or unflavored with hard tops that are like crust instead of soft pull apart bread that I want 😭
I’m giving this recipe 5 stars because I’ve made this loaf and variations of it a hundred times and it’s always been perfect, so thank you. BUT… my last 2 loaves didn’t perform in the same way, after a long first prove my dough seemed over airated and loose and was difficult to roll and reform. Once it was shaped it took ages to rise to the top of the tin and when it baked, it baked flat. What have I done wrong???
When making the honey oat variation, do you just add whole oats? Or should you blend them first
This is a big it with my family! My kids went through about 4 loaves in a week and a half!
Have you ever tried subbing shortening for the butter? I have some friends/family who are dairy free.
This bread is amazing!! I love that I can use the discard and not feel wasteful;) I was looking for a Verizon of bread that is good for my kids and that they will eat with sandwiches for lunch. This is it! They even come home and slice it with butter 😉 happy mama, happy kids! Thank you for sharing this!
First off, love this recipe! It’s simply amazing!
My question is could I use fed starter rather than discard?