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I learned how to make sourdough bread several years ago. That was such a great skill to learn! I started out with an Alaskan Sourdough Starter Culture to make my sourdough starter. I finally tweaked my own sourdough bread recipe for perfection.
Why Sourdough Bread?
Did you know that commercial yeasts didn’t become available until about 1870? Did you ever wonder how bread was made before this time? People used to “catch” wild yeasts for bread baking.
This is a simple method of mixing equal parts of flour and water and feeding it every 12 hours until the mixture catches its own yeast and the yeast begins to reproduce. They knew it was ready when the sourdough was bubbling reliably, thus creating their starter.
Once one had a reliable sourdough starter they would maintain it constantly, sometimes throughout generations. Some of those starters still exist in the same families hundreds of years later. That’s pretty cool as far as I’m concerned.
Sourdough is a very traditional bread. Some of today’s sourdoughs are not “true” sourdoughs as they have yeast added to make them rise quickly.
Traditional Sourdough Bread
Making sourdough in a traditional method with long rise times gives the dough time to ferment anddo its job. The fermentation process causes the bread to be more digestible, more nutrient dense, and in my opinion, more filling.
The natural yeasts break down the gluten in the bread and many people with gluten intolerance can eat true sourdough without a problem. (Please do not take this as me telling you that you CAN eat sourdough if you have gluten issues. I’m just saying that some people have been able to eat sourdough even with gluten issues)
The fermentation also breaks down the sugars in the flour so they do not react so extremely with your blood sugar levels.
We have been enjoying this ever since I learned how to make sourdough bread. Ittastesso good and is so much healthier than breads baked with commercial yeasts. This has been a great option for our family.
I make my sourdough bread 1-2 times a week. I refrigerate my sourdough starter in between bread days so I do not have to feed it as often.
To prepare to make sourdough bread, I set my starter out to warm up and feed it 2-3 times (or 1-2 days) before I’m ready to bake with it. I have been using organic unbleached flour most of the time with my starter. Since I bought my Alaskan Sourdough Starter and it requires the white flour for feedings, that is what I use.
I have used fresh ground wheat with the starter for my bread but have found that it is a much stronger flavor and my family doesn’t particularly enjoy it. I will just stick with the white flour until I can work on making it milder with thewhole wheat.
Sourdough Bread Recipe
How to Make Sourdough Bread
(Note: I make 4 loaves at a time but this recipe could be halved for 2 loaves at a time)
Mix the sponge:
I start out by mixing up my sponge. I do this by mixing 2 cups of active starter, 3 cups of room temperature water, and 4-6 cups of flour in a very large glass bowl.
Since the moisture level of flour varies, sometimes it takes less flour than others to come to consistency. For the sponge, you want the starter to be loose but not watery. You do not want it to form into a dough yet. I stir this all together very well to be sure everything is incorporated.
Let stand covered in a warm, draft free place for 2-8 hours. I used to set it in a the oven (while it was off) but then I got a bread proofer for Christmas from my parents and I use now.
I usually stick to about 2 or so hours of letting the sponge set. When the sponge is ready it, should have expanded and be actively bubbling.
Sponge after it is mixed ready to sit for several hours.
Sponge bubbling and ready to mix into dough.
Mix dough together:
After the sponge is ready, I pour it into my mixer and add 2 tablespoons each of sea salt and demerara (raw cane) sugar. I let that mix in and then slowly add 4-6 cups of flour.
You have to just look for the proper texture, denseness, and feel of the dough when adding the flour. You want it to be slightly tacky but not stick to your finger or the bowl I allow this to knead in my mixer for 3-4 minutes.
First rise:
I oil the bowl (with olive oil or coconut oil) from the sponge and place my dough in the bowl, turning it to coat with oil. I allow this to stand loosely covered in my proofer for 1-2 hours until almost doubled in size.
Sea salt and demerara sugar added to sponge in mixer
Adding flour to sponge mixture
Dough ready to rise
Shape into loaves:
Once my dough is close to double in size, it is now ready to be formed into loaves and placed in the oiled loaf pans. This time, I allow it to rise 1-2 hours or until dough is about 1 inch above (or 1 1/2 to 2 times the size) the bread pan at its peak.
Dough risen and ready for pans
Rising in pans
Ready to bake
Bake loaves:
I bake it in a pre-heated 450° oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top. I found that in my oven I have to lower the rack to one level below the center rack in order to keep the tops of the loaves from cracking andgetting too brown like in the photo below.
All ready to slice and slather in butter!
This may seem like quite the process but it really is simple. I just set my timer for each rise time and get other things done in between. I am so happy that we decided to start using sourdough all of the time. I hope you will try your own sourdough and share you progress with me!
All ready for eating!
Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Yield: 4 loaves
Prep Time: 6 hours
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours 25 minutes
This is a simple and basic sourdough sandwich bread recipe. This bread is the perfect texture for sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Active Sourdough Starter
- 3 Cups Warm Water (around 115 degrees)
- 10 Cups Flour Unbleached (Divided)
- 2 tbsp Sea Salt
- 2 tbsp Raw Sugar
Instructions
- Mix Sourdough starter, water, and 6 cups of flour thoroughly in large bowl. Allow to sit for 2-8 hours until actively bubbling.
- Pour sponge into mixing bowl, add sea salt and sugar. Slowly knead in remaining 4 cups of flour and continue to knead for 3-4 minutes. Place dough in well oiled bowl, turn to coat dough with oil. Set aside to rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Form dough into 4 loaves and place in oiled loaf pans. Set to rise 1-2 hours until dough is about 1 inch above the pan sides or has increased by 1 1/2 to 2 times.
- Place in preheated 450º oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 loavesServing Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 1374Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 3507mgCarbohydrates: 289gFiber: 12gSugar: 6gProtein: 39g
I am not a nutritional expert. This information is provided as a guideline.
Did you make this recipe?
Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram
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About Jenna
Hey, y’all! I’m Jenna, wife to my amazing husband, Derek, mom to 8 beautiful farm kids, homesteader, homemaker, homeschooler, and lover of Jesus. I enjoy all things farmy, family, crafting, old fashioned, and homemade.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
These look gorgeous! I have never eaten sourdough bread before though I might be trying it now 🙂
Thanks for linking up over at the Talented Tuesday Link Party!Reply
Jenna saysThanks! It’s yummy. 🙂 You should try it sometime.
- michelle says
We lived in Alaska for 6 years where sour dough is the national bread. Everything is made from sour dough. Best pizza I ever had was in Alaska made with a sour dough crust.
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- Jenna says
That’s so cool! I am LOVING my Alaskan sourdough starter. 🙂
- allthatsjas says
Nothing better than homemade bread. 🙂
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- Jenna says
True! 🙂
- Sally says
Jenna! It’s Sally, from the marriage retreat a couple years ago! I was on Pinterest, looking for large.barch sourdough sandwich bread, and I found you!!! Yay! I am going to feed my starter in about an hour from now (if the baby will let me!) and work in this bread tomorrow! You used a proofer, and it took a couple hours to double — since I have no proofer, I’m assuming it will take a lot longer for my dough to rise?.
- Jenna says
Hi!! I’m so glad you found my recipe. Before I had a proofer, I would usually turn my oven on for 60-90 seconds and then turn it off. Just long enough to make it warm inside but not hot. The bread would proof in that in close the the same amount of time. i would check it at an hour and if it had cooled way down turn it on for 30-60 seconds again. I hope you enjoy it!
- Meaghan says
This looks so good! I’m still nervous about yeast breads so this might be a little over my head but I’m definitely pinning for later!
~Meaghan
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- Jenna says
You can do it! 🙂
- Karol says
Jenna,
do you have to send away for the cultured yeast, or can you buy it here somewhere?Reply
- Karol says
I mean for the sourdough bread…I know you can buy regular yeast…lol
- Jenna says
I ordered mine online from Cultures For Health. I don’t know of any stores that carry it. 🙂
- Jenna says
I ordered mine from http://www.culturesforhealth.com. I don’t know if any stores carry them in stock. 🙂
I can’t wait to make this. Sourdough bread is our favorite but I haven’t ventured into making it. Thanks for posting such a detailed post on how to make it.
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- Jenna says
Please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
- Karol says
Jenna, thanks I’m gonna go into the website and order some, we love Sour Dough bread and if I can make my own, that would be AWESOME!!
Reply
- Jenna says
That’s great! Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
- Mary Sadler says
What is demerara sugar?
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- Jenna says
Demerara sugar is just evaporated cane juice. We don’t use white sugar because it is processed with chemicals and all of the nutrients are stripped from it. 🙂
These look really good! I love making sandwiches on sourdough bread so I may have to try this so I don’t have to buy loaves anymore 🙂
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- Annette Browning says
I LOVE sour dough bread. My mother in law gave me a starter years ago and I made it all the time. Might be a good winter project 🙂
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I got the yogurt starter from Cultures for Health! They’re great, I’ll have to check out the sourdough starter now too cause this bread looks YUMMY
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- Jenna says
Thanks! I need help making yogurt. I haven’t been successful yet. 🙂
- Carl Patton says
Got my starter in Death Valley, CA in 1973, have kept it going 41 yrs. use Sourdough Jack’s cookbook. Makes the best biscuits & English muffins.
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- Jenna says
How neat! 🙂 I’ll have to check that book out. 🙂
- Nancy W says
I love sourdough bread, I’m going to have to try your recipe! Thanks for sharing your post on the HomeAcre Hop. As one of the co-hosts I’m going to feature your post on my blog tomorrow! Hope you stop by and link up again! – Nancy
http://homefront.prudentliving.com/homeacre-hop-94/Reply
- Jenna says
Thank you so much! 🙂
- Judith says
This is my 1st time doing sour dough. I was looking at the baking temperature is it a higher heat other than the normal 350 temp because of the use of the sour dough?
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- Allison says
Can I make this without a mixer? Do you use whole grain for the bread, or white for both starter and bread?
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- Jenna says
Allison, Yes, you can make it without a mixer. Just knead it by hand. I use organic unbleached white flour. You can use whole wheat for the bread but my family doesn’t like it. lol 🙂
- Dorsie says
The explanation with photos says to use 2 TBS each of sea salt and sugar, but the recipe lists salt at just 2 tsp. Is there a correction for this amount? I know bread dough can be dependent on salt and yeast ratio for a good rise. I used the Tbs because I was reading the how-to with pictures as I measured, and it sounded like a lot of salt! Thanks for any input!
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- Jenna says
I’m sorry for the confusion, It should be 2 TB of each. 2 TB is for 4 whole loaves. 🙂 I edited the recipe to correct it.
- Debbie says
Hi Jenna, I am so glad I found your recipe!! I made my starter in January of this year but haven’t done much with it except keep it alive lol. I will be making this recipe today & can’t wait to get started!!
Thank you so much for sharing this.Reply
- Jenna says
That’s great! I hope you enjoy it! 😃
- Debbie says
HELP!! I have no idea what I did wrong but my bread hasn’t risen since I put the dough in the pans.
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- Jenna says
Did you have them in a warm spot? Sometimes it takes a long time for them to rise.
- Monte says
Can you make it more sour….for extra sourdough bread?
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- Jessica says
Thanks for the recipe! I’m so excited my first sourdough starter is on day five, this is taking forever lol. It’ll be worth it though, I can’t wait to see what it’ll taste like. Will I like homemade sourdough? Will my kid, my hubby? Food adventure time! xD I finally successfully made homemade yeast bread that rose up high for sandwiches and stuff, so I am feeling way more confident now.
Please make a note for those of us that live high above sea level (I’m close to Canada, my city is on top of a small mountain) that the temperature needs to be reduced to 350 degrees and to watch the loaf like a hawk.
Question: Would adding 1-2 tsps of cornstarch help *all* bread hold together better for sandwiches? Or should I knead it an extra time? Thanks!
I have three loaves of non-sourdough bread atm. The first one is short maybe two inches high, but full of nooks, crannies, and insanely good flavor. I was sad it didn’t rise more. ;-; I tried another recipe and made two much higher loaves, but the flavor was less. The only difference between the recipes was the second one had almost double the yeast to use in it. So any idea how to get that same yummy flavor in the higher risen loaves? What makes the flavor of bread anyways? I’ll stop now. Yhanks in advance for any help! – Jess
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- Jess says
Made this finally yesterday after babying my starter for 6 days. The bread tastes delicious. However it didn’t rise as much as it should have. The rise after the sponge was good, nice and bubbly. The next two didn’t rise much. What did I do wrong? Too much flour? Thanks for sharing.Reply
- Allison says
Hi, I just discovered your recipe and will be trying it today! Question, what size bread loaf pans do you use? And where did you get yours? 🙂
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- Jenna says
Hi, I’m excited for you to try it! 🙂 My pans are traditional glass loaf pans that are 5″x9″. I actually prefer ones that are slightly smaller but most are that size.
- Sally says
Jenna! It’s Sally, from the marriage retreat a couple years ago! I was on Pinterest, looking for large.barch sourdough sandwich bread, and I found you!!! Yay! I am going to feed my starter in about an hour from now (if the baby will let me!) and work in this bread tomorrow! You used a proofer, and it took a couple hours to double — since I have no proofer, I’m assuming it will take a lot longer for my dough to rise?.
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- Marlene says
I have baked regular yeast bread forvover 30 years and have always wanted to try sourdough. I finally got a starter to grow during this heat wave we are having. I now know why my starters always failed! Anyway, I like the simplicity of your recipe and will try. To stop the cracked loaves could you brush with oil or spray pam?
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- Jenna says
I brush with butter when they come out of the oven. 🙂
- Jami says
Thank you for the recipe! I have used this sourdough recipe weekly for sandwich bread. It is the perfect bread for sandwiches – it holds up to anything and has a great flavor.Reply
- Larry Westfall says
I have never tried making sourdough before but have made other types of bread – beer, banana, mango, and a few others. WIll have to give this a try.
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- Dolly Khodair says
Hi Jenna, I was wondering why this was such a large recipe but after reading a bit of your bio I understand….. he he
Why is it that busy women seem to have so much time to do more? A mom to 8 farm kids, homesteader, homemaker, homeschooler and also helper on the web!!!!
More power to you dear…. I will break down your recipe and try it, many thanks.
Dolly KhodairReply
- Debbie says
Was totally disappointed, what did I do wrong? Did I not add enough flour, my dough was still sticky and I poured it into the pan, it did not form like in your pics. It raised wonderfully, doubled in size, filled the pans. It just was very dense and the taste was not what I remember from when I made sour dough bread years ago. It was not my started because I used a different recipe and made rolls and they were great. Any ideas or suggestions as to what I did wrong or what I could do differently. My husband described this as I had taken it to Sunday lunch with my grown kids “you know how you just want to keep eating another slice of sour dough bread, you don’t with this”. Please help.Reply
- Jami says
Thank you for this awesome recipe! I have made this bread a dozen times or more and it is the best sourdough sandwich bread! Soft enough for my little ones to eat, yet it can be sliced really thin and hold up to any sandwich fillings. My family of 9 loves it. Question – have you tried this recipe with rye flour? Im thinking about trying a rye starter.Reply
- Bonny says
Can I use bread flour
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- Theresa says
Was wondering if I could leave out the sugar?
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