Best Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe (Better Than Store-Bought)

Your kid takes one look at your gorgeous artisan sourdough and says, “I want normal bread.”

The jam slides through the holes.
The crust scratches the roof of their mouth.
And the leftover half-loaf turns into a brick by Tuesday.

I get it. I spent years perfecting open-crumb boules before realizing that NOBODY IN MY HOUSE ACTUALLY WANTED THEM FOR SANDWICHES.

This recipe solves that problem.

You will get a tight crumb with no tunneling, a paper-thin soft crust, and a shelf life of 4 to 5 days at room temperature without a single preservative.

The dough uses milk, butter, and a controlled fermentation to produce bread that tastes like sourdough but behaves like the stuff from the store.

We are skipping the 3,000-year history of leavened bread. You came here for a recipe that works. So I am going to walk you through the chemistry of softness, give you three different baking schedules, and hand you a formula that accounts for pan size, flour protein, and your local climate.

Let’s get to it.

Why This Recipe Works

Three variables separate a chewy artisan loaf from a pillowy sandwich slice. You need to understand each one to control the result.

When you add butter to bread dough, the fat coats glutenin and gliadin proteins before they can bond with each other ^[1].

This produces shorter gluten chains, which translates to a more tender, softer crumb. Sugar competes with those same proteins for available water, further weakening the gluten network ^[2].

The result is bread that tears easily with your hands instead of requiring a serrated knife and full commitment.

Hydration = the ratio of liquid to flour in your dough, expressed as a percentage.

High-hydration doughs (78% and above) produce the open, irregular holes you see in artisan boules ^[3].

This recipe sits at roughly 65-68% hydration. That lower water content gives you a uniform, sandwich-friendly crumb with small, even air pockets.

You can actually spread peanut butter across the surface without it falling through.

Sourdough fermentation produces lactic acid and acetic acid. Lactic acid tastes smooth and dairy-like. Acetic acid tastes sharp and vinegary. Longer, cooler fermentations produce more acetic acid ^[4].

If you want bread your kids will eat without complaint, you skip the long cold retard and ferment at room temperature. The sourness stays subtle. “But what if I WANT more sour flavor?”

Then cold-proof the shaped loaf overnight.

I will cover both options in the schedules below.

Essential Equipment for Sandwich Loaves

With the chemistry covered, let’s talk about the tools that make this recipe repeatable every single time.

This is the single most common mistake I see from home bakers attempting sandwich bread. Using the wrong pan size produces a flat, squat loaf or one that overflows and collapses.

An 8.5″ x 4.5″ loaf pan (also called a 1-pound pan) holds approximately 750g of dough. This recipe targets that size.
A 9″ x 5″ pan needs about 900g of dough, so if that is what you own, scale every ingredient by 1.2 (a 20% increase). If you use a 9×5 pan with the recipe as written, your loaf will bake flat and wide. It will taste fine, but it will not make proper sandwich slices.
A Pullman loaf pan with a sliding lid produces perfectly square slices. If you want bread that fits neatly in a sandwich bag or toaster slot, a Pullman pan is worth the investment. Bake with the lid on for the first 25 minutes, then remove it for the final 15 minutes to let the top brown.

Overhead comparison of the same sourdough bread recipe baked in an 8.5 by 4.5 inch pan versus a 9 by 5 inch pan, showing the smaller pan produces a taller loaf. — Same dough, different pans. The 8.5 x 4.5 pan (left) gives you a tall dome. The 9 x 5 pan (right) spreads the dough too thin. Scale your recipe up by 20% if using the larger pan.

Flour measured in cups can vary by 20-30% depending on how you scoop ^[5].

In bread baking, that variance can be the difference between a soft, risen loaf and a dense brick. Weigh everything. Every ingredient in this recipe is listed in grams for that reason.

(Ed. note: If you take away one piece of advice from this entire article, this is the one.)

A stand mixer with a dough hook speeds up kneading, but you can knead by hand. Expect 12-15 minutes of hand kneading versus 8-10 minutes in a mixer to reach full gluten development.
A bench scraper helps during shaping.
A wire cooling rack prevents a soggy bottom by allowing steam to escape from all sides of the loaf after baking.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Now that your kitchen is set up, let’s talk ingredients.

Bread flour contains 12-14% protein, compared to 9-11% in all-purpose flour ^[6].

That extra protein builds a stronger gluten network, which gives your loaf better rise and structure inside the pan. I recommend bread flour with 12-13% protein content for this recipe.

King Arthur Bread Flour at 12.7% protein is a reliable option.

You CAN use all-purpose flour, but your loaf will be shorter and the crumb slightly more crumbly.

The fat and protein in whole milk coat starch granules and gluten strands, producing a more tender texture than water alone ^[7].

If you need a dairy-free option, oat milk or soy milk works as a 1:1 substitute. Water will produce a chewier crumb and a harder crust.

Butter provides richness and contributes to browning through the Maillard reaction. But oil (especially olive oil or neutral vegetable oil) disperses more evenly through the crumb and slows moisture loss over time.

For the best combination of flavor AND shelf life, this recipe uses butter.

If you swap to oil, use 40g instead of 50g because oil is 100% fat while butter is roughly 80% fat with 20% water and milk solids.

They feed the wild yeast in your levain and promote crust browning through caramelization.

The small amount in this recipe (30g total for the main dough, 10g for the levain) does not make the bread taste sweet. It makes the bread taste like bread, with a golden-brown top instead of a pale, tough crust.

Sample Baking Schedules

With ingredients selected, the biggest challenge remains. When do you actually bake this thing?

“I want to bake sourdough, but I work full-time.”

I hear this constantly. The beauty of sourdough is its flexibility. You can stretch or compress the timeline to fit your day.

Here are three tested schedules.

8:00 PM (Night Before) Feed your starter. Leave it at room temperature overnight.
7:00 AM Mix the levain. Go to work.
12:00 PM (Lunch Break) Mix the main dough. Autolyse for 30 minutes.
12:30 PM Add salt and butter. Knead. Start bulk fermentation on the counter.
6:00 PM Shape the loaf and place in the pan.
6:15 PM Cover and place in the refrigerator for an overnight cold proof.
Next Morning, 7:00 AM Pull from fridge. Preheat oven. Bake directly from cold.

This schedule produces a slightly more sour loaf because of the overnight cold proof, but it requires the least active time on a workday.

8:00 AM Mix levain.
12:00 PM (Levain is bubbly and doubled) Mix main dough.
12:30 PM Autolyse complete. Add salt and butter. Knead.
1:00 PM Begin bulk fermentation.
3:00 PM and 4:00 PM Perform coil folds (two total sets).
5:00-7:00 PM (Bulk complete when dough has risen 50-60%) Shape and pan.
7:00-9:00 PM Final proof until dough crests 1 inch above pan rim.
9:00 PM Bake. Cool. Slice the next morning.

This schedule keeps everything within a single day and produces a milder, less sour loaf.

Same as Schedule B through the shaping step.

After placing the dough in the pan, cover tightly and refrigerate for 12-18 hours.

Bake directly from the fridge the next day.

This cold retardation maximizes flavor complexity and produces the most pronounced sour tang.

Sliced soft sourdough sandwich bread showing a tight, even crumb with small uniform air pockets and a thin golden crust.

Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe

A tender, tight-crumbed sourdough loaf enriched with milk and butter. Perfect for toast, sandwiches, and picky eaters.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 40

Resting Time 8

Total Time 9 25

Course Breakfast, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 1 Loaf

Calories 145 kcal

Equipment

1 Digital Kitchen Scale Mandatory for accuracy
1 Loaf Pan, 8.5" x 4.5" or 9" x 4" 1 lb loaf pan. If using 9×5, increase recipe by 20%
1 Stand Mixer Optional. Can be kneaded by hand, but mixer yields lighter texture
1 Bench Scraper For tension shaping
1 Cooling Rack Prevents soggy bottom

Ingredients

Levain (Build 4-6 hours before mixing)

35 g Sourdough Starter active, bubbly, fed recently
35 g Water room temperature
35 g Bread Flour high protein
10 g Sugar helps yeast activity and reduces sourness

Main Dough

450 g room temperature, soft All of the Levain, approximately 115g, from above 12-13% protein content is ideal
260 g Whole Milk warm (approximately 80F / 26C)
30 g Sugar or Honey for tenderness and browning
9 g Fine Sea Salt non-iodized
50 g Unsalted Butter room temperature, soft
115 g All of the Levain, approximately 115g from above

Instructions

The Mix

Check your levain. It should have doubled in size, look bubbly throughout, and pass the float test. Drop a small spoonful into a glass of water. If it floats, the levain is ready. If it sinks, give it another hour.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the warm milk, sugar, and active levain until the starter is mostly dissolved.
Add the bread flour. Mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms and no dry flour remains. Stop the mixer.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. This resting stage is called autolyse. During autolyse, flour absorbs the liquid and enzymes begin breaking down starches. Gluten starts forming passively, which means less mechanical kneading later.

The Strengthen

Add the salt. Turn the mixer to low-medium speed and knead for 3-5 minutes until the dough gathers around the hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
With the mixer running on low, add the soft butter one tablespoon at a time. Wait for each piece to absorb before adding the next. The dough will look greasy and broken for a moment. Keep mixing. It will come back together.
Once butter is fully incorporated, increase speed slightly and knead for 5-8 minutes more. The dough should be smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky.
TIP: Perform the Windowpane Test. Pinch off a small piece of dough, about the size of a golf ball.
Gently stretch it between your fingers. If you can pull it thin enough to see light through it without it tearing, your gluten is fully developed [8].
If it rips immediately, knead for another 2-3 minutes and test again.
Windowpane = the degree to which your gluten network has organized into strong, extensible sheets.

The Rise

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container or bowl. Cover with a lid, damp towel, or plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot at 75F-78F (24C-26C).
Perform 2 sets of coil folds during the first 2 hours, one set per hour.
To coil fold, wet your hands, reach under the dough, and lift the middle while letting the edges fold underneath.
Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Each set of folds organizes the gluten structure and redistributes temperature and food for the yeast.
Dough strength = how well the gluten holds its shape during and after fermentation.
After the folds, let the dough rise undisturbed until it has increased by roughly 50-60% in volume.
The surface should look domed and slightly jiggly when you tap the container.
Watch the dough, not the clock. Bulk fermentation can take 4 to 8 hours depending on your ambient temperature and starter strength.

Shape and Proof

Turn the dough onto a clean, unfloured countertop.
Pat it gently into a rectangle, popping any large gas bubbles you see.
We WANT a tight crumb for sandwich bread, so do not be afraid to degas. Loosely roll the dough into a log shape.
Cover and let it bench rest for 20 minutes. This relaxes the gluten and makes final shaping easier.
Flatten the rested dough slightly with your hands.
Fold the left and right sides in toward the center, like a tri-fold brochure. Now roll the dough up tightly from the top edge toward you, using your thumbs to push down and create surface tension with each roll.
Pinch the bottom seam closed. The tighter you roll, the better your oven spring and crumb structure.
Place the shaped log seam-side down into a buttered loaf pan
Cover with a damp towel or reusable shower cap. Let the dough rise at room temperature until the dome crests about 1 inch above the rim of the pan.
This takes 2-4 hours at room temperature. If you are using Schedule A or C, cover tightly and place in the refrigerator instead.

Bake

Preheat your oven to 375F (190C). If baking from the fridge, preheat while the loaf is still cold. There is no need to bring it to room temperature first.
Place the pan on the center rack. Bake for 35-40 minutes. If the top browns too fast, tent loosely with aluminum foil after 20 minutes.
Check the internal temperature. The bread is done when a probe thermometer inserted into the center reads 200F-205F (93C-96C). Do not guess. An underbaked center will be gummy and dense even after cooling.
Remove from the oven. Immediately brush the top crust with a thin layer of melted butter. This seals the surface and keeps the crust soft.
Remove the loaf from the pan immediately and place it on a wire cooling rack.
DO NOT SLICE FOR AT LEAST 2 HOURS.
I know this is painful. I know the bread smells incredible. But the interior is still cooking.
Starch molecules are re-crystallizing and setting up. If you cut too early, you release steam, collapse the crumb, and get a gummy center.

Notes

Sourness control. For a milder, kid-friendly flavor, bake the loaf right after the room temperature final proof. For more tang and complexity, cold-proof the shaped loaf in the fridge overnight and bake straight from cold the next morning.
Milk substitutes. Water produces a chewier crumb and harder crust. Oat milk and soy milk work as 1:1 replacements with minimal texture change.
Pan sizing. This recipe fills an 8.5″ x 4.5″ pan properly. If using a 9″ x 5″ pan, multiply all ingredients by 1.2 to fill the larger pan and avoid a flat loaf.
Seasonal adjustments. In summer, use cold milk (straight from the fridge) to keep dough temperature down during mixing. In winter, warm the milk to 85F to compensate for a cooler kitchen.
Storage. Keep in a sealed plastic bag at room temperature for up to 4 days. Freeze individual slices for up to 3 months. NEVER store bread in the refrigerator. (I will explain why in the next section.)

Keyword Kids Lunch, Pullman Loaf, Sandwich Bread, Soft Bread, Sourdough

How to Achieve the “Supermarket Soft” Crust

Understanding the bake is only half the equation. What you do AFTER the oven matters just as much.

“Why is my homemade bread always crustier than store-bought?”

Commercial sandwich bread contains dough conditioners, emulsifiers, and mono- and diglycerides that keep the crust artificially soft.

You do not need any of that. Three techniques get you close to that same softness.

Brush butter on the crust the second it leaves the oven. The hot surface absorbs the fat, which prevents moisture from escaping through the top. This single step transforms a crackly crust into a pliable one.
Wait for the starch to set before slicing. When bread cools, its starch molecules undergo retrogradation. Retrogradation = the process where gelatinized starch (soft, pliable) re-crystallizes into a firmer, more organized structure ^[9]. This is what gives cooled bread its sliceable texture. If you cut during this phase, you interrupt the process and end up with a gummy interior. Two hours of cooling is the minimum.
Store in plastic, not linen. A linen bread bag lets moisture escape, which is great for crusty artisan loaves. For sandwich bread, you want to TRAP that moisture. A sealed plastic bag or reusable silicone bag keeps the crumb soft for 4-5 days. Sourdough fermentation produces organic acids (lactic and acetic) that naturally slow starch retrogradation, which is why sourdough sandwich bread stays softer longer than conventional yeast bread ^[4][10].

Three bread slices showing common sourdough sandwich bread problems. Left shows flying crust from under-proofing, center shows dense crumb from over-proofing, right shows correct even crumb. — If your bread matches the left or center panel, check your proofing times. The right panel is the target.

And one storage rule stands above all others.

Never refrigerate your bread. Starch retrogradation accelerates fastest at refrigerator temperatures, between 32F-41F (0C-5C) ^[11]. Your bread will stale in the fridge 2-3 times faster than on the counter.

If you cannot eat it within 4 days, freeze it. Freezing halts retrogradation entirely. Slice before freezing so you can pull individual slices as needed and toast them directly from frozen.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Even with perfect technique, problems happen. Here is how to diagnose and fix the most common ones.

Comparison of sourdough bread stored in a plastic bag versus a linen bag, showing the plastic-stored loaf stays softer longer. — For sandwich bread, use a sealed plastic bag. Linen bags are designed for crusty loaves and will dry out your soft bread fast.

This happens when the outer skin of the dough sets in the oven before the interior has finished expanding. Two causes dominate.

The first is under-proofing, where the dough has not risen enough before baking, so oven spring pushes the already-set top upward and away.
The second is poor shaping, where large air pockets trapped between the skin and the body expand and create a gap.

Fix both by proofing until the dome clearly crests 1 inch above the rim and by degassing thoroughly before your final shape.

A weak or inactive starter is the most frequent cause. If your levain did not double within 4-6 hours and does not float, it is not ready.

Using it anyway gives you a dense loaf because there are not enough yeast cells to produce adequate gas.

Over-proofing can also cause a dense loaf; the dough rises, exhausts its food supply, and then collapses in the oven.

Learn to read the 50-60% volume increase during bulk and stop there.

Acetic acid production increases during long, cold fermentations [4]. If your bread tastes aggressively sour, shorten the bulk fermentation, use warmer dough temperatures (78F-80F), and avoid the overnight cold proof.

Adding the small amount of sugar in the levain (10g, as listed in this recipe) also feeds the yeast preferentially and reduces the LAB’s acid output.

Two possible causes.

You sliced too early (before the 2-hour cooling minimum), or your oven temperature ran too hot.

A very hot oven browns the outside before the center reaches 200F internally. Use an oven thermometer to verify your actual temperature.

Many home ovens run 15-25F hotter or cooler than the dial reads.

Frequently Asked Questions

You can, but your results will be less predictable. Discard is unfed starter with weakened yeast activity. A freshly built levain at peak activity gives you the strongest rise.

If you do use discard, add 2g of instant yeast to the main dough as insurance. You will still get sourdough flavor from the discard’s acidity, but the commercial yeast handles the leavening.

Over-proofing is the most common reason.

When the dough ferments too long, the gluten network weakens and cannot hold the gas structure during the heat of baking.

The loaf rises initially from oven spring, then the weakened gluten gives way and the center sinks. Next time, bake when the dough has risen 50-60% during bulk, and stop the final proof when the dome is 1 inch above the rim.

Poking the dough gently with a floured finger can help; if it springs back slowly with a slight indent remaining, it is ready.

Yes, and freezing is the best long-term storage method. Slice the fully cooled loaf, separate slices with small pieces of parchment if desired, and store in a freezer bag with the air pressed out.

Frozen slices last up to 3 months. Toast directly from frozen at medium heat. The toasting reverses some of the starch retrogradation that occurred during freezing, restoring a soft texture ^[11].

Absolutely. Add 50-75g of seeds (sesame, flax, sunflower) or 80-100g of shredded cheese during the final 2 minutes of kneading (Step 7).

Adding them too early can tear the gluten network before it fully develops. For an everything bagel-style loaf, press a mix of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic, and dried onion onto the top of the loaf just before baking.

Final Thoughts

This recipe gives you a framework. Your kitchen, your flour, your starter, and your local climate will all create small variations from bake to bake.

Treat the hydration percentage as a starting point.

If your dough feels too stiff, add 10-15g more milk next time.

If it feels too slack and sticky, reduce by the same amount.

The best sourdough sandwich bread is the one your family eats. Keep notes. Adjust. And the next time your kid asks for “normal bread,” hand them a slice of this.

Sources

[1] Serious Eats, “What Is Gluten? The Science Behind Great Dough”, accessed 2025.
[2] ScienceDirect, “Effect of sugar on bread dough aeration during mixing”, Journal of Food Engineering, 2015.
[3] The Sourdough Journey, “FAQ: Open Crumb and Crust”, accessed 2025.
[4] PMC/NIH, “Sourdough Bread Quality: Facts and Factors”, Foods, July 2024. DOI: 10.3390/foods13132132.
[5] King Arthur Baking, “Protein percentage in flour: Why it matters”, September 2023.
[6] King Arthur Baking, “Protein percentage in flour: Why it matters”, September 2023.
[7] PMC/NIH, “Bovine Milk Fats and Their Replacers in Baked Goods: A Review”, Foods, September 2019.
[8] King Arthur Baking, “What is the windowpane test for bread dough?”, October 2022.
[9] BAKERpedia, “Staling”, accessed 2025.
[10] ScienceDirect, “Effects of sourdough on bread staling rate: From the perspective of starch retrogradation and gluten depolymerization”, Journal of Cereal Science, 2024.
[11] PMC/NIH, “Influence of Storage Temperature on Starch Retrogradation”, Foods, February 2024.

Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe: The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect Loaf
Ditch the grocery store additives. Here is how to bake soft, squishy, shelf-stable sourdough bread that fits perfectly in your toaster.

Why This Recipe Works

Essential Equipment for Sandwich Loaves

Ingredients and Substitutions

Sample Baking Schedules