Whole Wheat

Sourdough

Sandwich Bread

I have been on the hunt for a good whole wheat sandwich recipe for years. I don't want it too sweet. I don't want half the flour to be all-purpose. And I don't want anything too complicated. Maybe I'm picky, but when it comes to something I know we will be eating daily, it's gotta be more than just "okay."

So, allow me introduce you to the bread recipe that has been years in the making. It's what we use for toast, sandwiches, and is quite literally our daily bread.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Prep Time: 5 minutes, plus kneading time

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups water

  • 1/2 cup active sourdough starter

  • 1/3 cup oil or melted butter

  • 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 6 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions

  1. Stir together all ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer, being careful not to work the dough at this point. You are not kneaading yet. Let rest 30 minutes.

  2. After the rest time, do a series of stretch and folds OR use a dough hook or your hands to knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, until stretchy and you can see the gluten strands have developed. It will be a slightly wet dough, but this is what you want.

  3. Cover with a wet kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise 8-12 hours, or until doubled in size.

  4. After the first rise, empty the dough onto a countertop. Butter two bread pans.

  5. Divide the dough in half and shape into loaves. Place in bread pans.

  6. Cover the dough in bread pans and allow to rise another 2-4 hours, until doubled in size.

  7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Adjust temperature to 350 degrees and bake 10 minutes more.

  8. Remove bread from pan and allow to cool before slicing.

Recipe Notes:

This bread is not very sweet. If you’re wanting sweeter, try adding 2 or 3 more tablespoons of honey, maple syrup, or sugar to the dough. You might need to decrease the water in the recipe by a tiny bit if you are using honey or maple syrup.

Normally I am one to go 100% whole wheat, but I have found the smallest amount of all-purpose flour gives this bread a greater rise and the perfect little boost of softness. Feel free to switch it out for whole wheat if you want to avoid white flour.

What’s with the wait? Whole wheat flour contains the bran of the wheat kernel, which is where most of the fiber is located. Letting the dough rest before kneading softens the bran in the whole wheat flour so that the fibrous part does not interfere with the gluten development. Trust me, it’s worth the wait!

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