Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe

Step 1

Begin with a very active recently fed starter. It should pass the float test.

Step 2

Set a large bowl on a digital food scale set to grams and press the tare button. The scale should read zero.

Step 3

Pour in the water to weight of 650 g. Press tare.

Step 4

Pour in 300 grams of starter. Press tare. The starter should form a floating mass on the water.

Step 5

Add the oil. Press tare

Step 6

Add the honey. Press tare.

Step 7

Whisk together the starter, oil, honey and water until they are mixed.

Step 8

Add the 1000 grams of flour.

Step 9

Mix the flour into the water/starter with a dough hook, spatula and your wet hands until you have a shaggy ball of dough.

Step 10

autolyse 1 hour.

Step 11

Sprinkle salt across dough.

Step 12

spritz with water bottle and work in the salt with wet hands.

Step 13

Rest 30 mins

Step 14

Begin Stretch and Folds. You need 4 rounds of stretch and folds 30 mins apart. See video for technique.

Step 15

Refrigerate overnight.

Step 16

Remove from fridge and warm to room temperature. (ABOUT TWO HOURS)

Step 17

Divide the dough into two 1000 grams dough balls by weight.

Step 18

Bench rest 30 to 45 minutes until dough is elastic.

Step 19

Choose one dough ball. Set the other aside to be next.

Step 20

Flatten the ball on a floured board with your rolling pin to degass. This may take several passes. (You will notice my bread does still have a few small holes. It needed more degassing)

Step 21

Shape the degassed dough into a rectangle and spritz with water.

Step 22

Bring the long edges into the center and form a closed seam.

Step 23

Fold the two front corners to the middle seam as shown below.

Step 24

Roll the dough tightly. tucking it as you roll to avoid air pockets.

Step 25

Pinch the ends of the loaf and flatten the seam.

Step 26

Place the dough loaf into your OILED loaf pan.

Step 27

Let sit on counter 2 to 4 hours until the dough reaches to the top of the bread pans. For best oven spring chill two hours in the fridge covered.

Step 28

Preheat oven and water bath(any pan half full of water. Set it on the shelf UNDER THE BREAD) to 400° F.

Step 29

Bake the loaves 15 minutes.

Step 30

Reduce the oven temp to 375 degrees F.

Step 31

Bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes.

Step 32

Using a digital thermometer check internal Temp of loaf. It is done at 200°. If you don't have a thermometer pop loaves out to test for hollow on bottom. Or thump the loaf. Does is have a hollow sound?

Step 33

Remove from oven and cool on racks to room temperature before cutting the bread.