The perfect Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread for sandwiches and toast! It’s mixed and baked all on the same day and makes a soft sandwich bread using sourdough and 100% whole wheat flour (freshly milled wheat)! The Perfect beginnerʻs sourdough recipe the whole family will love!

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We love this bread toasted and smeared with some butter, strawberry jam, and scrambled eggs! It’s light and tangy and makes perfect bread for grilled cheese or open-face pizzas! Most of all it is healthy and full of wholesome flavor!

Why We Love This Sourdough Sandwich Bread:

This sourdough sandwich bread is an all-time favorite! It’s made with all, freshly milled flour and sourdough starter. No more dense whole wheat bread the texture is amazing with a soft and moist crumb and ever so lightly tangy taste. You can cut this thin or thick and freeze the other loaves for later! It keeps well.

Sourdough bread recipes like this No-Knead Artisan Loaf are amazing but if I can squeeze in whole grains and use natural yeast with fantastic results then I call it a win! Being a busy mom of six children, easy is a must! So, if I can use less equipment with easy preparation and healthy ingredients, I’m in!

I got the recipe for this soft and fluffy sourdough sandwich bread from a friend. She hosted our family for breakfast and served this bread toasted to scrambled eggs and sausage, jam, and sweet potatoes. It was the best sourdough bread I have had with a chewy texture and a light tangy flavor! I thought it was store-bought but nope, it was made from scratch!

Secret To The Best Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread:

Since most recipes use a combination of white flour and wheat to make a good sourdough sandwich bread, it’s the process that makes all the difference.

The secret to incredible wheat dough is to let it rest and give it time to naturally develop gluten. I mix the first set of ingredients to allow the water to absorb better into the grains and then I’ll add the remaining ingredients.

This is because freshly milled flour absorbs differently so, don’t be tempted to add more flour, it starts off, sticky but within time absorbs and becomes workable.

As it sits throughout the day it develops gluten. You can give it some, stretch and folds to develop better in gluten but even that is optional. The key is to use a high-gluten grain like Hard red or Hard White Wheat for the gluten to develop.

I’ve had times when I just left this dough overnight to do its thing and in the morning all that was left was to put it into bread pans and let them rise then bake. So, you can go about your day or do this overnight and come to proofed dough!

Ingredients Needed:

This sourdough sandwich bread recipe comes together with clean and simple ingredients!

Water- I like to use warm water to get things going.
Sourdough Starter– start with an active and bubbly starter to make the dough. If you use a starter that isnʻt ripe (it is ripe when it rises to the top of the water) then you may want to add some dry yeast as you would with a sourdough discard recipe to get things going.
Freshly Milled Wheat- I use a combination of hard red wheat and hard white grain for this recipe. If you donʻt have a grain mill you can use wheat bread flour already ground. The original recipe was with part white flour and part whole wheat flour, I converted it to all whole wheat with fantastic results!
Coconut Oil- helps make a softer loaf.
Honey- will add sweetness to the bread. I usually heat it with coconut oil for better absorption. Honey, whole wheat bread can be swapped out with brown sugar or maple syrup.
Salt- use good quality sea salt.

How To Make Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread:

The right tools are a must! For consistent results use a kitchen scale to weigh your grains instead of measuring cups. I use this large plastic container for making the dough. Once it has bulk fermented I use a bench scraper to form the loaves and these bread pans! Here’s how to start!

Feed your sourdough starter the night before making the dough. This takes usually anywhere from 10-12 hours. I’ll usually feed mine around 9 PM.
In the morning around 9 AM, I’ll mix part of the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. This is the flour, starter, and water only.
After 30 minutes I’ll add the rest of the ingredients (honey, melted coconut oil, and salt) and mix it well with my hands.
Cover the dough with a lid and stretch and fold the dough for a total of 4-5 times throughout the day. I’ll let my dough rise and expand to about 50% of my container after the last stretch and fold. This takes about 6-8 hours depending on your kitchen temperature. If warmer it takes faster.
Shape the dough: place dough over a lightly floured large silicone pastry mat (it won’t stick and prevents using excess flour) and divide into 3 equal parts. Pat gently into a rectangle, fold the dough in half, and roll into a log shape.
Place seam down onto 3 lightly greased 8×4 pans and allow the dough to rise to the top of the loaf pans (1-2 hours).
Bake in a preheated 350°F for 25-30 minutes.

How To Store and Freeze:

Allow the sourdough bread to cool completely on a wire rack before storing it in bread bags. This sandwich bread recipe is best kept fresh in the freezer until ready to use.

To freeze: place bread in a plastic bread bag and close with a twist tie. Freeze upto 3 months and thaw the night before using. Slice before using.

More Sourdough Bread Recipes:

Want more Easy Sourdough Recipes to make at home? Here are my favorites!

Q&A

Can I Use Store-Bought Whole Wheat Flour?

This sourdough bread recipe is specifically for freshly milled flour. Store-bought wheat flour is different than freshly milled flour, however, you can make it with part all-purpose flour if using whole wheat flour from the store.

Can I Long Ferment in the Fridge?

You can place the dough in the fridge after the bulk fermentation. However, the dough can be more tart and tangy. Place the dough in an airtight container in the fridge after it has expanded or doubled in size. Remove dough from the fridge 6-8 hours before baking to bring it to room temperature and allow it to rise.

Tips for Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread:

Start with an active and bubbly starter for best results! One way to check if it’s active is to drop the starter into the warm water, if it floats to the top it’s ripe!
To speed things up place the dough in a warm spot on the stove, near the window, or on top of the dishwasher. Check every 2 hours to see the progress.
DO NOT over ferment. If you are not seeing the dough expand by 12 hours it likely not going to rise much afterward. If you let it sit too long it begins to sour and release a little liquid. Signs that the dough has over-proofed are if the dough rips easily during shaping, hardly rises after a second rise, releases liquid, and doesn’t expand after 12 hours of fermenting.
Sourdough bread breaks down the Phytic acid making the nutrients in the grain more easily absorbed by the body. The fermentation process is easy and pretty much a hands-off.

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