Whole Grain Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
If you keep a sourdough starter you may find yourself with a jar of unfed starter and need a recipe to use up that discard. This whole grain sourdough discard sandwich loaf is the perfect recipe for that!
If you are brand new to sourdough, start here: How to make a sourdough starter
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Having milled my own wheat for fresh flour for years, I love trying new recipes with whole grain flour and sourdough.

This recipe uses some instant yeast along with the sourdough starter to make for a lofty, soft, and delicious loaf!
You can also use active sourdough starter for this loaf and have the same amazing results.
Why grind your own wheat?
Flour you buy at the store is sifted of the germ and bran to prolong it’s shelf life. Unfortunately, the bran and germ are where all the nutrients are.
You end up with a flour that is void of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

I often call it a dead flour. It is really just empty carbohydrates.
When you mill your own wheat berries, the flour is fresh with all of the nutrients intact.
The bread products you make with freshly milled flour have so much more flavor and are much better for your health!

Why use sourdough discard for a bread recipe?
Even if you are not long fermenting your bread with sourdough, adding the sourdough starter will enhance the flavor of the loaf.
The starter adds a slight tang to the bread that really can’t be replicated any other way.

Of course, I recommend long fermenting your sourdough bread products, however, there are times when you may be in a pinch for time and need a quicker loaf that uses up some of your starter. This will be the perfect recipe for that.
Why you will love this recipe:
This recipe is easy! I love how quickly I can mix up this recipe and have it baked.
From start to finish this recipe will take approximately 3 to 3 1/2 hours to make.
Compared to a long fermented recipe, this is a huge time saver in a pinch!

This recipe is in grams making for consistent results every single time.
There is a small amount of raw honey in this loaf that is optional. Foregoing the honey, this loaf has no added sugar.
There are no special ingredients. No lecithin, gluten, or dough enhancers.
What you will need for this recipe:
Freshly milled flour or store bought whole grain flour: I choose to mill my own flour, however, if you don’t have a grain mill you can use store bought whole grain flour in this recipe. (See below for wheat berry suggestion)

Wheat Berries: For this recipe, I used 1/2 hard white wheat and 1/2 hard red wheat. You can use any combination you choose. It is recommended that you use a hard wheat for bread recipes.
Water: Use a good quality filtered water.
Sourdough discard/starter: You may use either discard or active sourdough starter for this recipe.

Salt: I prefer Redmond’s Real Salt.
Olive oil: I high quality organic olive oil will give the best flavor.
Honey: I prefer using raw honey. You can omit the honey all together with no issues.
Instant Yeast: You can use active dry yeast if you prefer. You will need to bloom the yeast in a quarter cup of warm water before adding to the recipe.

What equipment will you need to make this recipe:
Grain mill: If you choose to use freshly milled flour, you will need a grain mill. This is the one I use: Nutrimill Grain Mill
Stand Mixer: Of course this is optional. You can definitely knead by hand. I choose to use a stand mixer to make the job a bit easier. You also get consistent results. I use this stand mixer and use speed 2 to knead: Nutrimill Mixer
Loaf Pans: There are numerous choices for loaf pans available. These are the ones I use and love: Lodge Loaf Pan
Kitchen Scale: A good kitchen scale is very inexpensive and readily available. Weighing your ingredients will yield more consistent results with your baking. This is the one I use: Kitchen Scale
Step by Step Instructions for making Whole Grain Sourdough Sandwich Bread:
Using a kitchen scale, weigh out 875 grams of wheat berries.
Grind your wheat berries as per your grain mill instructions for bread flour.
Weigh out 500 grams of water. Heat the water to lukewarm and add to the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add 100 grams of sourdough starter, 50 grams of olive oil, and 20 grams of honey (if using).
Pulse the liquid ingredients together.

Add all of the flour and mix until just combined and no dry flour remains.
Cover and allow this mixture to soak for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add 2 tsp salt and 3 tsp instant yeast.
Mix well and using speed 2 knead the dough for 8-10 minutes or until soft and stretchy.
Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl and allow to rise until doubled. About an hour to an hour and a half.
Prepare bread pans by spritzing with a bit of oil.
Punch the dough down and divide into 2 equal parts.

Roll out the dough flat to get all the air bubbles out.
Roll the dough back up into a loaf shape and pinch the seam to seal it.
Place in loaf pan and cover. Allow to rise until it is 1-2 inches over the top of the pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake the loaves for 35 minutes. The internal temperature should read at least 195 degrees F.
Storage Tips
Allow the loaves to cool completely before slicing.
Store in bread bags on the counter for 5-7 days.
These loaves freeze remarkably well.
Slice cooled loaf and put in freezer safe bag. Bread will last in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Take the loaf out the night before you will need it and it will thaw on the counter.


Whole Grain Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
A sourdough discard sandwich bread made with freshly milled flour
Ingredients
- 875 grams wheat berries
- 500 grams lukewarm water
- 100 grams sourdough discard
- 50 grams olive oil
- 20 grams honey
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 tsp instant yeast
Instructions
Weigh out the wheat berries on a kitchen scale.
Grind the wheat berries in a grain mill. You can also use 875 grams of store bought whole grain flour.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water, starter, oil, honey, and flour. Mix well.
Cover and allow to soak for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add the salt and yeast.
Mix well and knead on speed 2 for 10 minutes or until smooth and stretchy.
You can knead by hand as well.
Place the kneaded dough into a large mixing bowl. Cover and allow to rise until doubled. About 1-1 1/2 hours.
Punch down the dough.
Divide into 2 equal parts.
Roll each part out flat and then roll up again into a log shape. Take care to seal the seam.
Place each log in a prepared loaf pan.
Cover and allow to rise until 1-2 inches over the top of the bread pan.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake for 35 minutes or until internal temperature is at least 195 degrees F.
Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
Loaf can be frozen. Allow to cool and slice. Place in a ziplock freezer bag and freeze.
Loaves will last at room temperature on the counter for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 134Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 0mgSodium 441mgCarbohydrates 20gFiber 3gSugar 2gProtein 4g
This website provides recipes and calculates the nutritional value to best of our ability. There may be slight variations in nutritional value based upon the alternative ingredients you may have on hand to use.
Hi Mary:)
The recipe looks lovely !! And…I just wanted to let you know on the printable recipe at the top it says the yield is one loaf, but from reading through the recipe and the quantity of ingredients it seems to be that it makes 2 loaves.
Kind regards – Linda
Thank you! I will fix that now!
Can you over knead sour dough bread?
You can but it takes a long time kneading. I suggest kneading for 10-15 minutes. That usually makes for a properly kneaded dough.
This is the second time making this recipes. We love the flavor. However, I cannot roll it after the first rise. It is still really wet and there is no way to roll it. It just goes out into a blob. Should I be adding more flour since this has happened twice? I have been super careful in the measurements to follow exactly what you have said. So I don’t feel like it is a measuring mistake because I’ve ended up with the same dough twice. So then I just lay it in the bread pan and there is no smoothness or rounding to the loaf. Any help would be appreciated. I just feel like it is a really wet dough that doesn’t have enough flour to work with?
Have you tried using less water? I would try that first before adding more flour, which can make it too dense.
Can I use the same gram measurements of Einkorn or Spelt flour to make this recipe?
Hey Mary! My dough was REALLY stiff. Others are saying theirs was too wet! Measurements were all accurate; used half hard white and half hard red, and included the honey. It was so stiff I couldn’t even knead it by hand, so I just plopped it in a bowl to ferment for about 90 mins. Then it softened and I was able to shape it properly. However, when I baked it it didn’t rise well probably due to the lack of kneading. Not sure what happened??
It could very dry in your kitchen? When you first mix the dough, if it’s way to dry try adding a bit more water to get the right texture before kneading. Not sure about it not rising, what kind of yeast did you use?