Whole Grain Sourdough Sandwich Bread

If you are new to milling your own wheat, you may be wondering how to make a soft, sourdough bread with this freshly milled flour. Well, I have the recipe for you! Soft, flavorful, and perfect for sandwiches and toast, this whole grain sourdough sandwich bread checks all the boxes!

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When I first started milling my own flour, I wasn’t very successful in making sourdough bread with the fresh flour.

I spent countless hours working on techniques and ratios.

Eventually, I cracked the code for soft sourdough bread products with a good rise after employing a few techniques.

It can be discouraging when you first start something new in the kitchen that takes time to learn and perfect.

Sourdough on it’s own can be challenging. Adding freshly milled flour to the mix can make the task seem like an uphill battle.

I’m here to ease your frustration in that department.

This bread if perfect for the beginner whole grain sourdough baker.

The recipe is in grams, so, there is guessing on the ingredient amounts.

I wanted to make this recipe for those who just want to have a soft, yummy loaf of sourdough bread made with freshly milled flour.

Why would you want to grind your own wheat?

Store bought flour has been sifted of all the nutrients and healthy oils to make it shelf stable. Essentially making it a “dead” flour.

When you grind your own flour, it is as fresh as it will ever be and as nutritious as it can be.

The wheat berry contains 3 parts: The bran, the germ, and the endosperm.

In store bought bread the germ and bran are sifted out leaving only the endosperm.

This is white flour. The parts removed are what give whole grain flour it’s brown hue.

The germ and bran contain a plethora of vitamins and minerals. 40/44 essential nutrients to be exact!

As you can see, bread made with fresh flour is the healthiest option there is!

Now, add the process of sourdough to this already healthy bread and you knock it out of the park!

The process of sourdough ferments the dough making the vitamins and minerals more easily available for the body to process.

If you are new to sourdough and freshly milled flour, this recipe will be your go to as you learn the process!

What you will need for this recipe:

1. Water.
2. Sourdough starter.
3. Salt.
4. Olive oil.
5. Honey.
6. Freshly milled flour.

Step by step instructions for making this bread:

Mixing the dough:

Using a kitchen scale, weigh out 900 grams of wheat berries of your choice. I use 600 grams of hard white wheat and 300 grams of Kamut.

Grind your wheat berries in a grain mill. This is the one I use and LOVE: https://collabs.shop/rxide2

Place the bowl of a stand mixer on the kitchen scale and tare it.

Weigh out 500 grams of lukewarm water and 100 grams of sourdough starter.

Put the bowl on the stand mixer and add the flour. This is the stand mixer I use: https://collabs.shop/xmipvy

Mix just until combined.

Soaking the flour:

Cover and allow to soak for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the cover.

Place a small bowl on the scale and weigh out 50 grams of olive oil and 50 grams of honey.

Pour into the stand mixer bowl along with 2 tsp of salt.

Start mixing on speed 2.

Kneading the dough:

It will be a bit loose at first but after about 1 minute of mixing the dough will come together.

At this point, put the lid on and allow it to knead at speed 2 for 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease 2 loaf pans. I use these: https://amzn.to/4bUM8j6

Once the dough has kneaded, remove it from the bowl onto a work surface.

Fermentation time:

Divide the dough into 2 equal parts.

Flatten the dough and roll it up into a log shape. Place into the prepared loaf pan.

Repeat for the other half of the dough.

Allow to rise at room temperature until it tops over the rim of the pan. This time will vary widely depending on the temperature and maturity of your sourdough starter.

With my starter, it will take between 4-6 hours.

Baking the bread:

Once it has risen, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Alternatively, you can let the dough rise to near the top of the pan and put the loaves in the fridge for a long, cold fermentation period. The dough can be left in the fridge for several days before baking.

Bake the loaves in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads at least 195 degrees F.

Allow the loaves to cool on a cooling rack until completely cooled before slicing.

After slicing you can store these loaves at room temperature for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.