Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread
First things first, I absolutely LOVE making a beautiful artisan loaf of sourdough bread. The scoring, the crust, the big holes, I could go on and on! But, sometimes, I crave just a simple sandwich loaf. The familiarity of it calls to me from time to time. This whole wheat sourdough sandwich bread recipe is perfect for those times!
It took a while to land on a perfect loaf for my taste. I prefer whole wheat bread, but, it can be tricky working with whole wheat, let alone, freshly milled whole wheat.
I tried different ratios, different wheat varieties, and finally found the perfect loaf!
This loaf incorporates Turkey red hard wheat. It aromatic and full of flavor. While being milled, this variety has the most beautiful aroma and fills the kitchen with the smell of a bakery!
Being that this is a whole wheat loaf, I prefer to add honey and olive oil to the dough to keep it soft and fluffy. The end result is a lovely loaf with a nutty flavor.
Note: If you don’t have grain mill, you can order milled Turkey red flour online at sunriseflour.com.
This is an overnight loaf. Meaning, the first rise happens overnight and the second rise happens the next morning. I find this routine the most convenient for me.
The ratio of all-purpose flour to whole wheat makes a difference, and, I recommend using mostly all-purpose if this is your first time using whole wheat flour in your bread recipe. (At the time of this post, I have been working on a 100% whole wheat loaf. That recipe will be coming to the blog soon)!
I use a stand mixer to knead the dough, but, you can definitely do the kneading by hand. Just be cautious as to how much flour you add during the kneading process, as it can make the bread dense and heavy!
Okay, let’s make some bread!
The night before, combine the sourdough starter and water and mix until thoroughly combined. Add the honey and the olive oil and mix well. Add the flour and salt and mix until just combined. (For this recipe, I add 1 1/2 cups of freshly milled hard red wheat). Knead using a stand mixer on speed 2 for 5-10 minutes or until the dough is stretchy and smooth. Alternatively, you can knead by hand for 5-10 minutes.
Place dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a bowl cover, bees wax wrap, or saran wrap. Leave on counter overnight.
The next morning, the dough will be doubled. Punch the dough down and move it to a lightly floured work surface.
Grease your loaf pan. Shape the dough into a loaf shape and place in the pan. Cover the pan with saran wrap or bees wax wrap. Allow to top over the pan.
Before baking, brush loaf with egg wash. I always add Everything Bagel seasoning to mine. It gives a flavor that can not be matched!
Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F.
Bake for 40-45 minutes.
Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup filtered water
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter (fed and active)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour I use freshly milled Turkey hard red wheat
- 2 1/2 cups All purpose flour unbleached
Instructions
- Mix the starter and water together. Add the honey and olive oil.
- Start adding the flour, midway through add the salt. Mix until it starts coming together.
- In a stand mixer, knead on speed 2 for 5-10 minutes. You can also knead by hand, but, be cautious of adding too much flour while kneading as this will yield a much denser loaf.
- Place dough in lightly greased bowl and cover with saran wrap or bees wax wrap tightly.
- Allow to ferment on counter overnight.
- The next morning, punch down the dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface.
- Shape into a loaf and add to a greased loaf pan.
- Allow to rise until it tops over the loaf pan.
- Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F
- Bake for 40- 45 minutes depending on your oven.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing.
- Store in a bread bag tightly closed on your counter for up 3-5 days. You can also freeze the loaf and have at a later time.
Made my first successful loaf!! It’s sooo good and tangy and delicious. I was so scared, but it was easy. Rose nicely and just so good. I did half wheat, half white. Yummmy.