Recipes

Whole Grain Sourdough Sandwich Loaf

This whole grain sourdough sandwich bread bakes up soft and delicious and is the perfect accompaniment for a BLT, fresh veggie or sliced meat sandwich. This bread basically calls out for a slather of dijon mustard and mayonnaise.

Ingredients

100g (1/2 cup) active sourdough starter
225g (scant cup) milk
14g (1 tbsp) unsalted butter
118g (1/2 cup) water
25g (1 tbsp) honey
115g (1 cup) sifted wheat flour (General Purpose or Red Fife)
320g (2 1/2 cups) whole grain Emmer flour
8g (1 1/2 tsp) salt

    Step 1

    Melt butter in a small pot on the stove, then add milk until just warmed. Pour into a mixing bowl along with starter, water and honey. Whisk to combine until frothy.

    Step 2

    Add flour and salt and mix until fully incorporated and there are no dry pockets of flour. The dough will feel quite wet and sticky. Leave to rest, covered, for 15-20 minutes.
     

    Step 3

    With wet hands, lift the dough out of the bowl and perform slap and folds on a clean surface. Holding on to one side of the dough, slap it down onto work surface, and fold it over itself. Pick it up and repeat for about one minute until it becomes smooth and elastic (dough may still feel somewhat sticky).
    Allow to rest, covered, for another 15-20 minutes, and then perform another minute of slap and folds. Form dough into a smooth ball, place it back into the bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 4-6 hours. The dough should visibly rise, but will not double in size.


    Step 4

    Once dough has risen, turn out onto a lightly greased work surface. Gently stretch out the bottom section of the dough, closest to you, and fold it up towards the middle. Stretch out the right side and fold it back over the middle, repeat with the left side. Then grab the top section and fold it over the middle, and then fold what is now the top down, and roll the entire package of dough into a taught log. If desired, roll in rolled oats before placing into a greased loaf pan. 
    Cover loosely, and allow to rise in a warm place for 3-5 hours until it has risen above the rim of the pan.

     

    Step 5

    Once the loaf has risen, preheat oven to 400F, and place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the crust is a deep brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
    Immediately turn loaf out of the pan and allow to cool fully on a cooling rack before slicing.