Anybody who grew up eating white bread knows that the best part is how light and fluffy it is. I wanted to replicate that delicious soft, delicate bread we all remember. This sourdough discard sandwich bread does just that. Think Wonder bread meets sourdough. As always, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

hand holding a slice of sourdough discard sandwich bread.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

What sets this sandwich bread apart from long fermented sourdough sandwich bread is that it uses dry active yeast to provide the leavening. Sourdough discard is added to provide extra flavor and to use up your extra sourdough discard. This is a great recipe when you want to make homemade bread but are short on time. This sourdough sandwich bread only takes 2-3 hours start to finish and does not require a cold fermentation like traditional sourdough bread does.

Jessica’s Pro Tip

For bread that has an even higher rise, use active starter in this recipe. You will be amazed at just how light and fluffy this bread can get when you combine active starter AND dry active yeast.

Ingredients

One of the things I love about making bread is it so simple. Only 6 ingredients are needed for this recipe- And you probably already have them in your pantry.

All purpose flour: I use Kirkland Signature All Purpose Flour. You can also use bread flour but it is not necessary for this recipe.
Water:
Milk: You can use any type of milk here. I often make this bread dairy free and vegan by using soy milk, cashew milk, or oat milk instead of cow’s milk and using Earth Balance vegan butter.
Sourdough Starter: You can use either sourdough discard or active sourdough starter. They will both work. If you want a more sour flavor in your bread, go with discard. It will have more lactic acid and therefore a more tangy flavor.
Sugar: You can also substitute honey in this recipe if desired. The purpose of the very small amount of sugar in this recipe is to help activate the dry active yeast. The amount in each slice of bread ends up being very small (less than 2 g per slice).
Dry Active Yeast: This recipe calls for one standard packet of dry active yeast. Make sure your yeast is not expired!
Salt
Unsalted Butter: You can substitute salted butter in this recipe but I generally recommend using unsalted. The amount of salt in butter is variable and prevents you from controlling the amount in your recipe.

How to Make Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread

Step 1: Heat your water, milk, and sugar on the stove to slightly warm it. You only want to warm it to 100-110F. I HIGHLY recommend using a digital thermometer to do this. If you overheat your milk, which is so easy to do, you will kill the yeast and it won’t leaven your bread.

Step 2: Stir in the yeast to the warmed liquid. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes. This allows the yeast to bloom. You will see the yeast start to come to the surface and form a frothy surface or foamy clumps. This is a sign that the yeast is activated and ready to use in your recipe.

Step 3: Add the liquid yeast mixture along with the flour and sourdough starter to a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Stir on low speed for 5 minutes.

Step 4: Add the softened butter and salt to the stand mixture and continue to stir for another 5-7 minutes.

Jessica’s Notes

It’s important to delay adding the butter and salt to the dough. Salt and butter inhibit gluten formation. Waiting 5 minutes to add them to the dough allows ample time to develop a strong initial gluten structure to your dough.

Step 5: Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Cover and allow to rise for about 1 hour. The dough should double in size during this time. Meanwhile, prepare your baking pan. Line it with a piece of parchment paper and spray with cooking spray or grease with butter.

Step 6: Shape the dough. Use your baking pan to help guide your shaping. Gently stretch out the dough into a rectangle that is twice the length your baking pan. Fold it over lengthwise so it now the length of your baking pan. Roll the dough up into a cylinder and place it into your prepared baking pan.

Step 7: Cover the pan and allow the dough to rise another 1-1.5 hours. It should rise to about 1 inch above the edge of the pan when complete.

fully proofed sourdough discard sandwich bread dough in baking pan.

Step 8: Preheat oven to 350F shortly before you expect your bread to be done proofing. Bake the bread for 33-35 minutes. Allow to cool 30 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

baked loaf of sourdough discard sandwich bread in baking pan.

How to Store

I recommend storing this sandwich bread in a gallon ziplock bag. It will keep longer if you store it in the fridge although you can store it on the counter for a few days. I find the refrigerator keeps the bread from getting moldy and it will often keep a couple of weeks in the fridge.

You can also freeze the bread in a gallon freezer bag. Slice the bread before freezing so you can grab a slice as needed.

If you love sourdough discard recipes as much as I do, I hope you’ll check out my site. I share tons of easy sourdough discard recipes. Here are a few I think you’ll love: