Soft & fluffy sourdough sandwich bread
Description: This recipe is almost the same as my basic sourdough loaf but has a little fat and sugar added to it. The dough follows the same process but the results are a super soft & fluffy sourdough sandwich bread with a soft, thin crust. It's as close to store bough bread as you're going to get.
Ingredients
- 650g white bread flour
- 360g water
- 200g active sourdough starter
- 65g canola oil (or melted butter, vegetable oil, olive oil, coconut oil, etc. use what you have)
- 35g sugar (honey or maple syrup works too)
- 13g salt
Instructions
- Start by mixing together the active sourdough starter, water, oil, sugar and salt.
- Add in the flour and mix until well combined. This dough is intended to be low hydration and should come together right away. I like it best when the texture is somewhere between being too sticky to knead on the counter but not so sticky that it is hard to handle. Every flour will absorb liquid differently so you may need to add more liquid or more flour to make it work for you. Cover the bowl and let your dough rest for about an hour.
- Complete 3-4 sets of kneading during the next 3 hours of the bulk fermentation. I typically start each one with a few stretch and folds then transition to slap and folds and finish by kneading it against the side of the bowl to shape it into a rounded ball. You'll know you have done enough sets when your dough is feeling elastic and has held its shape from the last set.
- Cover and let your dough finish bulk fermenting until it has doubled in size. How long this takes will greatly depend on the temperature of the dough. Keep in mind that warm dough ferments much faster than cool dough. If you're planning to bake this all in one day (which is what I recommended for a mild flavour) you can push the fermentation a little further. If your dough is warm and you are going to do a long cold proof in the fridge, you should shape your dough before it has doubled in size.
- To shape your dough, roll it tightly into a log and place in a prepared loaf pan. If you're using a large (13") pullman style pan with a lid, I recommend diving your dough into 3 balls and placing them in the pan together. This allows you to get even tension throughout the loaf.
- Cover your dough and let it rest for the final proof. You'll know it's done when it has puffed up and filled out the whole pan (and passes the poke test).
- Bake at 400F for 40-45 minutes or until the internal temperature is at least 205F.
- To keep your crust extra soft, brush the top with butter as soon as it comes out of the oven. Note that this isn't necessary with the pullman loaf.