Discard Sandwich Bread
Light, fluffy and super soft, this sourdough discard sandwich bread is the perfect way to use up your sourdough discard. Bake two delicious loaves of sandwich bread with as much or little “tang” from your sourdough discard as desired. This is the perfect bread for sandwiches and toast. You won’t be buying bread from the store anymore with this sandwich bread!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200 grams sourdough discard, 100% hydration, see recipe notes, a scant 1 cup
- 330 grams warm water, around 95-100 degrees F, about 1 1/3 cups
- 15 grams instant yeast, about 1 Tablespoon
- 160 grams honey, see recipe notes, about 1/2 cup
- 50 grams coconut oil, see recipe notes, about 1/4 cup
- 1 large egg, about 50 grams
- 20 grams salt, about 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon
- 850 grams bread flour, see recipe notes, about 6-7 cups
Instructions
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Mix: To the bowl of a stand mixer add the instant yeast, warm water and honey. Look for the yeast to give off a “yeasty” smell telling you that it is active and ready. See recipe notes for using dry active yeast.
Add the sourdough discard, salt, egg, coconut oil and most of the flour. I like to reserve a little of the flour (a little less than a cup) and add it in as needed. Knead for 10-15 minutes until dough passes the windowpane test. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl or gather all together as it kneads. It will feel tacky to the touch, but should not be overly sticky. If it is very sticky, add a little bit more flour 10-20 grams at a time until it feels tacky and workable. This dough can also be kneaded about 10-20 minutes by hand.
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Bulk Rise: Transfer the dough to a large container and cover with a plastic shower cap (the best!) or kitchen towel. Let rise for about an hour or two until doubled in size. The warmer you keep the dough, the faster the dough will rise.
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Separate: Once the dough has doubled in size and is light and airy, punch the dough down and separate into two equal portions. Each portion is around 800 grams.
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Shape: Pat one of the portions out into a rectangle. Starting at the edge closest to you, roll up the dough. Take care to press in the dough at the seam after each roll and pinch the seam closed at the end. Pinch and round the ends of the dough just a bit to get a uniform loaf. Place in a greased 8.5-by-4.5 loaf pan and cover. Repeat with remaining portion of dough. You can watch a shaping video here.
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Rise: Let the bread rise in the pan until the dough has risen over the edge of the loaf pan. Keeping the dough at a warm temperature, around 85 degrees F will encourage the bread to rise more quickly. Press in gently on the dough with a finger. If the dough springs back immediately, it needs a little more time to rise. If it leaves a little indentation and springs back just a little bit, it is ready to bake.
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Bake: Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Bake loaves of bread for 40 minutes. Spread melted butter on the tops of the loaves if desired. Let bread cool completely before slicing for sandwiches. Enjoy!
Notes
Honey: I love the flavor of honey in this recipe. It is a viscous liquid. If you substitute sugar, make sure to compensate for the lack of liquid. You will need to add more water to the dough to get the right consistency.
Coconut Oil: Coconut oil makes this bread super soft. Coconut oil can be added in its solid or liquid state. As the dough heats up from the mechanical mixing, the coconut oil will incorporate itself into the dough. If you prefer to use butter or a neutral flavored oil, you can substitute that instead.
Bread Flour: I use 12.5% unbleached bread flour from my local mill. If you use a flour with a lower protein content, you will need to add more flour to the recipe. If you use a bread flour with a higher protein content you’ll want to use a little less flour.
Dry Active Yeast: This recipe calls for instant yeast which doesn’t need to be activated. If you choose to use dry active yeast instead, you will need to activate it before adding it to the recipe. Use the same amount of yeast and activate it in some of the warm water with a little bit of the honey called for in the recipe. Once active, add to the recipe.
