Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

This simple recipe for Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread is a healthy vegan homemade bread! This recipe uses sourdough discard along with instant yeast so you can have fresh organic bread in just a few hours.

If you’re looking for more bread recipes be sure to check out some of my other favorites like Homemade Sesame Bagels, Lemon Rosemary Sourdough Bread, Sourdough Irish Brown Bread With Guinness, or Organic French Baguettes With Instant Yeast.

ham and cheese sandwich made with sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread, sliced in half on a plate on a blue tile table with fresh flowers.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

Recipe Name: Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
Ready In: 3 hours 15 minutes
Makes: 1 pound loaf
Main Ingredients: whole wheat flour, sourdough discard, yeast
Flavor Profile: whole wheat, hearty, seedy
Dietary Info: no seed oils, eggless
Difficulty: Easy!
Why You’ll Love It: quick and easy sandwich bread that uses sourdough discard

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Why You'll Love This Recipe

Soft & Fluffy: This sourdough discard sandwich bread is soft and fluffy! This is just like a sliced sandwich bread you’d buy at the store, but this vegan homemade bread is much better for you as it doesn’t contain seed oils or unnecessary ingredients!
Whole Wheat Goodness: The base of this organic bread is whole wheat flour. Even though there’s sourdough discard in here for flavor, this is a delicious whole wheat bread recipe!
Use for Everything: This sandwich bread is perfect for sandwiches, avocado toast, or just with a slab of butter! You can even make French toast with it too as it soaks up liquid well!
Quick & Easy: All you need is just a few hours to make your own bread with this recipe for Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich bread! You can start this in the morning and have fresh sandwich bread for lunch!

Jump to:

A Quick Look At The Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
Baker’s Tips
How to Make Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
How to Enjoy Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
Recipe FAQ’s
More Homemade Bread Recipes
Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
The Bake Shop

This is another collab with my friend Hannah at Make It Dough! We have been collaborating on recipes for over a year now and each month we share a collab recipe! The benefits of these recipes for you are that you get double the testing and you get to view this two different ways.

Some of our past collabs that I love include Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Bars, Baked Chai Donuts with Sourdough Discard, Sourdough Crescent Rolls, and Sourdough Strawberry Pop Tarts!

But, this whole wheat bread is quickly becoming a favorite! It's simple to make as it uses sourdough discard along with instant yeast. This healthy sandwich bread can be used for sandwiches, toast, or even as a side dish to dinner. I personally love this whole wheat bread with avocado and everything spice mix for a delicious breakfast or snack!

Ingredients

Instant Yeast: I use organic instant yeast, this allows you to have a quick rise sandwich bread.
Maple Syrup: I use a little organic maple syrup for sweetener, and the flavor goes really well with this whole wheat bread.
Sourdough Discard: You can use your sourdough discard straight from the fridge, you do not need active sourdough starter.
EVOO: I organic extra virgin olive oil, making this sandwich bread free of seed oils. Many store bought sandwich breads have seed oils and don't use high quality oil like EVOO.
Seeds: I top this organic bread with poppy seeds and sunflower seeds. This part is optional, but seeds add great flavor and texture!
Whole Wheat Flour: This is a whole wheat sandwich bread, but if you want a white bread instead, you can substitute white whole wheat flour or even all purpose flour in this recipe instead. Either of these would also give you a delicious flavor!

*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.

Baker's Tips

I provide mixer instructions here, but you do not need a stand mixer to make this recipe! As long as you don't mind kneading a bit more and longer with your hands, you can do this completely by hand.
No sourdough discard? Just add 57 grams all purpose flour and 57 grams water to a small bowl. Mix together and use this in place of sourdough discard. Your bread won't have the flavor of sourdough, but it will still be a delicious homemade whole wheat sandwich bread!
While we do provide time estimates for proofing, always make sure to look for visual signs your bread is ready to move to the next step. It will highly depend on your climate and temperature in your kitchen. Cooler temps can call for longer rise times.
I use plastic wrap to cover the dough to prevent drying out, instead of a kitchen towel.
Make sure your yeast is good! Yeast packets will have expiration date on them. But, if your yeast is not bubbly then that means its bad and there is no point to continue with the recipe as the bread will not rise. You’ll need to get new fresh yeast and start from scratch if that happens.
The recipe calls for instant yeast, but active dry yeast will also work too! Whatever you have on hand is just fine so long as you allow it to bloom and it’s bubbly.
I used my Caraway 1-Pound Loaf Pan, I love this loaf pan, you can use code MIMIBAKES for 10% off!
The seeds can fall off the bread if you don't press them into the dough before baking, so be sure to do that.
Let the bread cool for at least 2 hours before slicing! Cutting into bread too soon can cause moisture to escape which will hinder the crumb from setting properly. I actually baked this in the afternoon, put it in my cake dome once it was not hot and let it set overnight before slicing into it.
Be sure to store this bread in an airtight container so it retains its soft and spongy texture. I used a big zip bag for this bread. You can sore this at room temperature for a few days, but it will last longer in the refrigerator. You can also freeze this too. I like to slice it into slices before freezing, that way you can just pull out a slice.

How to Make Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

glass mixing bowl with yeast, water and maple syrup on a white marble counter.

To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or in a large bowl), whisk the water, maple syrup and yeast together. Let the yeast bloom until foamy, about 15 minutes.

ingredients for sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread in a glass mixing bowl on a white marble counter.

Add in the sourdough discard, whole wheat flour, and sea salt into the yeast mixture.

glass stand mixing bowl with sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread dough mixed until shaggy on a white marble counter.

Mix on low until no dry bits of flour remain.

glass stand mixing bowl with sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread dough mixed until smooth on a white marble counter.

Slowly stream in the olive oil as you are mixing on low speed. Continue to knead the dough until the oil is completely absorbed. The dough should start greasy and gradually become smoother and less sticky.

large glass mixing bowl with sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread dough on a marble counter.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 15 minutes (if mixing by hand as this will help make it easier to knead). If not mixing by hand, you can continue to knead in your mixer for 5 to 10 minutes or util the dough is smooth and looks elastic. Transfer to a clean greased mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set it in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread dough divided into 5 equal portions on a white marble counter.

Toss the toasted sunflower seeds and poppy seeds in a bowl. Set aside. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 5 even portions.

sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread dough divided into 5 equal portions formed into round smooth balls on a white marble counter.

Working with 1 portion of dough at a time. Flatten the dough into a rough rectangle, fold the corners towards the center. Turn the dough over, cup the dough and drag it on your work surface in a rounding motion to create a smooth taut surface. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough.

1-pound loaf pan with dough balls placed zig zag inside it on a white marble counter.

Arrange them in a zigzag pattern in the loaf pan.

1-pound loaf pan with dough balls placed zig zag inside it with sunflower and poppy seeds on top on a white marble counter.

Brush the top of the dough with water and sprinkle the seed mixture on top. Press the seeds into the dough with your hands, this will help them from falling off after the bread is baked.

sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread dough in a loaf pan on a white marble counter.

For the second rise, cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise untouched in a warm place. The dough should fill your pan and rise up to the rim, about 30 to 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

baked sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread in a loaf pan cooling on top of an oven.

Bake the dough for 10 minutes at 400°F. Without taking the loaf out of the oven, turn the oven temperature down to 350°F and continue baking for another 30 to 45 minutes or until the loaf registers at 200°F when probed with an instant-read thermometer.

sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread cut into slices on a white marble serving board.

Allow the bread to cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing.

sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread sliced on a wood cutting board on a blue tile table with flowers.

How to Enjoy Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Enjoy as toast for breakfast with Blueberry Butter Spread, Dill Cream Cheese Spread, or Cinnamon Honey Butter Spread Recipe.
Make French toast like Meyer Lemon French Toast. You can easily cut thick slices of this bread and it soaks up French toast batter so well!
Make your favorite sandwich for lunch. Turkey, ham, roast beef, they all are delicious on this bread! Or try my Healthy Honey Chicken Salad with Cranberries or Avocado Tuna Salad With No Mayo.
Enjoy as a side to dinner like Garlic Herb Beef Tenderloin Steak.
Make avocado toast with a sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning (my favorite!) for any anytime snack.

Recipe FAQ's

What is sourdough discard and why use it in bread?

Sourdough discard is any part of your sourdough starter that is discarded during the feeding process. You can use this discard to bring a sourdough flavor to other recipes, even breads that don't require an active starter.

What’s the difference between sourdough and sourdough discard bread?

Sourdough bread is made with an active starter, which means it's naturally leavened. Sourdough discard bread is made with sourdough discard (that provides a sourdough flavor) along with instant yeast for leavening.

Do I need a mixer?

Nope! While I always provide mixer instructions, it's just because that's how I usually bake (because I'm lazy). I would rather my mixer knead the bread than me! If you are not using a mixer, you'll just have to get in there with your hands and mix it up until it looks as described in the recipe.

Do I need to add the seeds?

Nope! If you want to leave the seeds off you totally can! They are completely optional. You could also change up the seeds to different ones if you want or use an everything bagel spice mix instead.

Why is my whole wheat bread dense?

If your yeast is bad, it won't allow the bread to rise, which can cause it to be dense. Also, if you don't let it proof enough, this can also cause a dense bread. Be sure to check yeast is good and look for visual signs your bread has risen before baking.

Can I use all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat?

Yes, you can substitute all purpose flour if you prefer. You'll get more of a white sandwich bread, it will still be tasty!

Is whole wheat sourdough bread healthier than white bread?

Yes, because processed white bread can have all kinds of ingredients that are not needed (seed oils, soy, stabilizers). So, making this whole wheat sourdough bread is a much healthier choice than store bought white bread.

How do I make whole wheat bread soft and fluffy?

Be sure your yeast is good and let the bread proof enough so it rises. This will ensure that the bread is fluffy.

How do you store homemade sandwich bread?

This bread is soft and spongy, so it should be stored in an airtight container to retain it’s soft texture. I used a big zip bag for this and I kept it in the fridge. You could also slice it all up and freeze this as well, be sure to store it in a zip bag if you do this to prevent freezer burn.

Can you freeze sourdough discard bread?

Yes! I like to slice it first, then put it in a freezer safe zip bag. That way you can pull out a slice when needed.

sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread sliced on a wood cutting board on a blue tile table.

sourdough discard whole wheat sandwich bread toasted with cherry jam and walnut butter on a small plate on a blue tile table.

More Homemade Bread Recipes

Homemade Sesame Bagels

Sourdough Irish Brown Bread With Guinness

Coconut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Bone Broth Everything Bagels

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