Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
This Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread makes the best bread for sandwiches and toast! I love enjoying this toasted with avocado and everything bagel spice for breakfast.
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer (optional)
- 1-pound Loaf Pan
- Mixing Bowl
- Instant Read Food Thermometer
Ingredients
Dough
- 282 grams water
- 56 grams maple syrup
- 9 grams instant yeast (1 packet)
- 113 grams sourdough discard (white or whole wheat)
- 450 grams whole wheat flour (plus more for kneading)
- 9 grams fine sea salt
- 56 grams extra virgin olive oil
Topping
- 40 grams roasted sunflower seeds
- 10 grams poppy seeds
Instructions
- 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.
- Add in the sourdough discard, whole wheat flour, and sea salt into the yeast mixture.
- Mix on low until no dry bits of flour remain.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Arrange them in a zigzag pattern in the loaf pan.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. Allow the bread to cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing.
Video
Notes
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.
- High Altitude – Follow the recipe as noted.
Nutrition
Calories: 208kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 6gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.01gSodium: 318mgPotassium: 176mgFiber: 5gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 4IUVitamin C: 0.05mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 2mg
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