Sourdough Sandwich Bread and Buns

By: Amber Grangroth

I love fresh homemade bread, especially sourdough! This recipe makes the most delicious sandwich bread and buns! It’s perfectly chewy and rich, and makes amazing French toast! Add your favorite sandwich fixings or fill a bun with pulled pork or sloppy Joe and enjoy!

This recipe makes four loaves of bread or four dozen buns or any combination you’d like! One loaf of bread is the equivalent of one dozen buns.

I make this recipe in my Bosch mixer. If you don’t have a mixer, you can knead the dough by hand. I will also add measurements to make two loaves. That would fit in a standard mixer or be easier to knead by hand.

Sourdough Sandwich Bread/Buns

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/2 cups active bubbly starter (mixed down before measuring)
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup oil or melted butter
1 1/2 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt
11 1/2 – 12 1/2 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl or mixer, add water, starter, eggs, honey, oil, and salt. Mix to combine.
2. Add 8 cups of flour and mix well. Add the rest of the flour one cup at a time, mixing or kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. It should pass the window pane pest. (Where you stretch a small part of dough and you can see light through it, but it doesn’t break.) If it doesn’t pass, keep kneading. This may take 5-15 minutes.
3. Cover with a towel and let rise until double.
4. Dump out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into four and create round loaves. Then roll to form a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. Divide each round loaf into 12 buns if you’re making buns and place 12 buns into a greased 9×13 inch pan.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight for a long ferment. This helps develop that rich sourdough flavor and breaks down the grain to make it more digestible.
6. The next morning, remove the bread from the fridge and let sit on the counter until doubled. It may have doubled in the fridge. If so, you can bake it!
7. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake loaves for 30 – 35 minutes. Bake buns for 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Measurements for 2 loaves or 24 buns:
1 3/4 c warm water
1 1/4 c active bubbly starter (mixed down before measuring)
1 egg
1/4 c honey
1/4 c oil
2 t Himalayan pink salt
5 1/2 – 6 c bread flour or unbleached all purpose flour

Always find the beauty in life!
Love, Amber