Long Fermented Sandwich Bread

fermented bread loaves on a wire cooling rack with a striped tea towel underneath

Kyrie | Healthfully Rooted Home

This low-maintenance long fermented sandwich bread is perfect for an everyday sourdough bread recipe and takes very little hands-on time. The flavor of this loaf comes from slowly fermenting over time and a stand mixer does all the work.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Fermenting time 12

Total Time 13

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, dinner, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 2 fermented bread loaves

Calories 200 kcal

Equipment

1 Stand-mixer with dough whisk
2 Loaf pans
1 Large glass or ceramic bowl
1 Dough scraper

Ingredients

6-8 cups all-purpose flour adjust amount if you're using whole wheat, spelt, or einkorn.
2 cups sourdough starter
2 1/2 cups filtered water
4 tsp sea salt
butter for greasing pans and topping loaves

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer and knead until your dough is pliable (see tips on how to read dough above).
Place in a large bowl and let it ferment for 12-24 hours.
Divide your dough into two loaves and shape by bringing all sides of dough into the center, flipping over and spinning against the countertop a few times to create tension.
Add the shaped loaves to the greased loaf pans and let proof for an hour or two (or place in the fridge until you're ready to bake).
Preheat the oven to 375 and bake loaves for about 45 minutes.
Rub the top of the loaves with butter while they're warm, then wait about one hour to slice.

Video

Notes

Best way to Store Fermented Bread

Fermented bread is always best when enjoyed day-of, however, see below for storage options and read this post for a very detailed description on how to store sourdough bread.

Room temperature

Store your sourdough bread in a breathable bag (such as paper or linen) for up to 3 days.

Freezer

It's best to freeze any bread you don't eat the day of. To freeze your sourdough bread, let it cool completely and store the entire loaf in a plastic bag for up to 3 months. You can also slice the bread and freeze the slices in plastic bags.

In a Pinch Ideas

Make-ahead – Make a double batch and freeze some for later. This makes for a great in a pinch bread component to any meal.

Ferment for a shorter or longer time period - you have a lot of flexibility with the fermenting schedule. If you need the bread sooner, only ferment for 8-12 hours. If you don't have as much baking time as planned, place in the fridge and bake whenever you do have time.

Long Fermented Sandwich Bread Tips

Let your baked bread rest – The worst part of baking sourdough bread - waiting for it to continue to cook once it's out of the oven! Do let this bread rest for one hour prior to slicing. Your crumb will turn out much better.
Expectations - with this everyday sourdough bread recipe, your expectations of the perfection of the loaf shouldn't be as high as a loaf which you're pouring more time and energy into it.
Do the float test - to determine if your sourdough starter is ready to make fermented bread, you'll need to perform the float test. See the procedure below.
Adjust your flour content as needed - see the tutorial below for getting the right flour content for your dough.

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