The sourdough craze is slowly dying down but not completely over. Everyone now has become better bakers and sourdough makers. I used to make more sourdough recipes but found that maintaining a sourdough starter was very time consuming. You also end up with a lot of discard. Luckily this time around I’ve been using the discard to make sourdough pancakes on the weekend. One new recipe I found was for sourdough sandwich bread. It had simple ingredients and the best part was that it didn’t use milk.

This recipe does take a bit of time because it uses just sourdough starter. That means that you would need to leave the bread to rise longer. Start by adding 1 cup of water, 2 tbsp maple syrup, and 2 tbsp olive into a measuring cup. In a separate bowl, add 3 cups of flour and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Salt is really important when making bread so don’t be skimpy with it.

Add the sourdough starter (1/2 cup – 3/4 cup) to the measuring cup. Add more sourdough starter if the sourdough is runnier and less if it is thick. I prefer adding a little more than you think. Give this a nice stir before you start adding the flour.

Start adding flour to the liquid until you start forming a ball of dough.

Take the dough and put it on a well floured surface. I like using my wooden cutting board. Knead the dough for about 30 seconds and then place the dough in an oiled bowl. Make a mental note one how large the dough is in the bowl. Place the dough in the oven or covered with a damp cloth.

Let the dough rise. You want the dough to grow double the size it started. On colder winter days, it may take 12 – 18 hours while on warmer summer days, it may take 6 – 8 hours.

While waiting for the dough to rise, prepare a loaf pan. Oil the pan with with olive oil and line with some parchment paper. This will help you remove the bread from the pan.

After letting the sourdough to rise, you will need to punch down the dough and fold it a couple times. Spread the dough onto a floured surface and create a rectangle fold in the two sides. This will help allow the bread to rise in the pan. Carefully place the dough into the loaf pan and let it rise a second time. In winter this will be about 2-3 hours while in summer it would be 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. With a sharp knife, slice the top of the bread. Place the bread in the oven for 25 – 35 minutes. You can test the bread’s readiness by tapping on the bottom of the bread. It should sound hollow. Remove the bread from the pan and allow to cool to room temperature before cutting. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup – 3/4 cup sourdough starter (use more starter if it is runny or less if it is thick)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 3 – 3 1/2 cup flour

Directions

1. Add 1 cup of water, 2 tbsp maple syrup, and 2 tbsp olive into a measuring cup. In a separate bowl, add 3 cups of flour and 1 1/2 tsp salt.
2. Add the sourdough starter (1/2 cup – 3/4 cup) to the measuring cup. Add more sourdough starter if the sourdough is runnier and less if it is thick.
3. Start adding flour to the liquid until you start forming a ball of dough. Take the dough and put it on a well floured surface. Knead the dough for about 30 seconds and then place the dough in an oiled bowl. Place the dough in the oven or covered with a damp cloth.
4. Let the dough rise. You want the dough to grow double the size it started. On colder winter days, it may take 12 – 18 hours while on warmer summer days, it may take 6 – 8 hours.
5. After letting the sourdough to rise, you will need to punch down the dough and fold it a couple times. Spread the dough onto a floured surface and create a rectangle fold in the two sides. This will help allow the bread to rise in the pan. Carefully place the dough into the loaf pan and let it rise a second time. In winter this will be about 2-3 hours while in summer it would be 1-2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. With a sharp knife, slice the top of the bread. Place the bread in the oven for 25 – 35 minutes.

If you enjoyed this recipe, check out our other recipes on the blog.