Soft Sourdough Sandwich bread

Directions

  1. 1Mix the starter, warm filtered water, avocado oil, and honey until milky.
  2. 2Add bread flour and salt to the wet ingredients.
  3. 3Mix until there are no more dried flour clumps.
  4. 4Cover the dough and let it rest for one hour.
  5. 5Perform four sets of stretch and folds, spaced 30 minutes apart.
  6. 6Cover the dough and let it rise for 4-8 hours for bulk fermentation. It should double in size, be bubbly, jiggly, and airy.
  7. 7Dump the dough onto a counter and gently shape it into a rectangle.
  8. 8Bring the right side of the dough into the center, then the left side into the center, without overlapping them.
  9. 9Starting from the bottom, roll the dough up into a log, ensuring the ends are spread out to cover the rolling dough.
  10. 10Place the dough into a greased bread pan, seam side down.
  11. 11Cover the bread pan for the second rise, which typically takes about two hours or until the dough has puffed up.
  12. 12Score the dough and spray the top with water to generate steam in the oven.
  13. 13Place a second bread pan on top of the first one as a lid to trap steam.
  14. 14Bake in a 400°F oven for 30 minutes with the lid on.
  15. 15Remove the lid, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F, and bake for another 15 minutes uncovered.
  16. 16Check the internal temperature of the bread with a digital thermometer; it should be around 205°F.
  17. 17Immediately remove the bread from the pan and let it cool before slicing.

Ingredients

  • 150 g active sourdough starter
  • 325 g warm filtered water
  • 20 g avocado oil
  • 25 g honey
  • 500 g unbleached bread flour
  • 10 g salt

Equipment

large bowlplastic wrapbread panspray bottledigital thermometeroven

Tips

  • For bulk fermentation, warmer dough speeds up the process, while cooler dough slows it down. You'll know it's ready when it has doubled in size, is bubbly, jiggly, and airy.
  • For proofing/second rise, warmer temperatures can speed up the process, cooler temperatures can slow it down. Don't skip this step, or you can be left with gummy bread.
  • Using a second bread pan as a lid traps steam and prevents the top of the loaf from burning or getting too hard.