A fantastic all-whole wheat sourdough sandwich bread with an airy, open crumb that's great not just for sandwiches but for toast or to dunk into a soup or stew.
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George, my sourdough starter (thanks for naming him, ChannonD --and thanks everyone for your great suggestions), has been bubbling away for a few weeks now and I've been using him to make waffles, pancakes, and sandwich breads with different combinations of flours: all white, part whole-wheat, and all whole-wheat. You already have my recipe for Sourdough Sandwich Bread, and today, I want to share with you a recipe for my All Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich bread with no added yeast.
This is a super simple bread, and it requires just a few main ingredients: Flour, sourdough starter, and some sugar or molasses. I also add a couple of teaspoons of apple cider vinegar into the mix to help with the rise. Whole wheat flour is low in gluten, the substance that helps create structure in breads and helps them rise, and a little acid can actually help with gluten formation. You can substitute the vinegar with lemon juice.
I love this bread: it has a nuttier, warmer flavor than the all-white bread, which is excellent too, and although it doesn't rise as high, it has, as you can see, a nice, open crumb -- not so open that your peanut butter or jelly would slip through, but enough to make the bread light and airy and not dense at all, as wholegrain sandwich breads sometimes tend to be. Jay, who's missing a few teeth, loves this bread with the crust trimmed away. It makes great toast too!
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I haven't shared my recipe for sourdough starter because I followed the one over on the King Arthur blog, except, as I told you in my last sourdough bread post, my sourdough is more hydrated-- it uses more water. If you want me to share the recipe for my starter, give me a holler and I will do so.
There is some waiting involved in the recipe, and you need to be patient, in order to help the gluten form. There are three rise times, including an overnight wait time while the flour and sourdough soak together. Trust me, it's all necessary to make sure you get the best bread possible.
I am going to keep this post short because I have something to talk about after the recipe. Stay tuned if you're interested, and weigh in if you want to. I would love to hear what you think.
More sourdough bread recipes
Recipe card
All Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups sourdough starter
- 2 cups water (I've been using distilled water for my breads because the chlorine can inhibit yeast and I find it does make a difference. But if you'd rather use tap water, that's okay too)
- 4-5 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar or molasses
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Place the sourdough starter in a bowl along with the water, sugar, and 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Mix well and let it stand overnight or about eight hours.
- Beat the dough the next morning with the kneading attachment of a stand mixer or with a ladle, then add salt, vinegar, and 1 more cup of flour. Continue to add the flour and mix, ¼ cup at a time, until you get a dough that feels sticky but doesn't really stick to the sides of the bowl.
- Continue kneading on a flat surface, by hand or in the stand mixer, for another five minutes. If the dough sticks to the surface as you knead, add a little flour, no more than a tablespoon at a time. You want a supple, smooth ball of dough that's not too firm.
- Coat a large bowl with oil and place the ball of dough in it, turning over once to coat the top with oil.
- Cover with cling wrap or with a tight lid and let it stand in a warm place for two hours or until doubled.
- Lightly grease two loaf pans with an oil spray or oil, and sprinkle some cornmeal or cream of wheat on the sides and the bottom.
- Punch the dough down and divide into two. Shape each half into a loaf by rolling it out into a rectangle about six inches wide and nine inches long, and then rolling it into a log. Tuck the sides down and pinch any seams together. Place the loaf, seam side down, into a prepared loaf pan. Repeat for the second loaf.
- Cover the loaves with a towel or -- better still -- with shower caps. This is a trick I learned from the King Arthur blog, Flourish, and it works really well because it allows the loaf to expand without weighing down the top, the way a kitchen towel would.
- Place the loaves in a warm place and let them rise two hours or until they dome slightly over the top. Whole wheat loaves will not dome or rise as much as white or part-whole-wheat breads will, so don't wait too long to bake in the hope that your loaf will rise further. After two hours, the bread is likely to lose its structure.
- About half hour before baking, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- When you're ready to bake the loaves, place them on the center rack and bake 40 minutes.
- Remove the loaves from the oven and, carefully, turn them out onto a rack. Let them stand, right side up, until they are thoroughly cool. As attractive as the smell of freshly baked bread is, resist the temptation to cut a slice off before the bread has thoroughly cooled because you can upset the moisture balance in the loaf.
- I like brushing or spraying the top with a little oil for an attractive look as soon as it comes out of the oven. But no need to do this if you'd rather not.
- Slice and eat!
Nutrition Information
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Laurie Del Vecchio says
I am getting ready to try this whole wheat sandwich loaf recipe for the first time. I was curious if I could add seeds and nuts to it before I bake it? If I can do I add it to the final I need before I separated into two? Thank you so much look forward to your response thank you for providing your baking gifts.
Laurie
Vaishali says
Hi, I haven't added seeds to this recipe but I would think it would be fine. Add it in step 7, that might work best.
Caity says
So I’m super bummed.. the rise in the bowl did well then I put in the pans and it just stopped 🙁 rose very little and nothing. Such a waste. What did I do wrong? I read some things about it, potentially drying out too much but I don’t want to experience waste like this again. Help?
Vaishali says
Hi Caity, it could be that the sourdough starter wasn't strong enough, or the first rise went for too long, causing the bread to lose structure. Next time try and use a very bubbly, active starter fed no more than 8 hours ago, and also carefully monitor rise times. One more thing I want to mention is that the dough may not always double, or could take longer to double, depending on factors like the weather and the temperature in your home. You will also get some rise because of the "oven spring" after placing the loaf in the oven. Hope that helps.
Nancy J. Bradley says
I made a big boo boo on my recipe tonight putting the vinegar and salt in my first mix of bread. Hopefully it will be ok.😢
Vaishali says
Hope it turned out okay! Shouldn't be a deal breaker.
Anastasiya Z says
My favourite recepie! I bake it frequently. My family like it too, despite it is 100% whole wheat. In the beginning I made it without vinegar, but later decided to try with vinegar and it definitely made a difference. It made bread soft and tender. Thank you!
Nova says
Is it possible to make it extra sour? Can I maybe allow the first step to sit out maybe 10-12 or even 15 hours? This is literally my first time ever handling sourdough starter and making bread.
Vaishali says
I'd make sure the sourdough starter was mature and sour enough rather than change the rise times, which can affect the rise and structure of the bread!
Angie Broyles says
This worked out well for me! I added a little vital wheat gluten in place of some flour. I thought the crust was going to be super hard, but it softened up! Healthy and delicious, thanks!
Vaishali says
Awesome! So happy you made it.
ML says
Hi Vaishali,
A big thank you for developing the recipe and sharing it.
I halved the recipe and baked in a 6" loaf pan. Did all the mixing and kneading by hand. And since it was late I let the loaf rise in the pan overnite in the fridge and baked next morning. The outcome was a gorgeous open crumb, flavourful soft sandwich.
Wish I could share the pics here.
Thank you once again.
Vaishali says
So awesome to hear!
Vaishali says
Hi Brian, glad you liked the crumb and taste. You can definitely make a single loaf for a taller bread.
This Guy says
This was good enough to comment. It's just that good.
This recipe works well, and is not too finicky, which is good because my process was somewhat haphazard. I forgot the sugar, only eyeballed the flour, used my own home grown sourdough starter and added about a cup of spent grain, before leaving my still proofing dough in the fridge overnight to avoid over rising and the results were still excellent.
I would certainly use this as a base to experiment with alternate types of flour, and additional ingredients.
Vaishali says
Awesome, so happy to hear! Thanks for sharing your process, always useful to hear how it goes and it's helpful for other readers.
Pammer says
Should the starter be fed and pass the float test for this recipe?
also is the sourdough 100% hydration?
I have made your 1st sourdough sandwich bread and your sourdough bread machine recipe. They are great. I have been working on the hydration because of my high humid hot weather that I deal with on all bread recipes.
Vaishali says
Hi Pammer, my sourdough is around 70 percent hydration. I don't really use the float test because it often gives mixed results and is not reliable.
Sonia says
I made this with 100% hydration starter and used a bit of rye flour as well. it turned out so good!! It’s definitely a patience game but love the end result! Thank you for the recipe!
Vaishali says
So happy you loved it! ❤️
Anonymous says
Hi there! I love your recipes! I am super interested in trying this one as it calls for sourdough starter. Should the starter be 100% hydration? Thanks!