Honey Whole Wheat Discard Sandwich Bread
This is the perfect recipe for the beginner baker. I’ve been making this bread for years using commercial yeast before I ever tried my hand at sourdough. I have since tweaked this recipe to use sourdough discard because my family doesn’t prefer long fermented, sour, sandwich bread.
With the addition of honey and whole-wheat, this is a delicious and well rounded sandwich bread that everyone will love and is great for any occasion.
❤️ Why You’ll Love Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
This can be made in the same day with the help of yeast! I usually start my bread in the morning around 8 am, and by noon we can have sandwich bread for lunch. Or, if I’m planning ahead, I start the dough at lunch time and bake it at dinner so I can have bread ready for the next day. This is great for so many reasons, but using up sourdough discard and being able to bake bread in the same day makes this a winning recipe.
🍲 Ingredients
Sourdough Discard – This is just inactive sourdough starter that hasn’t been fed. It is equal parts flour and water that has already risen and fallen and now can be added to a multitude of recipes.
Flour – I use all-purpose flour in this recipe because, from my experience, it is the most universal flour in the homemakers pantry. I didn’t want you to feel it was necessary to go out and buy a separate bag of bread flour just for this recipe. The whole-wheat flour adds another depth of flavor and pairs perfectly with the honey.
👩🍳 How to Make Honey Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Start by adding your yeast and sugar to warm water in a stand mixer and let the yeast bubble up. In small bowl, mix together the sourdough discard, water, and honey until it is all dissolved together. With the stand mixer on low speed, add the flour and salt to the mixing bowl and slowly pour in the sourdough discard mixture until a dough starts to form. Then add the cubed butter in and knead in the stand mixer for 5-8 minutes. Let the dough rise for 90 minutes – 2 hours. Separate the dough into two equal parts, shape them into an oval and place them into two greased sandwich loaf pans. Let them sit and rise for another hour. Bake at 390 degrees for 27 – 30 minutes, brush with honey butter and transfer to a wire cooling rack until completely cooled before slicing and serving!
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Make sure your butter is room temperature so it’s easy to incorporate into the dough.
- Wet your tea towel when you cover the dough so the top doesn’t dry out.
- Roll the separated dough into a log and fold the sides into the sandwich pan to make your bread shape.
🗒 Substitutions
You can certainly leave out the whole-wheat flour if you would like, or if you want to add bread flour, use 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour + 1 cup bread flour + 1 cup whole-wheat flour. Bread flour will make the inside crumb very fluffy, but not every kitchen has bread flour (including mine), but it would be a lovely addition to this recipe.
🗒 Best Served
- As a warm grilled cheese
- Ham/Turkey and cheese sandwiches
- On the side of a bowl of chili
👝 How to Store Leftovers
This makes two loaves, so it would be best to freeze one in a Ziplock bag in your freezer for up to 6 months. The loaf that you don’t freeze, but have leftovers of, I store in a brown paper bag or Ziplock and keep in the cabinet or a bread box. It will store there for 4-5 days before going stale.
🤔 Common Questions
If you want to use active starter and do a long fermentation, take away the yeast and add one cup of active starter, mix the dough together and let it sit on the counter overnight.
Recipe Card Goes Here
Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tsp active yeast
- ¾ cup warm water, two times
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- ½ cup sourdough discard
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 TBS softened butter
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine ¾ cup of warm water, sugar or honey, and yeast together. Let sit and bubble/foam for about 5 minutes. In a stand mixer, on low speed, add flour and salt to the yeast mixture. Slowly add second ¾ cup warm water, honey and sourdough discard to the stand mixer. Add the cubed softened butter and mix on a low speed for 10 minutes. (You don’t need a stand mixer for this, I have kneaded this dough by hand many times and it works just fine). Knead until a smooth ball forms.
- Transfer the dough into a greased bowl and let rest for 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size. After resting, punch the air out of the dough to release the gas and transfer onto a clean surface. The dough should not be sticky so extra flour isn’t necessary. Cut the dough into two equal parts, and shape into two oval loaves by tucking the ends towards the middle, rolling into a log and tucking the ends together pinching the seams shut. Place the loaves into two greased bread pans, cover and let rest for an additional hour or until it has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 390 degrees and bake for 27-30 minutes. Let cool slightly then transfer onto a cooling rack, brush with melted butter and honey to make the crust deliciously sticky and sweet.
- TIP: I usually keep one on the counter to eat for lunch and freeze the other. This bread freezes beautifully, I wrap it in cling wrap or place it into a gallon freezer bag and when I want to use it or know we’re going to have it for lunch the next day, I’ll take it out of the freezer the night before and it’s ready to go by morning
