For the ultimate soft sandwich bread with wild yeast, try my Gluten Free Sourdough Sandwich Bread. It's so easy to make and as soft as any wheat bread.
Some of the items linked in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission.
I've been on a sourdough bread making kick lately for a few reasons. Not only do I love the flavor that sourdough starter gives bread, I also love the softness. There is something special about sourdough bread that just can't be compared to a regular loaf of bread. Add to that the fact that sourdough is actually better for our guts and it's a win/win.
Enter this sourdough sandwich bread. I've been working on recreating my soft sandwich loaf into a sourdough version for a while now, and after 5 tries I finally got it! Believe it or not, it's not as easy as just substituting the yeast with sourdough starter. One of the biggest differences is the liquid amount. Sourdough breads will always need more liquid than breads made with commercial yeast. And finding the right amount is basically just a trial and error kinda thing. So with several tweaks, I bring you the best gluten free sourdough sandwich loaf!
here's what you'll need For this sourdough
- Kim's gluten free bread flour blend - please don't try this with any other gf flour blend. It won't turn out the same.
- Milk - for a softer bread (including the crust), milk is what I use in this recipe. If you need it to be dairy free, you can certainly sub with dairy-free milk.
- Butter - butter can also be substituted with dairy-free butter. I prefer butter to oil in this recipe, as it makes the bread more flavorful.
- Sourdough starter - instant yeast is replaced with an active sourdough starter. For more details on how to make a gluten free sourdough starter, check out this post.
how to make sourdough sandwich bread
- Feed your sourdough starter. This is the absolute first step in getting ready to bake any sourdough bread. You need an active and bubbly starter. Please see my gluten free sourdough starter post if you don't have a starter yet.
- Make dough. Add all ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer and knead on medium for 5 minutes.
- Ferment dough. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm, draft-free area to rise until doubled in size. The time it takes will vary, depending on the time of year, ambient temperature, etc. The colder the climate, the longer it will take. I've had sourdough take as long as overnight to proof, so please be patient for this step. Refrigerate dough for at least 6 hours for best kneading results.
- Remove dough from fridge and knead briefly on well-floured surface.
- Shape dough into a loaf and place it in parchment-lined (or well greased) 8.5 by 4 inch loaf pan (affiliate link). Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap. Proof until the dough rises just over the top of the loaf pan.
- Score the top of the loaf with a bread lame (affiliate link) or sharp serrated knife.
- Brush melted butter all over the top. For more oven spring, top with an inverted loaf pan of the same size and bake at 450 F for 15 minutes; remove inverted loaf pan and reduce temperature to 375 F. Bake for an additional 45-60 minutes, or until loaf feels light and the internal temperature registers 210 F or greater.
- Immediately remove loaf from pan onto a wire rack and brush the remaining butter on all sides. Let cool completely before slicing.
rather watch?
sourdough sandwich bread fAQs
Yes! Simply substitute with dairy-free milk and butter, as well as dairy-free protein powder in the flour blend.
Wild yeast ferments much slower than commercial yeast, so it will always take longer for sourdough to proof than if you were to make the same loaf of bread with commercial yeast.
Yes! This bread would be wonderful with nuts, seeds, and/or dried fruit. I would suggest soaking the seeds in hot water for an hour prior to adding them to the dough, and add them after bulk fermentation (first rise).
more gluten free sourdough bread recipes
- Best Ever Gluten Free Sourdough Bread
- Gluten Free Sourdough Soft Pretzel Recipe
- Gluten Free Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter
- Gluten Free Cranberry Walnut Sourdough
why this recipe is in grams only
When it comes to gluten free sourdough baking, or any baking for that matter, it is really essential to have the proper measurements for each ingredient. The only way to assure this is by weight and not volume. One person's cup measurement could be a little different than another person's. By weighing ingredients, every person will always get the same exact ingredient amounts, which makes for better baking overall and easier troubleshooting if something goes wrong.
This Gluten Free Sourdough Sandwich Bread recipe is so amazing, I can't wait for you to try it and let me know what you think! I hope you'll be as amazed as I am at how insanely great this bread is.
Gluten Free Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 650 grams whole milk (dairy-free milk may be substituted)
- 56 grams butter, melted (dairy-free butter may be substituted)
- 10 grams whole psyllium husks (or 1 tablespoon psyllium husk powder)
- 29 grams granulated sugar
- 100 grams gluten free sourdough starter active and bubbly (see Notes)
- 400 grams Kim's gluten free bread flour blend
- 12 grams kosher salt
- 8 grams baking powder
Instructions
- Weigh out all ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl) in the order in which they are listed. Using either the dough hook or beater blade, mix and knead the bread on medium for 5 minutes. Scrape into the center of the bowl, cover, and let proof until doubled in size. This may take up to 6-8 hours or overnight. Patience is key.
- For hand kneading and shaping, you will need to refrigerate the dough for at least 5-6 hours, preferably overnight. This will ensure the dough won't be too sticky to work with. If you would like to skip this step, please see the Notes below.
- Grease an 8.5 by 4-inch Pullman loaf pan and line it with parchment paper; set aside.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and knead on a well-floured surface until smooth. This will knock out any air bubbles so the finished bread will have a tighter crumb, better for making sandwiches.
- Shape into a rectangular or oval loaf shape and carefully place the dough into the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof until it reaches at least the top of the loaf pan. This could take anywhere from 3-6 hours, depending on the ambient temperature. Don't rush this step.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and move the rack to the lowest setting.
- Remove the plastic wrap and use a bread lame (or sharp serrated knife) to score the top of the bread. Brush very gently with melted butter.
- Cover with another pan of equal size and bake for 15 minutes; remove inverted loaf pan, reduce temperature to 375°F, and continue to bake for an additional 45-60 minutes, or until the loaf feels relatively light for its size and a thermometer inserted into the center registers at least 210°F. If the top of the loaf is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with foil.
- Immediately tip the bread out of the loaf pan onto a wire rack. Brush all side with any leftover melted butter and let bread cool completely before slicing. Slicing too early will mean gummy slices. For storing recommendations, please see the Notes section below.
Karina says
I made this recipe, I followed every step in the video. I started it yesterday at noon, by 11 pm I had risen some and I left it overnight in the fridge. This morning I took it out at 10:30am to knead it and it’s so wet and sticky, it doesn’t look like the video at all, also it seems like the husk hasn’t fully dissolved. What do I do? I don’t want to throw it out. Help please!
Kent says
Help! Twice in a row I have ended up with a giant bubble at the top and a dense sticky mass at the bottom of the loaf. The outside of the looks absolutely beautiful, perfect—just like your pictures—but the inside is a mess????? Rise to double, overnight in the fridge. Knead, shape, rise to the top of the pan, bake….
Kim says
Usually a large air bubble right under the top surface and a dense gummy line at the bottom both indicate under proofing. I would just give it a little more time on the final proof.
Cannington donuts says
Great information! There are so many people who have gluten intolerance and will love this gluten free bread recipe. Thank you very much. Above information is great and helpful as well.
Cannington donuts
Jenn says
Excellent result, thanks for the recipe! I used my own robust GF starter and your bread flour mix. Next time I'll try the fridge method and will hope to get a bit more sour flavor, but I'm so impressed with the texture and taste of this bread. And my loaf came out just like the picture!
Ange says
Hi Kim! Just wondering if I can leave the sugar out of your recipe or if its needed for a special baking function in the bread? I love my sourdough sour, so prefer no sugar 🙂
Cheers, Ange
Kim says
You can certainly try it. I usually add a little bit of sugar to some of my dough recipes for softness more than sweetness as sugar is a tenderizer.
Mari says
Hi Kim. I've used your recipe for sourdough loaf and with great success, so thank you! I am excited to try this new recipe for sandwich bread loaf. But I have a bit of a question mark on the steps. Would you be able to clarify, please? It says, after step 2, I believe that if you are going to be hand needing it that you will need to put it in the refrigerator but then in the following steps, it mentions something about taking it out of the refrigerator what if you just mixed it in a mixer? Do you still need to refrigerate the dough? After the first 5 to 6 hours that you let it rise outside of the refrigerator. Even if you use the mixer? It might be just me but the steps seemed a bit our of order or maybe like there's a step missing? Thanks in advance for clarifying.
Kim says
Hi Mari! I know it might seem a bit confusing because I've put two ways to work with the dough in the same recipe. If you notice in step 2, it says if you don't want to hand knead the dough and skip that step, see the Notes section below. The notes section tells you what to do if you don't want to hand knead.
I hope this helps!
Thomas W Eaton (Tom) says
Kim, thank you for replying to my comments about xanthan gum. I just have one issue, the bread isn't rising high enough to make a decent sandwich slice. I have a pulman pan that is 2.25 inches high on the inside and the dough will rise to the top of the pan but not much more.I have some Ezekiel bread that is four inches tall, that makes a decent sandwich. I decided to try a loaf with xanthan gum to see what the difference would be. It barely reached the top of the pan, but I think I may know why. I'm thinking that for the amount of ingredients that I am using, about 2.5 inches is it. So if I want a four inch high load do I have to double the recipe?
Kim says
You shouldn't have to as my pullman pan is 4.25 inches tall and this is the exact recipe I use for one tall loaf. What else are you substituting within the flour blend and/or bread recipe?
Anne says
I do not have a bread dough mixer; just a cuisinart food processor with a dough blade but this didn’t work too well. My dough is in the rising process as I write so not sure how this is going to go. Is there a better way of me mixing the ingredients without buying a dough mixer. I hate to waste all these expensive ingredients if I can’t make the recipe as written.
Kim says
You can mix them using a spoon and a bowl, but it will be a little more difficult. If you have a handheld electric mixer with dough hooks, that will be a little easier. Also a Danish dough whisk will work. They're very inexpensive. Here is a link: https://amzn.to/4fnMmRy
Lori Huhn says
Use your hand mixer. It's a very loose dough. But definitely beat for 5 minutes
Thomas W Eaton (Tom) says
Kim;
As I had promised I started to write a comment about this sandwich bread recipe of yours and almost missed my appointment at the bank yesterday, so I had to stop and planned to come back and finish it later. Unfortunately, as is typical for me, I wound up closing the tab with the comment so again I'm starting over. No problem, my bad. Anyway I think the best place to start is with, 🎵 awesome 🎶! I think I will be eating a lot of sourdough bread, waffles, biscuits, muffins, etc. from now on. I'm even thinking about trying to make my own sparkling water. that's because, in my typical fashion, I over thought concerns about commercial brands and wound up leaving it out, which might explain why my dough didn't rise very much above the top of my pan. I am thinking of trying to make my own sparkling water using sourdough starter. If you've got any thoughts on that I'd love to hear them. I didn't use xanthan gum because I have been diagnosed with acid reflux (GERD) and have most, if not all, of the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). You may know that Many people with digestive problems, such as GERD and IBS, have reported difficulty digesting xanthan gum so I think it's wise for me to avoid it. Instead when I made your bread flour I substituted a quarter cup of sorghum and the same amount of psyllium husks. Then when I made my bread dough I added a quarter cup of ground chia. After doing some more research I decided not to soak the chia first and just added it to the dry ingredients. I also added more psyllium which I most likely didn't need. When I picked up the loaf my first thought was it's not done, but I knew that couldn't be true because it's slightly over baked. I wanted to add a couple of photos but I can't see any way to do that.I really needed a louder timer than the one on my stove; picked one up yesterday. That loaf is so soft and fluffy that I thought my fingers would go right through it, but thankfully they didn't. It's a little moist on the inside; I'll have to work on that. Still, I can't wait to make a sandwich. Even with the short slices it's gonna be fantastic.
Kim says
That's great, Tom! I'm so glad it worked well for you, especially with all of your substitutions. I will direct anyone who asks about subbing the xanthan gum to your comment because I'm not as knowledgeable as you are when it comes to that. 🙂
Loretta Nipper says
I am making this right now, it is kneading and my dough is VERY wet. Hoping it comes out okay. I also just finished the pumpkin bread and it came out perfect. My other gluten-free sourdough bread always seems a little wet too. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
Thanks Loretta
Thomas W Eaton says
Loretta I had the same concern that my dough would be too wet but I followed the instructions and it came out fine. As per Kim's instructions, after the first rise I put it in the fridge. The next day when I took it out I was amazed by how firm it got. I had no trouble needing it and the bread came out awesome. I hope you had the same result.
Tom