Sourdough Discard Sandwich loaf

I think I have found the best sourdough discard sandwich bread!

For real! I’m gonna keep this shirt cause I hate reading through blogs that take you through pages of sh’t just to get to the damn recipe! Drives me nuts!

I will say this though - I have started to not be so rigid with my dough making. I don’t always use my scale and and a bit forgiving. The first time I made this recipe I used exactly 1 cup of warm water and 4 cups of water and the dough came out too tough for me- so I will end some my ingredients with an ‘ish’. I asked my Nonna how much she used when she made her bread and she looked at me like I had three heads! You measure with your heart and how the dough feels!

Ingredients

1 to 1/4 cup warm water

1 tablespoonish honey

3 teaspoons active dry yeast

4 tablespoons butter softened

4 cups all purpose flour (start with 3 and add as you feel …. Yes you read that right)

1/2 tablespoon salt

1 cup sourdough discard ( needs to be about 12 hours since the last feed)

Instructions

Whisk together warm water, honey, and yeast. Allow it to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. The mixture should get nice and bubbly.

Add water yeast mixture, butter, (needs to be soft), salt, and sourdough discard to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix this together - then add flour one cup at a atime and see how it mixes. Depending on humidity I won’t add all 4 cups. I will leave it at 3 1/2 ish. If the dough is sticky then add the entire 4 cups

Knead on low speed until dough is smooth and elastic- about 10 minutes or so. It may take longer. You can also do this by hand…. Your wrist will be sore fyi 😉

At the end of it -It shouldn't stick to the sides of the bowl.

To check to make sure the gluten has developed enough so the bread is nice and fluffy, it should pass the windowpane test. Grab a small ball of the dough and stretch it into a square. It should stretch thin enough to see through without breaking.

Keep the the dough in a greased bowl with a lid, plastic wrap, or towel. ( I keep mine in the same bowl- I refuse to wash more than I have to!)

Let the dough rise (also known as bulk rise) for about 1-2 hours (or until it about doubles in size) in a warm place like on top of a stove or on top of the refrigerator. ( using warm water at the beginning helps this process )

Grease a bread pan or add parchment paper.

Roll the dough into a ball shape then shape into whatever you want it to look like…. Make it fit into the loaf pan with an elongated shape…. Hope that makes sense 😬.

Add the shaped bread dough to the parchment lined or buttered loaf pans seam side down.

Second rise for 30 minutes to an hour at room temperature, or until doubled. Covered with a towel.

Bake the sandwich loaf at 375 for about 45 minutes, or until a lovely golden brown color on top.

Allow to cool completely before slicing or storing. Oops I forgot to tell you to preheat the oven to 375- you’ve got time 😚 if you are like me you would have read the recipe before starting …. Maybe 😆

Most recipes tell you to wait an hour before cutting into it….. I never wait - it tastes the best right out of the oven- you might squish the hell out of it while slicing into its hands down worth the taste!!!

Let me know what you think!

Much luv

V 😘