Easily make fresh sourdough sandwich bread in your bread machine! No kneading, no babysitting the dough, the bread machine does all the work for you.
Light and airy with the perfect texture and crumb. This makes amazing sandwiches and toasts beautifully!

I read somewhere that bread machines are making a comeback. Well, for some of us, they never went away.
My bread machine gets used at least every couple of weeks, because this sourdough sandwich bread is our daily bread.
Now, I love a good crusty chewy sourdough bread above all things, but not for my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. For my every day lunch and breakfast toast, I want a good sandwich bread.
And this, my friends, is a very good sandwich bread!
Ingredients:
Bread flour - bread flour has a higher protein content that helps support the gluten, which helps the bread rise.
Salt - I use kosher salt.
Yeast - yes you can make sourdough bread without yeast and when I am making a crusty loaf that proofs overnight in the fridge, I don't use yeast.
Sugar - I use unbleached cane sugar.
Milk - I use whole milk.
Butter - because butter makes everything better.
Sourdough starter - you want to use an active starter. I take mine out of the fridge the night before and feed it. The next day when I am ready to bake bread, it is active and bubbling.
Instructions
Read the instructions on your bread machine, but most have you put the wet ingredients in first.
Place the milk and starter in the bread machine pan. Cut the butter into small cubes (I cut 2 tablespoons of butter into 8 cubes) and scatter them on top.
Even place the 3 cups of bread flour on top of the wet ingredients.
Using a spoon, make 3 indentations in the flour, this helps keep the yeast, salt and sugar separate.
I like to place the yeast in the middle and then the salt and sugar on the two sides.
Place the pan in your bread machine and set for regular white bread. If you're bread machine has a longer rising time setting you can use that to coax a little more sourdough flavor, but I usually just use the regular bread setting.
When the bread machine beeps, open the bread maker and take out your bread.
Remove it from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack.
Note - this makes a medium sized loaf. You can see that sometimes the dough ball gets a little uneven and one size is a little higher than the other. This doesn't bother me, but if it does you, as soon as the bread machine finishes kneading, you can open it up and press the dough out a little more evenly.
This bread comes out beautifully every time. With the butter and the milk, it's a more rich sourdough bread.
The sourdough flavor is not that pronounced in this bread because it doesn't get a long rest, it's used more to add lightness and it helps keep the bread fresher longer!
This bread is great for sandwiches, toast and anytime you want a yummy slice of bread. I brush slices of it with olive oil and sprinkle with my Carraba's Bread dip seasoning and broil - so good with pasta or a salad!
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Recipe
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Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- ⅔ cup milk
- 2 tbsp butter cut into about 8 small cubes
- 3 cups bread flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
Instructions
- Place the milk, starter and then the butter cubes in the bread machine pan.
- Evenly place the 3 cups of flour over the liquid ingredients.
- Using a spoon, make three small wells in the flour and place the sugar, salt, and yeast each in one of the indentations.
- Place in the bread machine and choose regular white bread.
- When the machine beeps (mine takes 3 hours and 50 minutes) carefully pull out the pan (it's hot!) and remove the bread.
- Let cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Leia says
Could you please correct the recipe?
One full tablespoon of salt is not correct and causes us to waste supplies and time finding that out on our own.
Pam Greer says
When I make it, I use 1 tablespoon of salt. However, I realize some people find that too salty. I have also made it with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. I will change the recipe to that.
Isabel Wahlgren says
Can you tell me why you use a starter as well as yeast? Also, do you have a recipe where you can make sourdough in a bread machine using just the starter and no yeast?
Pam Greer says
I use yeast with the starter because the bread does not go through a long slow fermentation which is needed if you are using starter only. No, I don't have a recipe only using starter for the bread machine, because typically when I use my bread machine, I'm using it to make bread that day. Using just a starter is at minimum a two day process.
Natalie says
I decided to try this today for a change in our typical sandwich loaf. While the texture and the rise was fine, the bread was horribly salty. Has anyone else experienced this? I thought 1 tbsp salt was a lot as most of my bread recipes never have more than 1.5 tsp in them, but figured maybe there was a reason why this one had more. Anyway, my kids actually like it, but I'll definitely decrease the salt if I use this recipe again.
Diane says
Which bread maker are you using? It has two paddles and is rectangular shape.
Pam Greer says
It's a zojirushi.
Stephanie Murphy says
Do you have a recipe for the starter? I have never made sour dough bread before.
Pam Greer says
No, I made my starter so many years ago. If you google how to create a starter, it's pretty easy. You just mix flour and water and keep it on your counter, feeding it until it starts to get bubbly and active.
Angela says
Such great tips! The bread machine is definitely the way to go. Great bread!
Kathryn Donangelo says
Sourdough is my favorite and this bread recipe is so easy! This will definitely be my new go-to bread recipe for sourdough, it's hard to beat!
Toni Dash says
This is such a great recipe! Thank you so much for the tips!
Pavani says
That is a perfectly baked sourdough bread - has a lovely crumb. I've never made sourdough bread in the breadmaker (don't know why??). Will definitely try this recipe soon. Thanks for sharing.
Luci says
I've been loving homemade bread recently, but I have yet to get a bread machine. After seeing how your delicious bread turned out I think I'll have to get one!