A recipe for sourdough egg bread that makes a soft sandwich bread that is still sturdy enough for slicing.
Every sourdough baker knows and loves the crusty artisan loaves, but there is a different side to sourdough. You can make just about any baked good with your starter, and soft sandwich bread is no exception.
This recipe is a rich dough that makes a super soft bread: the richness of eggs and milk combined with a touch of sweetness from the sugar and then a subtle tang of sourdough. It’s a little bit tricky to get such a rich dough to rise without any yeast, but keep it in a warm place and be patient.
If you’re in a hurry, add a teaspoon of yeast in when you mix up the dough. I won’t tell.
Ingredients for sourdough egg bread
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3 1/4 all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup active sourdough starter
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- plus beaten egg for brushing the dough
- A nice quality loaf pan, like this one
Let’s make it together
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Mixing and rising the dough
Start by mixing all the ingredients, except the salt, in a large mixing bowl to form a shaggy dough. The order you add them is not important. Cover with a damp tea towel and allow to rise for 20-40 minutes. Then add the salt and begin to knead. The dough can be kneaded in a stand mixer, by hand, or in a bread machine on the dough cycle.
Related: how to knead dough in a stand mixer
After 5-7 minutes of kneading, you will have a soft, smooth, dough. Because of all the wet ingredients, it will feel very dense and sticky. Lightly oil a large bowl and shape the dough into a ball. Place it into the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Allow to rise in a warm place for 3-4 hours, until visibly risen in bulk.
Shaping, rising, and baking the loaf
After rising, it’s time to place the dough into the loaf pan. There’s no use really trying to shape it; it’s so wet. I just sort of throw it in. It will smooth out perfectly as it rises.
Cover the loaf with heavily greased plastic wrap to avoid sticking and let it rise in a warm place. Check on it frequently, as it will flop over the sides of the pan if it over rises. Mine took about 3 hours in a turned-off, slightly warmed oven.
Preheat the oven 350 towards the end of the rising time.
Once it has risen an inch or so over the edge of the pan, go ahead and bake! It will take about 50 minutes. The loaf will be very golden brown and the internal temperature should be about 200 degrees.
Let it cool at least an hour or two before you slice!
Need even more recipes that use your sourdough starter?
- Sourdough banana bread is one of our favorites, and it’s ready fast!
- If you want a sandwich bread that’s not so rich, try this white soft sourdough sandwich bread.
- And for something a little different, try adding hot peppers and cheese in this jalapeño cheddar artisan sourdough.
Print the recipe here!
Soft Sourdough Egg Bread for Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup fed starter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- For topping
- 1 beaten egg
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except the salt. Mix to form a shaggy dough. Cover with a damp tea towel and allow to rest at room temperature, 20-40 minutes.
- Add the salt and knead the dough, by hand, stand mixer, or bread machine on the dough cycle. Knead for at least 5 minutes until the dough is very soft and elastic. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel, place in a warm spot, and allow to rise for 3-4 hours, until puffy.
- Shape the bread into a loaf (it is very slack and won't hold its shape well, just place into loaf pan the best you can). Cover with heavily greased plastic wrap and allow to rise another 3-4 hours in a warm place, until dough has risen 1 inch over the edge of the loaf pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until very golden brown and baked to an internal temperature of 200. Allow to cool completely before slicing. Stays fresh 1 day at room temperature, but freezes very well.
Notes
Nutrition
Keep baking!
By
Could the first rise be done overnight in the refrigerator?
A few questions: Would you please describe the consistency of your starter when you feed it (pancake batter, cake batter, wallpaper paste, etc.). Can you use bread flour instead of AP flour? Also, I notice an egg at the end of the recipe for the topping. When do you put that on – before or after the rise?
hi rebecca- pancake batter like starter. the egg is brushed on before baking. and yes bread flour is fine, the bread will be a little heartier 🙂
Great success first time making, thank you!!!!
That’s great! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Do you think this could be done as a free form loaf?
hi Lauren- it’s a very loose dough and needs the structure of the loaf pan. if you wanted to try it, I would add more flour until it holds its shape
I just made this recipe for the first time today. Making one batch, I made 2 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 loaves.
What size pan are you using if you only make 1 loaf? Smells and looks wonderful. Can’t wait to cut it! Thanks for sharing!
Hands down favorite bread. I love it as is. I have subbed flavored olive oil and added fresh herbs. Have added homemade pesto too. Thought I killed the sourdough once, I heat the milk so I added 2 1/4 tsp yeast. It really raised with a perfect crumb.
so happy to hear its turning out well for you. 🙂
This bread looks delicious. I’m looking forward to trying it. I noticed a discrepancy in your oven temperature, though, and am wondering which one to go with. In the blog post directions it says to bake at 350F and in the recipe it says 250F. I’m guessing 350F is the correct one, but I’m new to sourdough baking and just wanted to double check. 🙂
it’s 350! thanks1 I’ll fix it 🙂 I wouldn’t recommend it for one of your first recipes though, it needs a strong starter.