For the past two months, I’ve been working on creating an easy, overnight sourdough sandwich bread recipe. Most sourdough sandwich bread recipes I’ve tried came out too stiff or were enriched (with egg or milk) to make them soft. I want something soft but not rich like a brioche—just a simple, naturally leavened sandwich bread. After 7 loaves, I finally got it to how I like it!
I love overnight recipes because I can have fresh bread the very next day. It also works so well for sourdough, which requires longer fermentation time than commercial yeast. This Soft Overnight Sourdough Sandwich Bread calls for some upfront work the day before, and a long overnight ferment. With some baking schedule adjustments you can have fresh bread for breakfast or lunch the next day! A sample baking schedule is provided below.
Sample baking schedule
Day 1:
4:30pm: Make the Tangzhong. Tangzhong is a gel-like roux made from cooking flour with a liquid. This is the secret ingredient for soft, fluffy bread.
5:00pm: Combine all the dough ingredients and knead until a close to smooth dough forms (the dough will be a bit wet so you will not get a smooth ball). Cover, and rest the dough for 1 hour to allow it to hydrate.
6:00pm: Stretch & fold the dough and shape it into a rough ball. Cover and let the dough rise for 3-4 hours.
9:00 – 10:0pm: Shape the dough and place it in a prepared loaf pan. Cover and let it rise overnight on the kitchen counter ~10-12hours.
Day 2:
8:00 – 10:00 am: Preheat the oven to 350F and bake the bread on the middle rack in the oven for ~30-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown
Tips
For a glossy finish on the bread you can either brush the bread with eggwash right before baking, OR you can brush the bread with butter after baking.
For a plain Jane sandwich bread brown crust look, try brushing the bread with either milk or cream. This helps give the crust more color.
To prevent the bread from developing a soggy bottom, avoid having the bread cool in the loaf pan. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack pretty soon after it comes out of the oven.
Looking for more overnight sourdough recipes? Check these out:
Soft Overnight Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
Roux aka Tangzhong
- 28 g bread flour
- 140 g water
Dough
- all of the roux (above)
- 100 g active starter
- 80 g water
- 25 g oil
- 25 g honey
- 8 g salt
- 282 g bread flour
Instructions
The day before
- Make the Roux: Mix together roux ingredients and cook over medium heat, continuously stirring, until it becomes the consistency of pudding. Cover and cool completely (~30min-1hr)
- Combine all the dough ingredients and knead until a close to smooth dough forms (the dough will be a bit wet so you will not get a smooth ball). Cover and rest the dough for 1 hour to allow it to hydrate.
- Stretch & fold the dough into a ball. Rest 3-4 hours.
- Shape the loaf and transfer to a prepared loaf pan. Cover, and rise overnight for ~12hrs.
Bake day
- The loaf is ready to bake when it had risen 1-2 inches above the loaf pan. The time it takes varies depending on the temp of the kitchen.
- At this time, if you want a shinier crust, you can brush the loaf with an egg wash, milk or cream (optional). Bake the bread at 350F for 30-35 minutes.
- Remove from loaf from the pan while hot to prevent the bottom from steaming. Let it cool for at least 3 hours before slicing.
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