I know what you’re thinking, why is it called “lazy” sourdough sandwich bread? Well simple, this bread uses sourdough discard, which is what you throw away (or in most sourdough bakers’ case *save*) when you feed your sourdough starter. I store mine in a mason jar in the fridge. It keeps for a month (ish) and I use it to make things like crackers, pancakes, muffins, pie crust, etc. If you’ve not been following me long, my oldest daughter is severely allergic to eggs in all forms and my husband is super sensitive to dairy so most of my baking is vegan. We do eat a lot of plant-based items simply because of the health benefits, but we are not completely vegan.
In the case of this “lazy” bread it’s called lazy because it uses sourdough discard for that lovely sourdough flavor, but it uses instant yeast to get the bread to rise. The removes the need for a bulk overnight rise and you have bread ready in just a few hours. I use this recipe mostly when I’m making bread for the girls. It’s softer and better for sandwiches than an artisan loaf. I prefer the taste of artisan loaves, after all, I love sourdough for that sour yummy taste and that crusty crust. However, the girls devour this bread. DEVOUR. Please see below, actual GIF of my daughter eating bread.
So let’s get to the recipe, shall we? This one is SUPER EASY.
Soft Fluffy (Lazy) Sourdough Sandwich Bread (Vegan)
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- 9×5 or 8×4 bread pan
- Tea towel
- Sharp knife or lame
- Oven
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 200 grams Sourdough Starter Discard about 3/4 cup
- 165 grams Spring Water about 2/3 cup, use any water you'd like I just recommend spring water
- 40 grams Honey (sub Maple for a *purely* vegan bread) about 2 tbsp
- 21 grams Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Avocado Oil) about 2 tbsp
- 3.5 grams Instant Yeast about 3/4 tsp
- 350 grams All Purpose Flour about 2 1/2 cups
- 113 grams Whole Wheat Flour about 7/8 cup
- 10 grams Sea Salt about 2 tsp
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk the sourdough discard with water. Then add honey/maple, oil and instant yeast.
- In a large bowl, add both types of flour and sea salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over top and start to mix everything together.
- Once the bread dough starts to form, turn it out on a floured surface. Knead the dough for about 15 mins by hand until stretchy and elastic. If you have a stand mixer and dough hook you can try that for 5 mins instead.
- Add the dough ball to an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled (about an hour). I use my oven (off) with the oven light on.
- Line loaf pan with parchment paper.
- After rising, turn the dough out on the counter. Flatten gently into a rectangle with your hands, then fold over 1/3 from the left, then 1/3 the right. Now roll the dough up tightly from the bottom to form a loaf shape. Tuck under the ends slightly and pinch the seams where you see them. Seams should be on the bottom and the top should have some tension but not ripping. Note: I am not amazing at loaf shaping and mine always turn out fine. Don't stress over this step.
- Place the dough loaf in the pan. Cover the loaf lightly with a towel and let rise for 1 hour. Notes: Here is where I set the loaf on top of the stove while my oven preheats. They get a good second rise that way.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Make 3 diagonal cuts across the top about 1/2 inch deep with a sharp blade (I dip mine in cold water before cutting). Then place the loaf in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes until it looks golden brown and sounds hollow. You can check the internal temp with a thermometer too. I prefer this method. 180-200°F is done.
- Remove from pan let cool completely before slicing.
- If I am not going to need this loaf any time soon (within the next week), I will slice it completely and store it in the freezer in an airtight container. Toasting the frozen slices as needed is perfect and tastes great!
The kids know the bread is ready as soon as it’s out of the oven. It’s like a spidey-sense, I swear.
Be sure to leave a comment or shoot me an email if you have questions or try this super easy sourdough sandwich bread! I’d love to hear about it.
xoxo,
Aleah
Sourdough Discard Vegan Sandwich Bread – Pin this Recipe!
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Thank you for this recipe! I’m making it tonight! I do want to mention that it isn’t vegan if it uses honey. Cane sugar or agave is a vegan substitute!
I appreciate the comment! I hope it turns out amazing! Not all vegans avoid honey, though I know that some do believe that using honey contributes to the exploitation of bees and therefore avoid it. I updated the recipe to say to sub maple (which I often do actually) for a *purely* vegan experience. Thank you!
Turned out delicious! I skipped the honey/maple because I’m sweet enough. 😉 But I love it! Thank you for posting!
Love it! So glad you liked it!
hi! can i buy instant sourdough yeast instead of making a starter?
You certainly can use just an instant yeast instead of a sourdough starter to get your bread to rise! That’s actually what this recipe is doing. The sourdough starter in this instance is giving it that distinct sourdough flavor! Since it’s unfed and not as active it won’t help the bread rise on its own. The flour and water ratios would have to change for this recipe because of what is provided by the 200g of un-fed starter.