Delicious Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich bread made with whole wheat flour and atta with touch of sweetness from honey.
Yes, I love sourdough and I am making a sourdough bread sandwich after a while. This time I tried 100% whole wheat sandwich bread. I used two kinds of whole wheat flour. You can try with your favorite peanut butter, ja, or jelly just like I did.
Why whole wheat sourdough Sandwich bread?
Sourdough is a healthier alternative to regular whole wheat bread. Although it has comparable nutrients, the lower phytate levels mean it is more digestible and nutritious.
The prebiotics also help to keep the gut bacteria happy, and it may be less likely to spike blood sugar levels.
Also, it is not filled with lot of preservative of unknown compounds as a store-bought version of sandwich bread.
How to make whole wheat sourdough sandwich bread?
First develop a strong starter. If you do not have it in hand, please check here to make one.
Since you are using Whole wheat flour you need to autolyse the flour few hours ahead of time. At the start just mix flour and water and set aside for least 3-4 hours, if you give more time that will be better.
This time I have added diastatic malt powder I think that gives better rise. You can add that if you have it in hand if not, you can skip that.
I used honey as sweetener so that kids can also eat bread. You can skip if you just want the taste of whole wheat.
If you are planning a same day bake, start early in the morning. Otherwise you can do second proof after refrigeration as I did in the recipe. It does not increase any sourness.
I used Kitchen Aid mixer for the initial mixing and did only 2 stretch and fold. If you want, you can increase the amount of stretch and folds.
I did not add any vital gluten flour if you want you can add that. I have seen its impact in the whole wheat yeast dough which give higher rise but not sure about whole wheat sourdough bread, so I skipped it.
I have used both two whole wheat flours, one is King Arthur Whole wheat flour and other one Indian Chakki Atta. Problem with Chakki Atta is that flour is obtained by grinding wheat in a plate/disc mill. The mill consists of two chilled-case corrugated iron plates placed vertically. One of the plates is stationary, while other rotates.
The wheat entering from the hopper is ground between the plates due to shearing action as well as the friction.
Grinding of wheat in disc mills is very severe when compared to roller flour milling, hence the damaged starch content present in atta (14-18 %) is more than King Arthur wheat flour (8-10%).
Because of high content of damaged starch atta can extend thin, however it will not give enough rise as bread. You need to add extra vital gluten if you are using atta alone for making bread.
This recipe has around 88% hydration. You need to adjust hydration depending upon the quality of whole wheat flour. It has been see that up to 103 % hydration of whole grain dough can bake smooth bread loaf.
Bake at 375°F for 40 -45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the sides of the loaf feel firm. Remove the loaves from the oven and turn them out of the pans onto a rack to cool. Let them cool completely before slicing. Otherwise you get gummy sandwich loaf.
Again, this loaf will be soft with some texture or it will not be entirely soft as you seen in grocery store aisle.
If you are fan of sourdough bread, then give a try to this sandwich loaf. If you tried this recipe, please tag me @nidhinikhil Instagram or @zestysouthindiankitchen in Facebook.
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
Welcome to Bread Bakers! This month, our them is Sandwich Bread and our host is Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories.
- Eggless White Sandwich Bread by Sneha's Recipe
- Farmhouse White Sandwich Bread by Making Miracles
- Just Bread Sandwich Loaf by A Messy Kitchen
- Pain de Mie aka Pullman Loaf by Food Lust People Love
- Sourdough Burger Buns by Cook with Renu
- Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread by Ambrosia
- Sourdough Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
- Struan Bread by Passion Kneaded
- Subway Sandwich Bread by Anybody Can Bake
Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- Levain
- 15 g Active Sourdough Starter I used whole wheat Starter
- 35 g Whole wheat flour King Arthur flour
- 50 g Water
- Dough
- 450 g Whole Wheat Flour King Arthur flour
- 75 g Chakki Atta Indian Whole Wheat flour
- 460 g of water
- 9 g Salt
- 20 g Honey
- 45 g Coconut oil
- 6 g Diastatic malt powder
Instructions
- First make Leavain with 15g active sourdough starter, whole wheat flour and water and set aside for 6 hours at room temperature.
- Autolyse
- Add both whole wheat flour and Atta, diastatic malt powder, into a bowl and add around 425 g of water and mix well and set aside for 3-5 hours before mixing with dough.
- For dough
- In a kitchen aid stand mixer bowl, add starter, rest of water, honey, coconut oil and mix well. To this add autolyse dough and mix well make sure to knead well so that everything incorporated well. Set aside for 30 minutes and then add salt and rest of water and mix once again.
- Stretch and fold the dough after 1 hour interval for 2 hour.
- After 5 hours or once dough doubled in volume you can shape it into loaf and transfer for oiled pan
- Keep the loaf inside refrigerator. Next morning pre-heat the oven 375F 190C and place the loaf in baking sheet and bake for about 40-45 minutes
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This is Swathi ( Dr. Ambujom Saraswathy Ph.D) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen who loves to explore cuisines from all over the world. Whenever possible I try to to give an Indian touch to several of the world cuisine, and has weakness for freshly baked bread. All the recipes you see here are created by me and approved after taste-test by my family.
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This worked exactly as written, thanks!
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Tasha Solomon says
What changes should I make for high altitude baking (4550 ft)
Swathi says
Give slow ferementation, reduce bulk time, and give more time to bake. Check with Thermometers 210 F for doneness of the bread.
Helen at the lazy gastronome says
Great recipe!! Easy to follow recipe and the bread has a perfect texture!
Zhenru says
I struggle with sourdough but the tips and tricks in you recipe made it so easy! And it was delicious too, thank you! Went superbly with my mango chutney
megane says
The bread looks awesome. I just have to get the ingredients and I am trying my hand at baking. Wish me luck.
Amy Liu Dong says
I love making sourdough bread and this one looks so delicious. I am so excited to make this at home 🥰
Oscar says
Sourdough whole wheat sounds interesting, I am going to have to try this recipe this weekend, can't wait.
jade says
Can you replace whole wheat flour with atta entirely with the same amount calling in the recipe?
Swathi says
yes you can just watch the water content as atta likes to drink water more.
Paul Anderson says
I just made this recipe yesterday and baked this morning. The result was less than I wanted but the taste is great. I've wanted a 100% whole wheat so I tried it. The recipe was confusing to me and I made several mistakes trying to follow it. Especially in the timing. For someone like me that needs exact step by step instructions I will rewrite the recipe. There is confusion between the way the words "starter" and "levain" are used and seem to be interchanged. "First make Leavain with 15g active sourdough starter,"...
Then..."In a kitchen aid stand mixer bowl, add starter, rest of ..."
I want a better result so I will try again. Two ingredients were not available or I could not find. The Indian Whole Wheat and the malt powder. I used malt syrup knowing it does not have the enzymes necessary. I used another flour that has greater bran content. I don't know what Chakki Alta does for the end result. I have posted photos on Sourdough Backers FB group. After all the mixing and looking back I realized I had nearly if not more than 100% hydration. So the crumb is very moist and the dough was so wet it could not hold structure overnight in the fridge. But the dough doubled as expected.
Lathiya says
The sourdough bread looks amazing. Perfect for sandwiches.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
My mouth is watering. I have to make this!
Debra says
Nice...I've got to remember to make it in a loaf pan to get sandwich perfect slices!
Kerri says
Fresh baked bread is one of my all time favorites! Plus, it's sourdough - even better!
Amy says
Well, I happen to have a sourdough starter so I'm going to make this tomorrow!
Chef Dennis says
This Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich is making my tummy growl!
Robyn says
I can't wait to try this when my sourdough starter is ready! That crumb looks amazing!
Akiko says
What a great idea to make your own sandwich bread. I love the healthier option with wheat, too!
Marina says
There is nothing better then homemade bread
Taleen | Just As Tasty says
I love homemade bread, and the texture on this looks incredible!
Emily Flint says
I'm working on my sourdough starter right now so I can't wait to try this recipe! Your bread looks so amazing!!
Sue says
How fun to make your own bread - and so delicious and healthy! I'm going to give this a try!
Amanda Marie Boyle says
I love sourdough, so glad to have found a whole wheat version!
Sarah James says
Your sourdough bread looks delicious. I use atta whole wheat flour and I didn't know about the starch content, thanks for the information.
Meesha says
This turns out to be really fluffy and delicious! It will be one of our household staples from now on.
Andréa Janssen says
What a delicious bread to bake and to eat. Thank you for sharing the recipe
Alexandra says
Homemade bread is such a special thing, and this is a lovely recipe!
Renu says
I generally use atta for my whole wheat bread, never added anything extra. Will try your recipe to see the difference.
Glenda says
This bread looks so delicious. I definitely plan to make this recipe for my family this weekend.🤎
Kathy says
I love sourdough bread. It's one of my favorites. I certainly want to make this recipe. I bought yeast not long ago so that I can start making my own bread.
Jennifer Van Haitsma says
I still have yet to try to make my own bread, but this looks really good. Thanks for sharing!
Nyxie says
Sounds beautiful. We used to make our own bread, sourdough included, but we haven't in so long! You're really inspiring me to get backing again.
Catalina says
Love to make bread at home. I will make your recipe soon. This bread has the perfect texture!
Beth says
This looks like a delicious base for a sandwich! Whole wheat is my favorite for sandwiches!
Laura says
This sounds really great. I love the idea of making fresh bread without all of the preservatives.
Heather says
Love your sourdough recipes! This whole wheat one looks delicious!
Pam Wattenbarger says
I've never use atta so thank you for the tips. The bread does look delicious. I love sour dough.
Jamie H says
That looks like the perfect loaf of bread! I love sourdough, but never thought to make it whole wheat!
Ben says
I have to try this recipe. I've never tried whole wheat before, but I imagine it's delicious.
Rebekah Hills says
This bread sounds wonderful - the texture looks perfect! I still haven't tried making my own sourdough starter, I am not sure if all these amazing recipes are going to push me over the edge!
Namita Tiwari says
Beautiful loaf Swathi. I love the crumb. The bread looks so soft and fluffy. It was a very informative post regarding the whole wheat flour. Unfortunately, I have chakki atta here. I will still go ahead with the recipe. And your video is so helpful for the beginners.
Swathi says
Thank you let me know if you need any more help.
Kelly says
Very interesting about the effect of the processing on the properties of the atta! That is a beautiful whole wheat loaf, the crumb looks amazing!
Stacy says
When we were living overseas, Indian chakki atta was the only wholegrain flour I could buy. I had no idea about how it was milled or that it contained more starch than the flour we buy in the States. I guess ignorance was bliss because I happily used it without adding vital wheat gluten for years! 🙂 I always learn something reading your posts. Thank you!