Name: Pullman Sourdough Sandwich Loaf
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 990 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup active sourdough starter (230 grams); 7 cups flour (950 grams); 2 cups water (470 grams); 1 tbsp sea salt (15 grams); ⅓ cup coconut oil-melted but not hot (75 grams); 1 1/2 tbsp honey (33 grams)

I’ve been making sourdough bread for 2 years now. In the realm of sourdough, that is not a lot of time at all. I hesitated for a long time to even try writing this post because I don’t want people to think that I view myself as an expert in sourdough. I don’t. This Pullman sourdough loaf has been a project that I’ve worked on for several months. I love baking, and breadmaking is such a fun way that I can nourish my family. I have found a lot of sandwich loaf recipes online for traditional yeasted loaves. I’ve made several of them, and never had any complaints except that we never felt like it was enough bread. We love bread in our house, and we have people over for meals or go to other people’s houses often with bread in hand.

Pullman loaf pans create beautiful loaves and I’ve seen how functional a perfectly square piece of bread could be. The thing is, I wanted to use my sourdough starter for this bread but I was never comfortable enough just creating my recipe. And I could not find a Pullman sourdough sandwich loaf recipe online. Or at least none that made sense or had pictures that I could reference.

I had added the loaf pans to my Christmas list and was gifted two of them. These are the ones that I use. I decided to give it a try with some sourdough recipes I had seen and unfortunately, none of them worked. The bread was either too short or burnt or was underdone or some combination of those problems. So I had to adapt recipes until I found one that I liked. And I did! This is not to say that it’s a perfect recipe and not to say that there is not a better sourdough sandwich loaf recipe out there, but I am proud of the end result.

This sandwich loaf produces slices that match the size of bread that you get in the grocery store the whole way across instead of having some short or skinny pieces from the ends of the loaf. This loaf is even the whole way across. It is perfect for all sorts of sandwiches or French toast or just toast and butter.

What does a sourdough sandwich loaf taste like?

My sourdough sandwich loaf is sweetened with honey and uses coconut oil as the fat content. It has the traditional sourdough taste with the added sweetness of the honey.

Do you have to use coconut oil for this recipe?

I have not tested this recipe with any other oils, but I use coconut oil and butter interchangeably in other recipes. You could try it, and if you do let me know in the comments your results

How long does this recipe take to make?

With sourdough, timing is always hard to say definitively because a lot of it is dependent on how active your starter is and the temperature of the room.

I fed my starter, waited a few hours and once it was ready I threw all the ingredients in the mixer for about 10 minutes. Then I let it sit overnight, formed it, and let it sit for another 4 hours or so. Then I baked it for an hour and ten minutes. So I worked on it for a total of maybe 20 minutes of hands-on time. It baked for 1 hour and 10 minutes, but from the time I put the ingredients into the mixer, to when the bread was done cooking, it was about 16 hours.

What size sandwich loaf does this make?

This recipe is for a Pullman sandwich loaf pan that should measure approximately 13×4.4×4.6 inches when done.

How to make a Pullman Sourdough Sandwich Loaf:

This sandwich loaf requires an active and bubbly starter. I cannot tell you when to feed your starter because when it will be ready to use is very dependent on how fast it rises. You can see from my pictures that I fed my starter at noon and I could have used it as early as 530 but I ended up not getting to it until closer to 7 pm. Our house was 70 degrees when I made this recipe.

jar of rising sourdough starter on a stove top

jar of rising sourdough starter on a stove top showing a span of 4 hours

jar of rising sourdough starter on a stove top showing a span of 4 hours and then 5 and a half

jar of rising sourdough starter on a stove top showing a span of 4 hours and then 5 and a half and higher

top view of rising sourdough starter in a jar

In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine 7 cups (950 grams) of flour and 2 cups (470 grams) of water. Mix on low speed until combined into a shaggy dough. I weighed out the ingredients for this recipe after using cup measurements. I am heavy-handed when I measure out the flour, I don’t typically do the “scoop and level” technique for this recipe. That’s why the cup measurement converted to the weight measurement may seem off to some.

dry ingredients in the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook

wet and dry ingredients in the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook

Add 1 tbsp (15 grams) of sea salt, ⅓ cup (75 grams) melted coconut oil, 1 ½ tbsp (33 grams) honey, and ¾ cup (230 grams) of active and bubbly starter to the mixer. Mix on low until fully incorporated and can pass the windowpane test. The dough will become silky and smooth. This takes my mixer approximately 10-15 minutes. For some reason, I did not take a picture of my dough when it had passed the windowpane test. Once the dough has passed, cover it with a damp towel and leave it on the counter until doubled in size. This takes approximately 12 hours, but can be more or less depending on the temperature of your house. You can leave the dough in the mixer bowl or transfer it to a different one.

sourdough starter in a wet dough mixture in the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook

honey and sourdough starter in a wet dough mixture in the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook

coconut oil, honey and sourdough starter in a wet dough mixture in the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook

When the dough has doubled in size (again, this can be anywhere from 8-12 hours), turn out onto a lightly floured surface and press the dough into a rectangular shape, approximately 12 inches wide by about 20 inches long. The width is what matters the most. Roll the dough on itself, creating a log, similar to how you would roll up a cinnamon roll. Place on parchment paper and into the Pullman loaf pan.

flour lightly dusted on a wooden surface

bread dough pulling away from the wall of a silver bowl

bread dough in the shape of a rectangle on a wooden surface

rectangle of bread dough half rolled on a wooden surface

rolled sourdough bread loaf next to parchment paper

Cover the open loaf pan with a damp towel again and let the dough rise for approximately three hours. Or place into the fridge until ready to bake.

bread dough in a pullman loaf pan with parchment paper

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. If the Pullman loaf pan was in the fridge, place it on the counter while the oven preheats. Cover the loaf pan with the top piece and place in the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

loaf of bread dough in a pullman loaf pan with the lid halfway pulled back

Remove the loaf pan from the oven and take the cover off immediately. After about ten minutes, remove the sourdough loaf from the pan and place it on a cooling rack or pad. (You may need to use a knife to loosen it from the sides. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing it as the steam inside the loaf will help the bread’s texture.

Frugal Living Tip: If you don’t use all the bread, or want to make a new loaf before you finish one, freeze the leftovers until you’ve gotten a stockpile and make breadcrumbs, croutons, or casseroles using the slightly stale defrosted bread.

This Pullman sourdough recipe makes a weekly appearance in our kitchen and we use the bread for any meal. If you try this recipe or if you have a Pullman sourdough loaf recipe that you use, let us know in the comments! pullman shaped sandwich loaf on a wooden cutting board next to a bow knife on a towel