You can still use your starter with a little bit of help from commercial yeast to make this bread the same day. Even though it won’t be as fermented as a traditional potato flake sourdough loaf of bread, it will still be considerably healthier than store bought bread. Not to mention, considerably more delicious!

This loaf of bread is perfect for all of your sandwich loaf needs. It’s the perfect bread for a sandwich when you are having a picnic or need a quick meal. This bread also makes delicious french toast, grilled cheese, and cinnamon sugar toast!

Many times when people begin to make sourdough at home, the one thing they miss is the soft classic bread loaf. You won’t have to sacrifice your beloved sandwich bread with this recipe. This is one of the best recipes to start with when you begin your sourdough journey because it makes it much easier to get consistence results.

If you prefer a whole wheat style bread, you might want to check out my whole wheat bread recipe. It’s so delicious and the wheat flour brings so much flavor to the bread. You can use this same method of using yeast to help the loaf rise by adjusting the the amount of water. Just replace 1/2 cup ow water from the recipe, with the yeast mixture of this recipe.

Using discard to make loaf bread

You will use potato flake starter discard for this recipe. Although, you could use active as well! Honestly, either will work! It’s just nice to be able to make a potato flake sourdough discard loaf with starter that you haven’t fed recently. It takes a bit less planning to make a loaf of bread this way.

So what is discard? To put it simply, it’s not starter that needs to be thrown away. Rather, it’s starter that hasn’t been fed recently. Typically, this starter isn’t great for baking bread loaves with because it’s not as active as a semi-freshly fed starter. Don’t be fooled though, this starter can still ferment the grains and is great for so many discard recipes that use an additional leavening agent or in a recipe that doesn’t need a rise.

That’s why I love to use discard in this recipe, because the wild yeast that are still in the starter, get the help they need for a good bread rise, from the commercial yeast!

Potato Flake Sourdough Discard Loaf bread

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TOOLS YOU WILL NEED:

Stand mixer OR large bowl and wooden spoon

Measuring spoons and cups

Plastic wrap

Dough cutter/scraper

2 loaf pans (9×5 is the perfect size for this recipe)

If you like perfectly sized slices, you might like using a cutting tool to help guide you. It’s definitely not necessary, though.

INGREDIENTS:

Yeast Mixture

Warm water: Be sure that the water is not hot because it will kill the yeast. Around 110 degrees is the perfect temperature for the yeast to thrive, but not too hot for them to die.

Sugar: This help “feed” the yeasts and give them a jumpstart. You can replace this with honey, but don’t omit it all together.

Active dry yeast: I have only tested this recipe with active dry yeast. Although I’m sure that other forms of yeast would work just fine. It just might need a bit of tweaking. The rise times will vary and the way that you would incorporate it into the dough would be different. Active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in water before using, however instant yeast does not.

Dough

Bread flour: This flour has a higher protein content, which helps develop more gluten, resulting in a chewier and more structurally sound loaf.

All-Purpose Flour: Adding all-purpose flour can balance the dough, providing a softer texture and making it less dense than using only bread flour.

“Discard” Potato Flake Sourdough Starter: The starter provides flavor and helps with the natural fermentation process, even if the primary leavening is from added yeast.

Warm Water: Remember to not make the water hot, it can kill the commercial yeast and the natural yeast in your starter. You also don’t want cold water because the warm water speeds up yeast activity, helping the dough to rise faster.

Sugar: This can be replaced with honey, but additional flour might be needed. Using sugar or honey in the dough acts as food for the yeast, promoting faster fermentation and contributing to browning and flavor development in the crust.

Salt: Enhances flavor and controls yeast activity, preventing the dough from rising too quickly and ensuring a well-developed flavor. It might seem like a good idea to leave out the salt so that the dough will rise faster, but trust me, it will lack flavor and the dough will lack the structure it needs.

Vegetable Oil or Melted Butter: Using fats in the bread adds moisture and tenderness to the loaf. Vegetable oil, melted butter, coconut oil, and mildly flavored olive oil are all choices that will work for this sandwich loaf.

HOW TO MAKE SOFT SOURDOUGH SANDWICH BREAD LOAF

Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for a printable recipe!

Activating the Yeast

Start by mixing ½ cup warm water, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 packet dry active yeast. Make sure that the water isn’t too warm, as this can kill the yeast. Once you add all of the ingredients into a small bowl or measuring cup, mix it together and wait 10 minutes for the yeast to activate. It will get very foamy and rise up about double the size.

Mixing the Ingredients

While you wait you will add the rest of the ingredients to a stand mixer bowl. Add 4 cups of bread flour, 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1/2 cup of oil, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of starter (discard or active.) Once it has been 10 minutes and the yeast is activated, add it to the bowl also.

Forming and Rising the Dough

Depending on how you measure your flour, you might need to add more. I scoop the flour straight from the flour container and shake to level. This isn’t the “proper” way to measuring flour, but it has always worked well for me.

This discard starter was taken straight from the fridge, but like I said previously, you could use an active starter. This will give you a faster rise than the discard. Be sure to give your starter a quick stir before measuring it out.

Once all of the ingredients are added to the stand mixer, use a dough hook to mix on low speed until the dough has pulled from the sides of the bowl.

Form into a ball shape and cover with plastic wrap in a large bowl.

Allow it to double in size for the first time. This will take anywhere from 3-6 hours depending on the temperature of your home and if your starter was active or discard. To speed up the rise time, make sure your dough in a warm place, like the oven that only has the light on. Room temperature might not be warm enough, especially during the winter months.

Shaping and Second Rise

After it has doubled, punch down the dough. You want to remove a lot of the air bubbles so that the dough can start making new air bubbles for the second rise. Neglecting to remove a lot of the air bubbles can create large pockets of air in the final bread loaf.

Divide into 2 parts and shape into loaves. Place into parchment lined or greased bread pans and cover with plastic wrap.

Potato Flake Sourdough Discard Loaf dough before second rise

Allow it to rise for a second time until doubled. This could take 2-4 hours.

Baking and Cooling

After it has doubled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 30-40 minutes. It usually takes about 35 minutes. If the tops are getting darker than your preference, place a sheet of foil over the top to finish the cooking time. Around the 20 minute mark is when the tops are getting to the prefect color darkness. Some pans, like the pans with lids, will need the full 40 minutes of baking time.

Potato Flake Sourdough Discard Loaf risen dough in loaf pans

Allow it to cool before cutting so that the middle will not be doughy. I allow mine to cool in the pans, but they can be removed and cooled on a cooling rack as well, once they are cool enough to remove from the pans.

two loaves of soft Potato Flake Sourdough Discard Loaf

WHY MAKE a Potato flake sourdough discard loaf?

Okay, so I know that you can find sandwich loaves at the store for just a buck or two. So why spend all the time and ingredients making something at home when you can buy it from the store?

Unfortunately, bread at the store typically contains all types of additives. I counted the amount of ingredients on a loaf of bread from my grocery store. There were 24 ingredients. Some of which I had no clue what they were.

Knowing what goes into my bread is one of the reasons to make homemade sourdough bread at home. It’s important to know it’s free from artificial additives, preservatives, and unnecessary chemicals often found in commercial bread products.

Potato Flake Starter Discard Loaf Bread

Make a soft, fluffy sandwich loaf with this potato flake sourdough “discard” recipe using commercial yeast. Sometimes you just need to whip up a loaf of bread and don’t have two days to wait on your starter to feed and rise your bread. You can still use your starter with a little bit of help from commercial yeast to make this bread the same day.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings 2 large loaves

Equipment

Stand mixer OR large bowl and wooden spoon
Measuring spoons and cups
Plastic wrap
Dough cutter/scraper
2 loaf pans (9×5 is the perfect size for this recipe)