Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Do you know what it’s like to be hungry? Really hungry?

I’m not talking about when you get home from work and raid the pantry because you’re “starving” and can’t wait for dinner.

Nope. I’m talking about real hunger. I’m talking about going to bed at night without having anything to eat. I’m talking about not knowing where your next meal is coming from or how you are going to provide food to feed your children.

I’m fortunate that I am not in that situation. I’ve never truly been in that situation. But, it is something that tugs at my heart strings… It tugs hard, and it always has. Since having my daughter, though, I find myself thinking about it more and more.

What if I didn’t have food for her? What if she had to go to bed hungry at night?

Poor nutrition causes nearly half of the deaths in children under 5 years old – 3.1 million children every year.

It breaks my heart to think about it… And, it breaks my heart that there are mothers and fathers out there who are living with that reality every day. They are people just like me who have just been dealt a slightly different hand in life.

I often find myself wondering why I am so lucky and blessed when others haven’t been. It’s a question I don’t have a good answer to. But, rather than answering the question, I try to do something about it and share my blessings. While I may not single-handedly be able to feed the world, I like to think that each of us can make a small difference. And, those small differences add up.

This month, Red Star Yeast is teaming up with Stop Hunger Now, an international hunger relief organization. In addition to providing meal packets with essential vitamins and minerals, Stop Hunger Now also works to break the cycle of poverty, providing education, skills development, and health care.

I was asked to develop a recipe as a part of their “Bake the World a Better Place” campaign… The idea is to bake something that can be given away. I immediately thought of sandwich bread.  It’s a great staple that can be shared easily. Kids and adults alike love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a grilled cheese sandwich, right?

Keeping nutrition in mind, I came up with a whole wheat sourdough sandwich bread recipe. The recipe utilizes white whole wheat flour, which helps to keep the bread light and soft even though it is a whole grain flour. The use of sourdough starter adds a nice depth of flavor to the bread without making it too sour.

I hope you’ll give this bread a try and help to bake a difference. The recipe makes two loaves, one to enjoy yourself and one to share.

Want more recipes to bake and share? Check out these other bloggers who are teaming up with Red Star Yeast and #BakingTheWorldBetter …

• Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Knots from A Kitchen Addiction
• Pumpkin Challah from Bakeaholic Mama
• Apple Crisp Sweet Roll Coffee Cake from Barbara Bakes
• Sweet Potato Crescent Rolls from Completely Delicious
• Chocolate Glazed Pumpkin Donuts from Foodness Gracious
• Apple Cinnamon Streusel Pull Apart Bread from Girl Versus Dough
• Cream Cheese Filled Brioche Sweet Rolls from Miss in the Kitchen
• Sourdough Sandwich Bread from My Kitchen Addiction
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Icing from Roxana’s Home Baking
• Fluffy No Knead Refrigerator Rolls from Stephie Cooks
• Snickerdoodle Bagels with Cinnamon Crunch Topping from The Law Student’s Wife
• Apple Honey Pecan Sticky Buns from Tutti Dolci

I also encourage you to take some time and get familiar with Stop Hunger Now. In addition to raising awareness with their #BakingTheWorldBetter campaign, Red Star Yeast will be donating a portion of their proceeds to Stop Hunger Now to help to provide meals. Since this is a sponsored post, I will also be donating a portion of my compensation to Stop Hunger Now. 

During the campaign, Red Star Yeast will also be offering a “Buy One, Get One Free” coupon for yeast… Be sure to check it out! 

Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Yields 2 loaves

Don’t let the whole wheat flour fool you. This sandwich bread is light and fluffy with just a hint of sourdough to give it great bought-at-the-local-bakery flavor. It’s fancy enough for company (or tea sandwiches!), but it’s still perfect for PB&J during the week. It also makes a mean grilled cheese. I’m just saying.

• 2 cups whole milk
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8-10 pieces
• 2 cups bread flour
• 1 cup sourdough starter (straight from the fridge)
• 2 eggs
• 4 ½ teaspoons (2 packets) Red Star PLATINUM yeast*
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• 4 ½ – 5 cups white whole wheat flour

Combine the milk and butter in a microwaveable bowl or glass measuring cup. Microwave on high for 1 – 1 ½ minutes, until the milk is warm to the touch and the butter is very soft. (It’s OK if the butter doesn’t melt completely.)  Pour into the bowl of your stand mixer.

Add the bread flour, sourdough starter, eggs, yeast, maple syrup, and sea salt to the mixer bowl. Using the beater blade, mix on low for about 30 seconds, until the ingredients are well combined. Then, increase the speed to medium, and mix for an additional 2 minutes, until a smooth batter forms.

Add 4 cups of the white whole wheat flour to the bowl. Switch to the dough hook and mix on the lowest (stir) setting on the mixer. A soft dough ball should begin to form after a few minutes.  Gradually add just enough remaining flour so that the dough is not sticky to the touch (though, it will still be quite soft). Once the dough is smooth (approximately 3 – 4 minutes), transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl.

Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rise until it has almost doubled in volume and the imprint of two finger remains in the dough.

Meanwhile, lightly grease two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Punch down the dough and divide it into two equal pieces. Roll each half of the dough out into a rectangle approximately 9 inches wide and 12 inches long.  Tightly roll up the dough to form a loaf that is approximately 9 inches wide.   Tuck in the ends and place the seam side down in the prepared loaf pan.  Cover with a damp towel and let the loaves rest again until the tops are just above the top of the pans and the loaves look slightly puffy.

Bake the loaves for 45 minutes. Let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

* Note – Two packets (4 ½ teaspoons) of either Red Star Active Dry or Red Star Quick Rise yeast can be substituted for the Red Star PLATINUM yeast.  The PLATINUM yeast yields the best results (in my opinion), but I tested the recipe with all three types of yeast.

My Kitchen Addiction Disclosure – This post was sponsored by Red Star Yeast.  Though I have been compensated to write this post, all opinions expressed are my own.