So, you’ve baked your first sourdough bread loaf and are thinking to yourself: “How do I eat this?”
Aside from slathering a slice of your freshly-baked sourdough in butter and calling it a day, there is a whole world of sourdough serving ideas out there for bakers to try. One way is to make your sourdough bread into a humble sandwich, which in my opinion, is completely underrated.
Yes, sandwiches are relatively simple to make. But, there’s a reason sandwiches are a universal staple: they’re delicious. There are endless flavour combinations you can create when you place ingredients between two slices of sourdough – from sweet to savoury to so wrong it’s right.
Whether you’re looking for a go-to staple sandwich for a weekday lunch or a gourmet sandwich to knock the socks off your lunch guests, I’ve curated a list of the five best sourdough sandwich recipes out there on the internet to help you expand your repertoire.
Kicking things off with a recipe for the Perfect Grilled Cheese, before moving to a gourmet Veggie Sandwich, these recipes will change the way you think about sandwiches. Wave goodbye to the Spam or Devon sandwiches of your childhood, because these artisanal sandwiches will take your taste buds to the next level.
5 best sourdough sandwich recipes
1. The Perfect Grilled Cheese with Sourdough
Perfecting the art of the grilled cheese sandwich is no small feat, but this Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich recipe makes easy work of it. With only three ingredients – sourdough bread, mayonnaise and cheddar cheese – and no butter necessary, this cheese sandwich only takes 7 minutes from prep to plate. The secret? Spread a little amount of mayonnaise on the outside of the bread before placing it on the griddle or skillet.
2. Veggie Sourdough Sandwich with Balsamic Glaze
If you’ve got 20 minutes to spare, then this gourmet Veggie Sourdough Sandwich will be well worth the wait. With a colourful combination of vegetables – bell peppers, onion, zucchini, mushrooms and spinach – cooked in balsamic glaze, you’ll definitely get your five-a-day with this hearty sandwich. Meanwhile, melted pepper jack cheese and a cream cheese spread bring the perfect fusion of flavours to this artisanal sandwich.
Baker’s tip: If you don’t like your sandwich too saucy, then decrease the balsamic glaze to 1 tablespoon. You can also use a slotted spoon to get rid of some of the excess sauce.
3. Gourmet Sourdough Ham Sandwich
There’s a ham sandwich and then there’s a ham sandwich – this Gourmet Ham Sandwich features seven delicious ingredients to bring an artisanal flair to a classic lunchbox staple. Layered with hickory smoked ham, tasty cheddar, semi-dried tomatoes and spinach leaves, this delicious sandwich is finished with mayonnaise, tomato relish and wholegrain mustard. You’ll be the envy of the office when you pull this bad boy out in the staff lunch room.
4. Seriously Good, Classic BLT Sourdough Sandwich
If the name isn’t any indication, this classic BLT is seriously good. With a combination of crispy bacon, ripe tomato, iceberg lettuce, Kewpie mayo and freshly-cracked pepper between two slices of toasted sourdough bread, this BLT is café-worthy. This recipe remains true to the beloved BLT, but brings a little extra flavour with a sprinkle of sea salt flakes and Japanese mayonnaise (seriously though, do yourself a favour and try Kewpie mayo on it).
Baker’s tip: Do yourself a favour and reserve the bacon grease and use it to fry the bread. It’s a game-changer.
5. Sourdough Breakfast Sandwich
This Sourdough Breakfast Sandwich will become a Sunday breakfast staple in your home with it’s delicious combination of iconic breakky flavours. With crispy bacon and scrambled eggs with melted cheese, this savoury breakfast sandwich will kickstart your taste buds as it’s served with hot sauce. I would probably recommend a habanero hot sauce or tapatio to take you straight to flavour town with every bite.
What else can you eat with sourdough?
There is no limit to the kinds of flavour combinations you can make using your freshly-baked sourdough. While you can use sourdough slices to make all manner of sandwiches – from turkey to salad to iconic Aussie Vegemite and cheese sandwiches – you can also top toasted sourdough with a variety of ingredients.
I’ve already covered some of my favourite Sourdough Topping recipes, including classic bruschetta and healthy sourdough pizza toast. However, you can also use sourdough slices to make your own melts using combinations, such as tuna and cheese, ham, cheese and pineapple, or even olive and cheese. You can also try adding different add-ins and fillings – like nuts, seeds, dried fruit and olives – to your sourdough bread recipe to bring some new and exciting flavours to your loaf with minimal effort.
Tips for the best sourdough sandwich
- When it comes to making the best sourdough sandwich, it’s essential to use quality ingredients – starting with the bread. This means that you should always try to use freshly-baked sourdough bread for your sandwiches. The best time to eat your sourdough loaf is within the first 4 to 5 days of baking to ensure it’s at its freshest.
- If the Seriously Good, Classic BLT recipe showed us anything, it’s that you should utilise quality sauces and spreads in your sandwiches to bring more flavour. For example, replacing regular mayonnaise with Kewpie mayo or chipotle mayo will elevate your sandwich all on its own. You can even try your hand at making your own sauces and spreads to really make the recipe your own.
- Stave off sogginess from high moisture ingredients, like tomato, lettuce and cucumber by spreading mayo, butter or cream cheese all the way to the edges of each bread slice to create a seal. Also, try packing these high moisture ingredients within the meat and cheese to prevent them from touching the bread.
If you’ve got the knead to devour some serious sourdough after all of this talk of yummy sandwiches, then be sure to check out the rest of our recipes at You Knead Sourdough. From Sourdough Soft Pretzels to Sourdough Crumpets to our classic Sourdough Bread Recipe, we’ve got plenty of recipes to keep your kitchen occupied. We’ve also got all your sourdough baking essentials, so you can ensure you have everything you need to make the perfect loaf, every time.
If you need some more sourdough content in your life, be sure to follow us on Facebook and TikTok and check out @youkneadsourdough on Instagram and hashtag #youkneadsourdough so we can marvel at your sourdough masterpieces.