Abstract: The industrial production of Jiaodong steamed bread is often characterized by bland flavor, rapid staling, inconsistent texture, and unstable product quality, which severely restrict the industrialization and market expansion of this traditional Chinese fermented flour product. To solve these challenges, a standardized production process was established in this study by combining sourdough fermentation with a retarded sponge dough technique. Three critical processing parameters, including water addition, sourdough addition, and refrigerated fermentation duration of sponge dough, were systematically optimized via single-factor experiments coupled with Box-Behnken response surface methodology, with sensory score set as the evaluation index. The optimized Jiaodong steamed bread was further compared with a control prepared by the conventional rapid yeast method in terms of specific volume, textural properties, sensory characteristics, volatile flavor compounds, and staling properties. The optimized process conditions were determined as 36% water addition, 64% sourdough addition, and 24 h refrigerated sponge dough fermentation, yielding a sensory score of 85.66. Compared with the rapid yeast method control, texture profile analysis revealed that the optimized Jiaodong steamed bread possessed a significantly higher specific volume, lower hardness, and improved elasticity and cohesiveness. Furthermore, the optimized product exhibited a greated diversity of volatile flavor compounds, especially alcohols, acids, and esters, which contributed to a more balanced and pleasant flavor profile. During 7 days of storage at 4 ℃, the optimized Jiaodong steamed bread showed a slower increase in hardness and lower retrogradation enthalpy detected by differential scanning calorimetry, indicating effective inhibition of starch retrogradation and delayed staling behavior. In conclusion, the combined application of sourdough fermentation and retarded sponge dough method remarkably improves the sensory quality, texture characteristics, flavor profile, and storage stability of Jiaodong steamed bread, providing a reliable technical reference for its high-quality, standardized, and industrial production.