What is sourdough? Learn all about the benefits and the reasons why you should start making this bread as a regular part of your meal plan. Sourdough is so easy to make, plus it’s nutritious and SO delicious!
Sourdough has always seemed like a specialty bread to me. Little did I know it would almost beat out no-knead artisan bread in its simplicity. And that there are health benefits of sourdough, plus it’s amazingly delicious.
Oh.My.Goodness. It’s heaven in your mouth, and I’ve been converted ever since I first tried it.
What is Sourdough?
Sourdough is a bread made from the natural occurring yeast and bacteria in flour. In traditional sourdough recipes, you’ll find three ingredients: starter culture (which consists of flour and water), salt and flour. There is no yeast, no milk, no oils and no sweeteners. It’s about as natural as you get when it comes to bread.
What Makes Sourdough Special?
Ask anyone who’s eaten sourdough and they’ll tell you that the tang is what makes it special. I agree, and in fact the signature tartness of sourdough bread comes from the same bacteria that gives yogurt and sour cream their pucker too. It’s found naturally in wheat flour, along with yeast, and comes to life when the flour is mixed with water. Here’s a very simple explanation of the process:
- wheat flour + water –> natural enzymes break down starches into glucose (sugar)
- natural bacteria (tang) + glucose –> food for natural yeast
- leaven + more flour + more water –> more natural leaven
- natural yeast + food –> natural leaven (carbon dioxide)
So basically you start with flour and water. Nature takes its course and over time, you have a mixture that contain enough leaven (yeast) to make bread rise. Pretty cool, right? Who knew doing so little could yield such an amazing result!
The Benefits of Sourdough
You guys know the health benefits of yogurt and kefir, right? Imagine those benefits, fresh and warm from the oven and smeared with butter.
Ok, so it’s not exactly like that, but it’s close!!
Lactobacillus
Lactobacillus is the good bacteria in yogurt, kefir, sour cream, buttermilk, etc. It ferments the flour/water mixture and creates lactic acid, a catalyst that greatly increases the micronutrient profile. In simple terms – all those nutrients found in whole wheat flour are bigger and badder, and now your body is better able to USE them too.
The fermentation process alone is great for your digestive system. The Lactobacillus helps feed the good bacteria found in your digestive system so they can continue to fight off the bad guys. And remember that a healthy gut means healthy body. Most of your immune system is found in your digestive system.
Phytates
One neat thing to the long soaking required of sourdough is that it breaks down much of the phytates that bind the awesome minerals in grains. With the phytates gone, our bodies can grab those nutrients and actually use them!
Related Post: The Science Behind Soaking Grains
With those nutrients readily available, digestion of the starch is MUCH easier on your body. In fact, the natural bacteria working with the natural yeast predigests the starch a little bit for you. The benefits of sourdough will make your tummy happy.
Glucose
Remember how the natural yeast feeds on the glucose? With a large portion of the glucose devoured in the fermentation process, sourdough doesn’t cause a spike in your blood sugars like processed white breads often do. The long process also breaks down many of the gluten proteins into amino acids, possibly making sourdough bread tolerable for those who are sensitive to gluten!
One last neat tid-bit: sourdough bread is less likely to stale, retains much of its moisture as it ages, and its acidity helps prevent the growth of mold! Now this doesn’t mean your sourdough won’t EVER go stale and will NEVER grow mold. But it’s nice to know that the artisan loaf you treated yourself to at the farmer’s market won’t go bad too quickly.
Why Bother Making It Yourself?
Besides the fact that most “whole wheat” breads are just really made with plain ‘ol white flour, making sourdough is probably the absolute easiest homemade bread I’ve ever made. In fact, it nearly ties kefir for the easiest fermentation ever.
- Mix flour and water.
- Wait.
- Repeat.
Seriously? In seven minutes – one minute a day – I had natural leaven ready for homemade bread. It’s the perfect recipe for those with busy schedules (and bloggers testing out various types of flour in an assortment of baking recipes).
If you haven’t guessed already, I’ve documented the entire sourdough process with my camera. You can find the tutorial HERE.
The only downside of sourdough bread is that it does take time. The work itself isn’t hard, but you must plan ahead if you’re wanting to make sourdough 100% from scratch. It takes a full seven days if you’re using only flour and water. However, there are kits you can buy that will produce sourdough starters in as little as three days.
Cultures for Health offers several to choose from, including rye, Italian, French, whole wheat and even brown rice for those who can’t take any chances with gluten. I tested out the San Francisco variety and it was almost TOO easy to ferment. I’ve already made two batches of pancakes and biscuits with the extras!
Which leads me to the goods news – once you get in the routine of feeding your starter, you’re more likely to find yourself needing to use up extra starter. And once you have a starter, you can feed it more or less depending on how soon or not soon you need a certain amount.
FAQS
Sourdough consists of only TWO ingredients, flour and water. It’s very easy to make and it’s worth the wait.
The taste of sourdough is sour and tangy because of the natural fermentation process. It’s so delicious, you have to give it a try!
The healthy option would be sourdough bread instead of whole wheat or white bread. Sourdough bread is more nutritious and digestible and is filled with probiotics that are great for gut health!
Yes! Sourdough contains a list of vitamins and minerals (magnesium, B vitamins, zinc, calcium, & etc.), plus fiber and protein. This particular bread is made with a starter culture (rather than a yeast packet), which is thought to be good for gut health.
Thank you for explaining the benefits of eating sourdough bread. I’ve recently found a bakery near me that sells sourdough. It would be interesting to try it after learning about all of its benefits. https://villabate.com/
Does baking the bread destroy the lactobacillus and render it non existent or does some of it survive the heat?
Baking will destroy the good bacteria Janette, but it makes the grain easier to digest for some.
Our first time starter is 7 days old. Her name is Coco (son named her after the movie 😁). I just made your recipe using bakers bleached flour. Is this starter old enough? Now… Should I put him on the refrigerator now or wait one more week at room temperature to have a good sourdough starter like I read above? Thank you for your knowledge… It was a little hard to find a sourdough recipe out there that wouldn’t ask for added dry yeast… Vero
Hi Vero! I’d feed for another week before putting in the fridge. Great name for your starter!!
is sourdought bread french bread?
Nope!
Making your own starter is easier than you think. I’ve done this for years and most people do here in Ireland. Our mothers usually teach us to name your starter because, you’re going to be good friends for awhile.
I would recommend feeding your starter every day at the same time. I generally feed my starter at the same time that I feed my dog. The basics of your own sourdough starter is to feed it at about the same time. Use equal portions of flour and water. Mix well. Keep at room temperature (approx. 18C/65F). If you see mold starting. Throw it away and start again. Mold either means dirty utensils or there is mold present in your area. A good starter usually takes about 14 days.
There’s an American gal on Youtube who has a tutorial on how to make your own sourdough starter and how to bake with your very own sourdough starter. She makes her sourdough exactly as I do. I generally use 1c flour/128g to 1c water/128g. Sometimes a little bit more water is needed depending the humidity of the day. I keep my starter wet. I like it a bit like thin pancake batter.
Sometimes if you don’t see bubbles or if you don’t feel that your starter is growing or fermenting you’ll need to feed the starter twice a day or perhaps stir a few times a day incorporating air. Sometimes you may find that your starter may not need feeding on a particular day.
Visit this particular video on Youtube for helpful instructions on how to make your own starter:
Northwest Sourdough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIFPzoFeioQ
and here is a Youtube video on how to make the easiest and great tasting bread with your starter. I use parchment paper/baking paper and spray my paper with oil instead of water as seen in this video. This particular recipe is the easiest without having to punch down dough, needing dough for hours.
This gal is from Australia and she makes her dough exactly as like mine. Some people say that using salt inhibits your starter in bread recipes but, I don’t find that true. Salt gives your bread flavour.
Elly’s Everyday Sourdough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkA8JUmLT8k
Once your starter is finished and you’ve made your own bread. You can now feed it once more then place in the refrigerator with either a cloth in lieu of a lid or lightly cover the jar or bowl. Your starter will need to breath even in your refrigerator and should be fed once a week. Putting your starter (whatever name your chose for it) in the fridge will slow down the wild yeast growth. It sort of relaxes it.
When you’re ready to bake a loaf. I recommend taking the starter out three days ahead but, you can use it the same day. Just bring your starter up to room temperature.
*Your starter can also be frozen! Just bring it back to room temperature and feed it at least one day.
Here’s an American flour company in which you can actually purchase a very old starter (revolutionary war era), they also have a starter recipe, and you can purchase a crock to keep your starter in it.
I’m in no way affiliated with King Arthur Flour nor do I sell any product.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe
There’s nothing more satisfying than making your own bread from a starter. Don’t put too much into making a starter. You basically mix equal portions of water to flour and feed it every day by pouring out half of your starter and putting back either a half cup ratio of water/flour or a cup ratio of flour/water. You’ll see when it’s either over fermenting or under fermenting.
Your stomach is also going to love you. Your digestive system will wake up once your begin to eat fresh bread made from a starter.
Good luck.
Thanks for that. So here is the list of ingredients. Doesn’t sound good to me!! “Ingredients – Wheat flour,Water, Sourdough (Wheat Flour, Culture) Yeast, Fermented Wheat Flour, Iodised Salt, Bread Imporver (Wheat), Vegetable Oils(Palm Oil, Canola Oil) Vitamines (Thiamin, Folate – Contains Gluten”What you think? Thanks
That’s actually pretty good Stewart! You could probably do without the vegetable oils and vitamins, but it does contain the sourdough starter and not a “fake” sourdough flavoring. If this is the shortest list you find, I’d be okay with this bread!
I’ve eaten variously grain/seed bread and wholemeal bread most of my adult life (70 year old male). Discovered sourdough bread in the reduced counter of the local supermarket here in Canberra. I’ve always preferred savoury rather than sweet breads. I’m not going to make bread from scratch! So will buying sourdough bread from supermarkets still give the benefits? Or does supermarket bread just look like the real thing? Is it made from wholemeal flour? Or would I be better buying sliced and packaged wholemeal bread or seeds/grain bread? (all from an Australian and UK perspective) Thanks
Hi Stewart! Store-bought can give you the same benefits but you have to read the ingredients first. Some store-bought “tastes” like sourdough with added yeast and flavors, but isn’t truly sourdough. You want to see as little ingredients listed as possible, ideally: sourdough starter, flour, salt and maybe water (and not necessarily in that order). If you have smaller, local bakeries that sell in-store, that will likely be your best bet!
Excellent thanks
Recipe is too simple. How about how much flour?
How long you leave it ? How do you know it’s ready ?
Oven temperature/how long?
It’s simple when you know.
Also your comments box is too far down the page takes ages to get there.
Love Steve.
Hi Steve – this post was merely ABOUT sourdough. I have posts on the starter and the bread too, and you can find those here:
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/real-food-101/
As for the comment box, I can’t really control that… but thanks for scrolling down and leaving a comment!
Can you please link me to the tutorial that came after this? I have the flour and water and am going to start my bread today. However, I am totally lost on how to pour off the excess liquid and how to use it. I stumbled across your blog about 4 hours ago and am in love! And my husband loves you because you have me attempting to make sourdough bread and it is his favorite. Not so much mine but I am willing to try it.
Hi! You mention that the long soaking required for sourdough must be breaking down the phytic acid, therefore making this better for us than regular bread ( my u derstanding of what you are saying), but that soaking is really only the starter. The recipe I use for my sourdough, that I got from King Arthur company, has me adding 5 cups of flour to my 1 cup of starter. But those 5 cups of flour arent soaked. So?
I also mill my own wheat, but after reading that sourdough is supposed to be even better decided to give it a try. I ordered the starter from King Arthur because I am not so great in the kitchen and didnt want another failure or should I say couldnt handle another failure in the kitchen right now! I am happy to say that it has worked out great and the sourdough is turning out great.
Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.
Hi Jen! Let’s see if I can clarify this a bit. Most sourdough recipes start with the starter, which is soaked for an eternity, lol, so that’s definitely soaked.
Then, you add flour and let it sit for awhile – overnight usually. Once that’s done, the flour you added is now soaked too (with the starter being the acid medium).
Then, you usually add another little bit of flour for a 2-4 hour rise before baking. This too is now soaked, although it’s the bare minimum required (but since you have such a high ratio of soaked flour to unsoaked, most traditional foodies consider this negligible).
Some traditional foodies will recommend using all-purpose flour in that last addition, since there’s only the endosperm left (the germ and bran have been stripped in AP flour). With no phytates to break down, there’s no need to soak and it makes it a bit more “suitable” for 100% traditional diets.
Does that help?
When buying sourdough, what should I and shouldn’t I look for on the label? Never really considered so I know nothing about it. Is there a whole wheat four version or just white flour? thank you.
Hi Jennifer! Yes, you can find whole wheat and white flour sourdough. You want a label that has flour, salt and cultures (something it’s ‘sourdough starter’ or ‘starter cultures’ or something like that). Avoid chemical-ish names if at all possible, which are sometimes added as a preservative. I also avoid sourdough that has added yeast, because I think it’s cheating, but that’s just a personal preference. Be sure to read all the labels of the breads available, then choose which has minimum ingredients. It might be hard at a supermarket, where food is shipped in, so it’s really choosing the least offender.
Most sourdough breads I’ve found in the stores have vinegar in them, which is SO not sourdough… so look carefully!
Tiffany,
Thanks for sharing the simplicity of this sourdough bread recipe. I already had created my starter, but was looking for other ways to use it and came across your site: Very clear and helpful.
Tried the bread recipe today and have 1 large round and 2 regular loaves baking right now, smelling tantalizingly delicious 😋
I’ll check the rest of your site and plan to try the coconut banana pancakes .
You’re most welcome Pauline! 🙂
I make water kefir with lemon & dried fig, now if I was using kefir water for sourdough would I make it without the fruit ? I’m planning on making sourdough, I’ve read you can use kefir water once in the fermenting is that right? Also how big a bowl or tub & do you put a lid on it?
You can use kefir water to help boost the process at the beginning, but I’ve heard that it only puts you 1-3 days ahead (so instead of being on day 2, your starter might look like it’s on day 3 or early day 4). I use a medium pyrex glass bowl and use a plate as a lid, but leave it slightly ajar for air flow. 🙂
I make my sourdough bread with a starter I purchased from King Arthur that dates back to 1790!
I make my loaves in pans with a 50/50 combo of unbleached King Arthur flour and Organic Whole Spelt Flour. Makes great pizza dough too!
How awesome to have such an old starter! I haven’t tried spelt yet, but I think I’m liking the 50/50 blend too. 🙂
I have baked with sourdough now for over a year and truly love the way it enhances the flavor of the bread. Storing the starter in the fridge and taking it out every week or so to fed makes this living creature incredibly easy to take care of. The health benefits are fascinating, which is what led me to your blog. Thanks for the info and happy baking! Enjoy sharing your starter with others!