Where Does Sourdough's Sour Flavor Come From? (2024)

FAQs

Where Does Sourdough's Sour Flavor Come From? ›

There are two main acids produced in a sourdough culture: lactic acid and acetic acid. Acetic acid, or vinegar, is the acid that gives sourdough much of its tang. Giving acetic acid-producing organisms optimal conditions to thrive and multiply will produce a more tangy finished product.

The signature sourdough flavor comes from a combination of lactic and acetic acids, created as the dough rises and ferments. Refrigerating the dough encourages the production of more acetic acid, which is the tangier of the two. Thus, this bread with its refrigerated starter has the ideal balance of sour flavor.

If you're able to, pour the hooch off before you add your flour and water. It will also help to add slightly more water to encourage a more liquid starter. This will make your bread less sour. Before making any changes to your starter, it's always a good idea make a back up of your sourdough starter, just in case.

Sourdough bread is called “sourdough” because it is made using a naturally occurring yeast and bacteria culture known as a sourdough starter. The starter is a mixture of flour and water that is left to ferment over time, which allows wild yeast and bacteria to colonize it.

The yeasts cause the dough to rise by creating carbon dioxide bubbles, while the lactic acid bacteria provide the sour flavor (in the form of acetic acid and lactic acid) and preserve the bread by lowering its pH, which prevents the growth of food borne pathogens.

A sourdough starter is made up of wild yeast and bacteria working together. The bacteria is where the sour flavor is coming from! Lactic Acid Bacteria are most active in the mid 80-90 degrees F, but that speeds up the wild yeast which prefer a more mild temperature of mid 70s F.

And we've got a bacterium called lactobacillus San Francisco," she laughed. "And they-- they live in great harmony." So let me try to repeat that: San Francisco sourdough tastes sour because of a unique local bacteria called lactobacillus San Francisco.

The longer the sourdough starter discard sits at room temperature, the more acidic it becomes until the mixture becomes inhospitable for microbes to function. At warm room temperature, this happens quickly compared to the cooler temperatures inside the refrigerator.

The bottom line. Sourdough is a healthier alternative to regular white or whole wheat bread. Although it has comparable nutrients, the lower phytate levels mean it is more digestible and nutritious. The prebiotics also help to keep your gut bacteria happy, and it may be less likely to spike blood sugar levels.

Sourdough bread may be easier to digest than white bread for some people. According to some studies, sourdough bread acts as a prebiotic, which means that the fiber in the bread helps feed the “good” bacteria in your intestines. These bacteria are important for maintaining a stable, healthy digestive system.

Why is everyone making sourdough bread in 2024? ›

There also seems to be some evidence that sourdough is easier to digest than typical white bread, and the yeasts and bacteria that help the bread rise are also beneficial for the gut, feeding into the current fixation with gut health.

1. May support gut health. Although the beneficial microbes in the starter tend to be lost during the baking process, the fibre and plant compounds, called polyphenols, become more bio-available. These act as an important fuel source for our gut microbes, which explains why sourdough is a gut-friendly choice.

The bottom line

Sourdough bread is a great alternative to conventional bread. It's richer in nutrients, less likely to spike your blood sugar, and generally easier to digest. Just remember that sourdough fermentation doesn't degrade gluten completely.

Try adding whole grains

These help the acetic acid-producing bacteria gobble up more sugars which produces a more sour loaf. Doughs using more whole grains will not have the same loft as those using White or Bread Blend.

The World's 'Oldest' Sourdough Starter Was Made With 4,500-Year-Old Yeast. There's no bread quite like sourdough. In addition to being tasty as a sandwich bread, delicious as sourdough croutons, and even great just toasted with butter, sourdough's production process is decidedly unlike other breads.

There are prebiotic features of sourdough found in the non-digestible fibre present – just like Gut Performance™. These prebiotics help feed beneficial bacteria, so they increase in number and diversity. A diverse gut microbiome is positively correlated with a stronger and more supportive immune system.

This liquid is called hooch and it forms when your sourdough starter has used all of its food. It's an indication that your starter is hungry! Hooch is actually alcohol and is a by product of the fermentation occurring in your starter.

A levain, also called a leaven or levain starter, is an off-shoot of your sourdough starter, and it's a mixture of fresh flour, water, and some ripe starter. This mixture will be used entirely in a batch of dough and has the same fate as the bread dough you're mixing: you will bake it in the oven.

Sourdough purists will scoff at this, but... for those of you who like a more sour sourdough loaf, adding 1/4 teaspoon or so of this “sour salt”—citric acid—to your dough will definitely up the pucker quotient.

The secret to sourdough is simple: water. The more water you add to your dough will affect how open the crumb (bigger holes and softer texture) will be once it's baked.