Sourdough bread

What IS and how TO

Sourdough bread

Sourdough is a bread made by the fermentation of dough using wild lactobacillaceae and yeast. Lactic acid from fermentation imparts a sour taste and improves keeping qualities.


There are many breads that use techniques similar to that used in the making of sourdough bread.

Danish rugbrød (rye bread) is a dense, dark bread best known from its use in the Danish smørrebrød (open-faced sandwiches).

The Mexican birote salado started out in the city of Guadalajara as a short French baguette that replaces the yeast with a sourdough fermentation process, yielding a bread that is crunchy outside but soft and savory inside.

Amish friendship bread uses a sourdough starter that includes sugar and milk. It is also leavened with baking powder and baking soda. An Amish sourdough is fed with sugar and potato flakes every 3-5 days.

German pumpernickel is traditionally made from a sourdough starter, although modern pumpernickel loaves often use commercial yeasts, sometimes spiked with citric acid or lactic acid to inactivate the amylases in the rye flour.

Flemish desem bread (the word means 'starter') is a whole-wheat sourdough.

In Azerbaijan, whole-wheat sourdough flatbreads are traditionally eaten. In Ethiopia, teff flour is fermented to make injera. A similar variant is eaten in Somalia, Djibouti, and Yemen (where it is known as lahoh). In India, idlis and dosa are made from a sourdough fermentation of rice and Vigna mungo. 🙋‍♀️Know more about sourdough

You don't need any fancy equipment to make sourdough bread. Here are the tools and ingredients I find essential for sourdough bread baking:

You probably already have most of these items in your kitchen and the only thing you need prepare is a starter. A sourdough starter is what distinguishes a loaf of sourdough bread from a loaf of yeast-leavened bread. You can easily prepare your sourdough starter in just 7 days or order one to speed up the process.



created by Oksana Pereverzieva