30+ of the BEST Sourdough Dessert Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good sourdough bread? ›

Is it healthy to eat sourdough everyday? You could eat sourdough every day, but it isn't necessarily healthy to do so. A healthy diet is characterized by balance and moderation. Whether or not it is healthy for you to consume sourdough every day depends on the rest of your diet.

Compared to whole wheat flour, rye flour is said to be the most nutrient- and amylase-dense option for a sourdough starter. Overall, it has a lower gluten protein content than wheat flour, which means it produces slack, sticky, and dense doughs.

The taste of sourdough can be influenced by factors including fermentation time, temperature and flour type, as well as the microbes present in the starter. A research team has identified the compounds responsible for sourdough's unique taste, finding 11 odorants and 10 tastants using a technique called sensomics.

The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour.

Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda can be used in sourdough bread to create a less sour loaf. Added after bulk fermentation, but before shaping, it can help to create a lighter, more fluffy loaf of sourdough.

People with a gluten intolerance may find that sourdough is easier to digest, but people with celiac disease will likely still experience symptoms if they eat sourdough bread. If you have a gluten intolerance or celiac disease, consult with your physician before adding sourdough bread to your diet.

Potential Drawbacks

Also, though sourdough bread does offer many benefits, it does not contain as much fiber as most whole-grain breads. Whole-grain sourdough bread does have more fiber and isn't much harder to make at home, but you're unlikely to find it at the store.

The best bread to reduce gut inflammation is bread made from whole grains. Refined grains, such as the grains found in white bread and white pasta, are known to increase inflammation across the whole body. Sourdough bread and rye bread are both good options for an anti-inflammatory diet.

You can make sourdough with all-purpose or “plain” flour, but you will get better results with higher protein flours like “bread flour” or “strong flour” which typically have about 12.5% protein. All-purpose flours have about 11% (or lower) protein.

Can I use tap water for sourdough starter? ›

*If making sourdough is new for you, do not be discouraged if you starter takes longer to get active than mine – stick with it, it will happen! *Tap water is usually fine, if you are not sure, use boiled and cooled water, you can use it at room temperature or cool; do not use distilled water.

Distilled water is a bad choice because the minerals that the bacteria need to do their thing have been removed. Just stick to filtered spring or purified water for your starter and bread baking.

For many folks, the renewed interest in sourdough is health-related. Some are going even further than baking their own bread: They're milling their own flour from whole wheat berries, too.

The key to sourdough bread tasting the way it does is the strain of bacteria, lactobacillus sanfranciscensis. And if that name looks like it has ties to San Francisco, it does. "This special strain of lactic acid bacteria thrives in our salty, cold environment," says Kosoy.

Perhaps because the move to California introduced new bacterial inhabitants into their starters, many miners found that their bread took on a sharper sourness than they were used to—a tang that has since become one of the defining traits of San Francisco's renowned sourdough bread.

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.

So don't leave your dough in a warm oven, on a radiator or in sunlight. It will likely be too warm and will dry out your dough too. Instead, find a cosy spot, with no drafts, for your dough to rise. And, if your sourdough starter is struggling to get going, consider finding it a warmer spot too.

In my experience, the shortest final proof (at room temperature) that I prefer to do is one hour. The longest final proof (at room temperature) is about 3 hours. When going past 2-3 hours in a final proof, the crumb tends to get very gassy and opens up large gas bubbles with a longer countertop proof.