Which sourdough bread is the best? Probably not one from the supermarket

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Alongside our growing awareness of the benefits of eating fermented foods, has been the rise of sourdough. Or at least – breads being marketed as sourdough.

But are they any healthier?

The supermarket bread marketed as sourdough is probably not the real deal.Credit: Getty

In the two years between 2019 and 2021, there was a 50 per cent increase in supermarket breads labelled sourdough. Fermentation claims also increased by 86 per cent in the same period. This is despite many of the products not being true sourdough. They were #sourfaux.

Given this kind of marketing creates a "health halo" for sourdough products, Associate Professor Sara Grafenauer who leads the Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Innovation program at the University of NSW, wanted to see if these breads were, in fact, any better.

So for a new study Grafenauer and colleague Jaimee Hughes scoured supermarket shelves of Aldi, Coles, IGA, Woolworths and Baker's Delight, analysing the ingredient lists, nutritional information, and claims on the product packaging of 800 different bread products.

They found that 83 per cent of the "sourdough" products contained ingredients not traditionally found in sourdough breads. These included added yeast, emulsifiers, preservatives, and stabilisers.

"White sourdough breads were higher in sodium and tended to be lower in dietary fibre than the white regular bread," adds Grafenauer, who notes that white bread also may be fortified with added dietary fibre.

That is not to say white bread is healthier.

According to the commonly used NOVA food classification system, ultra-processed foods are defined as "industrial formulations ... containing five or more ingredients and artificial additives, with no wholefood components".

The researchers who developed the system say an easy way to identify an ultra-processed product is to check if its list of ingredients contains at least one food substance never or rarely used in kitchens, (like hydrogenated or oils, and hydrolysed proteins), or additives designed to make the final product more appealing (such as flavours, flavour enhancers, colours, emulsifiers, emulsifying salts, sweeteners, thickeners, and anti-foaming, bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling and glazing agents).

Research shows diets high in ultra-processed foods result in deterioration of the nutritional quality of the overall diet and increased obesity, hypertension, coronary and cerebrovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, gastrointestinal disorders, and total and breast cancer. Ultra-processed foods have also, increasingly, been linked with poor mental health.

And ultra-processed foods can include our humble daily bread.

"Breads are considered ultra-processed when they are highly refined and mass-produced," explain accredited practising dietitians and founders of The Biting Truth, Anna Debenham and Alex Parker. "The main breads that would fall under this category would be white breads that contain many unrecognisable ingredients."

Traditional sourdough is a "highly technical" process that involves fermenting the dough for up to 72 hours. It is also made with nothing but flour, salt and water – certainly no baker's yeast.

Not only does it result in the distinctive chewy, "sour" taste, prolonged sourdough fermentation can reduce FODMAPs (a type of naturally occurring sugars that can cause symptoms in people with IBS) by up to 90 per cent.

Other changes during fermentation include lowering glycaemic index and increased availability of some minerals, says Grafenauer. If we want real health benefits, she suggests choosing wholegrain sourdough, which improves post-meal blood sugars.

"I’d suggest looking past the claims and check the ingredient list if you really only want a true sourdough," Grafenauer says, noting there is no regulation of sourdough in Australia, so manufacturers can call it what they like.

Sourdough or not, the type of flour is key to how healthy the bread is.

"Wholegrain bread of all types was higher in dietary fibre, higher in protein and lower in sodium," Grafenauer says. "These are all really important nutritional features."

Given that authentic sourdough is "far more expensive" than regular bread, she adds: "The best choice in bread is wholegrain (or wholemeal). For families under financial pressure, choosing a regular wholemeal bread is the best nutrition decision they can make when purchasing bread."

When choosing a wholegrain or wholemeal bread, Debenham and Parker suggest checking that wholemeal flour is listed first in the ingredients list.

"Also look out for on pack claims such as ‘good source of whole grain’ or ‘high in whole grain’," they say, adding that the top three supermarket breads they recommend are Baker's Delight Cape Seed Loaf, Abbotts Bakery Farmhouse Wholemeal and Burgen Wholemeal & Seeds.

"[Breads] made with the entire grain kernel, including the bran, germ, and endosperm provide more fibre, vitamins, and minerals than refined flour."

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