does the culture that makes sourdough sour have any nutrition benefits?

August 21, 2004 1:34 PM

My favorite kind of bread is Sourdough (it's Californian, dude!), and I know I should be eating something more wholegrainhighfiberlowcarbwhatever. But I'm curious... if the cultures in yogurt are healthy for you, does the culture that makes sourdough sour have any nutrition benefits over plain white bread? And does Sourdough really take 2-3X as long to get stale and moldy than other bread, or that just me?

Or can anybody reccommend a best-tasing Whole Wheat Sourdough?
posted by wendell to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

You'll probably find the best bread by finding a local bakery. Otherwise you'll get bread loaded with preservatives and crap.

I don't know a thing about the nutritional differences, though.
posted by cmonkey at 2:07 PM on August 21, 2004

I'm guessing the cultures (positive bacteria aka, pro-biotics) are heat sensitive and thusly, killed off during the baking process.
posted by Feisty at 2:12 PM on August 21, 2004

And does Sourdough really take 2-3X as long to get stale and moldy than other bread, or that just me?

It's not just you. The Lactobacillus fermentum and acetic acid in sourdough bread act as natural preservatives.
posted by vorfeed at 2:55 PM on August 21, 2004

I tried my hand at baking for a while, and was able to make some half-decent sourdough loafs with white bread, but with whole wheat flour, I may as well have been trying to bake bricks. If whole wheat sourdough exists, I'd like to know the trick, and failing that, I'd just like to know where to get it.
posted by weston at 3:36 PM on August 21, 2004

And does Sourdough really take 2-3X as long to get stale and moldy than other bread, or that just me?

Trader Joes has some great sourdough bread that will sometimes get moldy before you get back home.
posted by gluechunk at 4:44 PM on August 21, 2004

Response by poster: My TJ Sourdough experience is different from yours, gluechunk; their bread lasts as long as any, does taste excellent and has one of the lowest prices and most inconvenient shapes. I recall trying a Whole Wheat Sourdough from Joe's that was rather underwhelming in taste and higher in price.
posted by wendell at 5:12 PM on August 21, 2004

MMm. I remember visiting my aunt in California, and I lived on sourdough bread and seafood all week. Which has nothing to do with your question, but it's 1030 pm here, and this question is making me so damn hungry.

The only answer I have is, the local high end supermarket usually has some of the more unusual breads in their bakery. You can always look there. Sometimes if you ask for something, they'll carry start carrying it. Good luck.
posted by FunkyHelix at 7:42 PM on August 21, 2004

I'm with you gluechuck. In fact, almost any perishable from TJ's will expire much quicker than its locally purchased counterpart. Bread especially, though. I think it may have a lot to do with how far you live from the TJ's factories in California.

I've made whole wheat sourdough before and had pretty good results. I suggest using a good white sourdough recipe and using 1/5th or 1/6th whole wheat flour in place of the all purpose flour. Try adding a Tbsp. or two of wheat germ to the recipe to increase its "wheaty-ness".
posted by maniactown at 7:57 PM on August 21, 2004

Sourdough just tastes damn good, and it's crunchy and chewy and sour. Just because you get a loaf of sourdough doesn't mean you can't still have a loaf of nutty whole wheat on the side as well. At least it's not that gooey white bread crap that's about as healthy as Twinkies.

And I second the idea that TJ's sourdough and other breads go bad darn quick. The sourdough especially. I usually keep my bread in the fridge anyway, or freezer if I have too many loaves.

Moldy bread is a grevious sin, unless you like to eat it moldy. (Which I have if it's just a few spots, but I draw the line at even mildly furry.)
posted by loquacious at 9:01 PM on August 21, 2004

Unrelated, but TJ's parmesan cheese goes bad in about 2 days. Sometimes less. But I adore that store. It makes me sad to live three hours away from one. Between their 3buck chuck wines, incredible cottage cheese and neat breads (they have Crumpets!) I can barely push around the shopping cart for my trembling hands.
posted by Happydaz at 12:35 AM on August 22, 2004

Sourdough is also almost always vegan, if you're ever looking for something safe to feed one of those folks.
posted by scarabic at 10:28 AM on August 22, 2004