Last Updated on April 12, 2024 by Fasting Planet
You’re not such a big fan of white bread, as you know it’s not healthy for you, but you could always go for a fresh loaf of sourdough. You have a hankering to bake some, but then you stop to think. As someone who just started the vegan diet, are you allowed to eat sourdough bread anymore?
Sourdough bread is vegan if it omits the honey (as a sweetener), margarine or butter (to grease the bread tin), and dairy (to enrich the bread). Check for other off-limits ingredients on the label such as casein, whey, ghee, buttermilk, and cream as well.
Vegans don’t have to give up sourdough bread entirely, just make smarter shopping decisions that omit animal products and byproducts. In this article, that’s exactly what we’ll help you do. We’ll even provide tips for making vegan sourdough bread at home from scratch.
What Is Sourdough Bread?
Sourdough bread has a tangy taste that makes its proponents go absolutely gaga. You can increase the depth of the sour flavor by maintaining your sourdough starter for a while before you put it in the oven.
You might bake one of three types of sourdough bread, so let’s talk about these now.
Type I sourdough is the more traditional type of the three. To ferment type I sourdough, you let it sit in an environment that’s 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The acceptable pH range for this type of sourdough is between 3.8 and 4.5. The dough is nice and firm.
Type II sourdough relies on the yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae for leavening, which is also known as baker’s yeast. This sourdough starter needs higher temperatures for fermentation, between 86 and 122 degrees. Its pH is under 3.5. By not feeding the starter for a few days in a row, the flora is less active, which is preferable when making this style of sourdough.
The third sourdough is type III. Drum or spray drying will occur so the dough will caramelize. You’re more likely to see commercial food producers use type III sourdough and home bakers or small bakeries types I or II.
So what exactly is a sourdough starter, you’re wondering? It’s a pre-ferment that includes water and flour as well as the lactobacilli bacteria and wild yeast that comes from the starter mixture. Wheat flour enzymes become maltose and glucose when they meet water.
The starter leavens or rises over time and the flour feeds the yeast so it can stay alive. Bakers recommend allowing the sourdough starter to proof for at least four hours but ideally, 24 hours or longer if you want that truly authentic sourdough flavor.
One medium-sized slice of sourdough bread or 64 grams contains:
- 185 calories
- 2 grams of total fat (1 percent of your recommended daily value)
- 3 grams of saturated fat (1 percent of your recommended daily value)
- 5 grams of polyunsaturated fat
- 2 grams of monounsaturated fat
- 0 milligrams of cholesterol
- 328 milligrams of sodium (13 percent of your recommended daily value)
- 82 milligrams of potassium (2 percent of your recommended daily value)
- 36 grams of carbs (12 percent of your recommended daily value)
- 5 grams of dietary fiber (6 percent of your recommended daily value)
- 6 grams of sugar
- 8 grams of protein (16 percent of your recommended daily value)
- 2 percent calcium
- 12 percent iron
- 5 percent vitamin B6
- 4 percent magnesium
Sourdough bread isn’t necessarily that much healthier than white bread, but as lunch or for a treat, it’s not that bad for your diet.
Is Sourdough Bread Vegan?
You’ve heard vegans can eat bread. After all, bread is really only salt, water, and flour, maybe some yeast. We talked about yeast in another post on this blog, so please read that if you missed it. Despite that yeast is alive, it doesn’t have a central nervous system and is not sentient. It feels no pain, so vegans shouldn’t have any qualms about baking with yeast.
That’s why sourdough bread can be vegan but isn’t necessarily. Certain ingredients appear in commercial sourdough to flavor it, stabilize it, or extend its shelf life; these are usually derived from animal products and byproducts. Let’s talk about such questionable ingredients now.
Sodium Caseinate/Casein
Caseinate or any casein-based product in your bread is a no-no as a vegan. This phosphoprotein compound is a stabilizer as well as a texturizer and thickener. It’s sourced from cow’s milk curds. The curds undergo drying and then you get sodium caseinate powder.
Many types of bread use sodium caseinate, as does chocolate, processed meats, cereal bars, margarine, cheesy snacks, ice cream, cheese, coffee creamer, and protein powder.
Whey
When cow’s milk is separated into curds, there’s a fluid that’s left behind. It’s called whey. Since whey is often favored as an exercise supplement, it might be added to sourdough bread to fortify it.
Margarine or Butter
If you buy your sourdough bread in a traditional bread tin, you may be curious about how the food manufacturer managed such a tight fit like that. Well, they didn’t, at least not all on their own. The food manufacturer likely greased the bread tin with margarine or butter. Since some of the margarine or butter probably transferred to the bread, it’s a good idea to avoid tinned sourdough.
Honey
We mentioned that sourdough starters feed on flour to keep the yeast active, but yeast loves sugar too. Some food manufacturers will load the yeast with sugar through non-vegan means. Honey is one such popular sweetener you cannot eat.
Lard
If the name lard makes your stomach churn, wait until you hear what lard itself is. This fat product comes from pig fatty tissue. The result is a white block of fat that’s somewhat solid but still soft. It too can grease bread tins.
Ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter that’s popular in Southern Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines. Although it’s not a common ingredient in sourdough bread, you might still spot ghee on the ingredients label, especially if the bread comes tinned.
Buttermilk
The cultured, fermented dairy beverage known as buttermilk is cream-based but still not okay for vegans to consume. Buttermilk is tangy like sourdough bread should be. Food manufacturers might add buttermilk as an artificial flavor to improve the taste of the bread.
Milk and Eggs
Fortified sourdough bread (and other bread varieties) is likely to include milk and eggs. Remember that vegans do not eat dairy.
Vegan Sourdough Bread Brands to Try
Shopping for sourdough bread doesn’t have to be a struggle as a vegan. Try any of these great bread brands and you won’t have to worry about dairy and other animal products in your loaf.
La Brea Bakery Sourdough Baguette
With a pillowy soft inside yet crusty outside, the sourdough baguette from La Brea Bakery will satisfy your cravings for sourdough bread. The company does say theirs only has a “mildly tart” flavor, but the baguette is non-GMO. The ingredients are wheat germ, semolina, salt, sourdough culture, water, folic acid, riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate, reduced iron, niacin, malted barley flour, and wheat flour.
Cobblestone Bread Co. San Francisco Sourdough Bread
For a more traditional grocery store loaf of bread, try the San Francisco sourdough bread from Cobblestone Bread Co. Its ingredients are calcium propionate, soy lecithin, folic acid, riboflavin, thiamin mononitrate, reduced iron, niacin, xanthan gum, sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium stearoyl lactylate, calcium sulfate, monoglycerides, vinegar, acetic acid, soybean oil, salt, high-fructose corn syrup, yeast, water, and unbleached enriched flour.
Dorothy Lane Market Sourdough Bread
The big, beautiful ball of bread that is Dorothy Lane Market’s sourdough comes with a crust that the company describes as bubbly and blistered. Inside is the tanginess you want from sourdough bread. This simple loaf is made using water, sea salt, organic flour, and a “mother” sourdough starter.
How to Make Your Own Vegan Sourdough Bread
Baking sourdough bread at home is a huge accomplishment, especially once you get the hang of tending to the starter. Since you buy all the ingredients, you can ensure your bread is completely vegan.
Here’s what you need to get started making vegan sourdough bread:
- Fine ground cornmeal
- Sea salt (0.4 ounces)
- Bread flour (500 grams)
- Olive oil (25 grams)
- Filtered warm water (8.80 ounces)
- Starter (5.35 ounces)
Your first time around, you can buy a sourdough starter kit rather than make one from scratch. Feeding your sourdough starter entails splitting the culture in half and then pouring in more water and flour. Stir to remove any flour lumps and put the fed culture in an environment that’s 75 to 80 degrees.
Let the starter become at least twice as large as it was, which can take two to four hours. If you can, wait 12 to 24 hours, as you’ll get better flavor. Should you want to fold and stretch the dough before it rises, do that 30 minutes after it begins fermenting. You can skip this step if you want, but kneading the dough gives it structure and increases its height.
When your sourdough is ready, cover a surface in flour and coat the dough. You might split the dough if you want two loaves or bake one large loaf. Bread pans or a Dutch oven produce some nice-looking sourdough loaves compared to baking in the oven, but if that’s all you have, then so be it.
Before you cook it, let the dough sit for another hour. Then preheat your Dutch oven to 400 degrees. Score the sourdough (run a knife over the top of it to gently split the sourdough), put it in the oven, and let it bake for around 20 minutes. If you’re using a lid, take the lid off after that and put the bread back in the oven for 40 more minutes. Test the internal temperature, which should be 205 to 210 degrees. The bread should also be golden brown when it’s finished.
Conclusion
Sourdough bread can be vegan, but to be safe, shop vegan-friendly brands or make your own sourdough at home. It will have fewer unnatural flavors and colors so you can get that true sour flavor you love so much!