IT used to be just for upper-crust sorts in posh bakeries, delis and cafes – but now sourdough has gone mainstream.
Even the budget supermarkets are stocking the naturally leavened, healthy bread – and punters are snapping it up. Sales at Aldi have risen 70 per cent on last year.
The Sun’s Laura Stott tastes a selection of supermarket sourdoughs and gives her verdict as well as ratings out of five[/caption]
But with most supermarkets now offering the loaves at affordable prices, which are the best buys?
Laura Stott tastes a selection and gives her verdict as well as ratings out of five . . .
Seeded Sourdough
500g, £1.75, ‘Specially Selected’ at Aldi
ALDI is likely getting a rise out of its competitors by offering you a bigger loaf for a lot less lolly.
At 500g, this loaf comprises ready-cut slices that you find in a lot of other pre-cut sourdoughs.
And it does deliver, brilliantly, when you chow down.
A mix of wheat, barley and rye flours gives lots of milled, robust flavour, and there are health benefits plus extra texture and taste from the ten per cent added seeds.
I especially liked that these seeds were very abundant, on top of the rustic crust as well as running through the dough itself.
Enjoyable to eat, good-sized slices and tasted lovely.
Would be great for a ham or cheese sarnie.
A super-value sourdough.
5/5
Warburtons ’Our Dough
400g, £1.85, Morrisons
BIG-name baker Warburtons has tweaked the traditional sourdough format to give you all the usual tangy flavour, but in a softer slice more akin to a normal tin loaf.
The hybrid style is a compromise if you like the taste of naturally leavened bread but not its chewiness.
With four per cent sourdough and a bit of rye flour, this is still a bit more robust than a typical white loaf, with thicker and chunkier segments, but it just doesn’t look very rustic.
Eaten out of the pack, not toasted, the flavour is not that different from regular bread. The texture is very soft so I preferred it toasted.
Not a proper sourdough, but maybe an OK bet if you are unsure about this sort of bread.
2/5
Jason’s Recipe No 08 White
580g, £2.15, Tesco
ALTHOUGH it costs a little more, this loaf is a whopper, with 580g of bread in the pack.
It’s also cleverly designed to deliver all equal-sized slices, ensuring you can put all the contents to good use and none goes to waste.
I was impressed by the minimal ingredients list which highlighted that, despite being pre-sliced and packaged, this is made to traditional methods using just wheat flour, salt, fermented flour and water.
That’s an identical recipe to many you would find in quality bakeries who would be charging you double.
Ideal for grilled sarnies owing to the slices all being the same size.
A good toast loaf, but a bit disappointing when eaten straight from the pack.
3/5
White Sourdough
400g, £1.95, ‘Taste the Difference’ at Sainsbury’s
LOOKS and smells the part, with the slight tangy whiff you get from the use of a sourdough slow-fermented starter in the bread mix.
It has a nicely floury top with a decent-looking crust, and has been hand-scored like you would see in a bakery so it looks authentic .
It also contains olive oil, which is a great addition for this price point.
Pre-packed and sliced is handy for simplicity when you are making your brekkie in a hurry.
The bread itself is soft, but has a pleasingly chewy texture.
From the toaster, it was perfect with a boiled egg.
It also works well if you are warming it up from frozen.
3/5
Rye And Mixed Seed
400g, £1.95, Tesco
MADE with naturally fermented starter dough in the proper artisan bakery style, the slices in this packet are huge and the aroma was good.
One big piece is easily enough, so there’s more in the pack than you might think.
And the mix of rye and white flour gives this a lovely colour.
It’s packed with yummy nibbles including linseed, poppy and sunflower seeds, which give it a wholesome flavour.
It pairs perfectly with posh toppings such as salmon and would be just what you want for a classic avocado on toast brunch.
But the shape can be awkward to deal with, especially if toasting, and alas this bread didn’t stay fresh for long.
3/5
Sourdough
500g, £1.75, ‘The Best’ at Morrisons
THIS is described on the packet as a sourdough boule – posh speak for a round, free-form loaf – which sounds very fancy.
And the offering inside looks rather high-end, too.
Made with flour milled in the Cotswolds and created with a proper wild-yeast, slow-fermented sourdough starter, you could be mistaken for thinking you had wandered into a super-fancy bakery rather than picked this up on your weekly supermarket shop.
Comprising rye, barley and malted flour, it tastes delicious, with an authentic tang to the dough and super-crunchy crust.
Its big slices were perhaps a little tough to toast, but the bread is flavoursome and fresh.
4/5
Large white Sourdough
£1.99, Lidl
LIDL only offers sourdough from its bakery section, so if you like bread ready-sliced, perhaps to put in the freezer, this may not be for you.
But if you prefer the idea of bread you can cut yourself to whatever thickness you fancy, it’s great.
More rustic – and a bit messier when it comes to crumbs – but the fresher style means you get all the lovely, enticingly yeasty smell.
The slightly denser sourdough texture, tangier taste and chewiness are definitely present, too.
The crust was disappointing, but this would be great on a bread board for friends to tear hunks from when you are entertaining, and no one will guess it only cost you £1.99.
Would also be lovely with butter and jam.
4/5
Bakery White Sourdough
£2.14, Asda
WHILE still much cheaper than you would find in a fancy bakery, this own-brand bread from Asda’s bakery was priced a bit steeply for what is quite a small loaf.
So I was expecting it to seriously deliver on flavour.
The dough does smell good, with the slight sharpness you get from a proper fermentation method – and the texture seemed authentic.
But the crust was very chewy and the dough so dense I found it difficult to eat straight from the pack.
This bread was pretty awkward to toast, too.
Overall, a bit hit-and-miss, but it did taste good with a thick slather of chocolate spread.
That said, I expected more for the price.
2/5