Where can I buy *real* sourdough bread

[Anonymous]

Looking for naturally leavened, real sourdough bread that I can either buy locally (+/- 8 miles from Bethesda) or order frozen online. (Also does anyone know if the Trader Joe San Francisco loaf is *real* sourdough or not?) This is due to a serious health issue, so I really knead (haha) the real thing.

[Anonymous]

Honestly you should consider making it yourself! I have starter I’d be happy to share.

[Anonymous]

Tatte and bread furst both sell sourdough.

No 1 sons sells/delivers sourdough/levain from bread furst and seylou

[Anonymous]

If it wasn’t weird I’d give you bread. I love baking and always have extra to give to friends.

[Anonymous]

+1 to PPs. I have tons - come over! Lol. It’s super easy to make sourdough things yourself if you know someone who will give you some starter. If there is a serious health issue, you might rather make it yourself so you know exactly what is in what you are eating.

[Anonymous]

Seylou at 10th & N Street. So good.

[Anonymous]

Was in boulangerie christophe (Georgetown) this morning and bought half of a huge sourdough loaf that was still steaming. They described it as an intense sourdough allowed to ferment extra long. It was $13 but exceptionally delicious and big. They’ve won bread awards so it’s worth asking about their process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tatte and bread furst both sell sourdough.

No 1 sons sells/delivers sourdough/levain from bread furst and seylou

And you can also frequently order BreadFurst, Tatte, Boulangerie Christophe and others for delivery via Door Dash or Uber Eats. We are in Bethesda too. Seylou is incredible. I love their bird bread, levain, and whole wheat croissants.

[Anonymous]

Wow you guys are amazing, thanks so much for these recommendations! Didn't know Tatte sells bread, I haven't been yet.

[Anonymous]

As someone who loves sourdough but doesn’t bake, what makes a sourdough *real*?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As someone who loves sourdough but doesn’t bake, what makes a sourdough *real*?

+1 I make sourdough and can't figure out what fake sourdough would be. Mislabeled? Sour-dough "flavored" bread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who loves sourdough but doesn’t bake, what makes a sourdough *real*?

+1 I make sourdough and can't figure out what fake sourdough would be. Mislabeled? Sour-dough "flavored" bread?

Yeah, sourdough is nothing more than flour, water, starter and a pinch of salt. I think when people talk about 'real' sourdough they are referring to an acidic load made with a long established starter. I make my own starters by cultivating wild, local yeast but my interest in baking typically wanes after 10 or 12 loaves and the starter dies. I'll pick it back up after a few months but my starters never really get that sour funk. I do make a pretty tasty loaf though... It's more process than anything.

I have seen recipes that call for adding yogurt or sour cream (and all sorts of other things) that seem to bastardize the traditional flour, water, salt ingredient list. Maybe that's what people mean by 'fake'. *shrug*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Yeah, sourdough is nothing more than flour, water, starter and a pinch of salt. I think when people talk about 'real' sourdough they are referring to an acidic load made with a long established starter. I make my own starters by cultivating wild, local yeast but my interest in baking typically wanes after 10 or 12 loaves and the starter dies. I'll pick it back up after a few months but my starters never really get that sour funk.

The sourness is determined less by the age of your starter than by the baking process. Use less starter so you have to do a slower rise, and your loaves will be sour-er because a slower rise means you're essentially converting all the dough to starter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who loves sourdough but doesn’t bake, what makes a sourdough *real*?

+1 I make sourdough and can't figure out what fake sourdough would be. Mislabeled? Sour-dough "flavored" bread?

Yeah, sourdough is nothing more than flour, water, starter and a pinch of salt. I think when people talk about 'real' sourdough they are referring to an acidic load made with a long established starter. I make my own starters by cultivating wild, local yeast but my interest in baking typically wanes after 10 or 12 loaves and the starter dies. I'll pick it back up after a few months but my starters never really get that sour funk. I do make a pretty tasty loaf though... It's more process than anything.

I have seen recipes that call for adding yogurt or sour cream (and all sorts of other things) that seem to bastardize the traditional flour, water, salt ingredient list. Maybe that's what people mean by 'fake'. *shrug*

Commercial sourdough has acid added to it and commercial yeast, instead of natural long fermentation with a starter.

[Anonymous]

Slightly ancillary question: how often do you need to bake so that the starter neither dies nor becomes a stunt double for The Blob?