Sourdough bread, the oldest form of leavened bread, had its popularity reinvigorated by pandemic-era hobbyists, purported health benefits and artisanal bakers in pursuit of a perfectly aerated crumb, a caramelised crust and a distinct flavour.
Though the number of local sourdough sales don’t match the billions of standard white loaves bought by South Africans each year, it has seen a rise on supermarket shelves. That’s because supermarkets, never businesses to leave cash on the table, are finding ways to profit from the bread’s popularity, with labels shouting “sourdough” — and hefty price tags to match.
Some back-of-the-envelope bread economics show that a loaf of sourdough at leading South African supermarkets is 1.5 to seven times more expensive than the standard-issue white or brown loaf. Some stores sell pre-packaged bread claiming to be sourdough for R80 (a 440g loaf). At about R18 per 100g, this represents an increase of more than 600% above a standard loaf.
Many independent bakeries sell loaves for R70, though these are typically far heftier than their supermarket equivalents.
That genuine sourdough is expensive is not surprising or controversial — despite true sourdough consisting of just three ingredients, it’s well established that the time and expertise required to make it justifies its top-shelf position.
However, specialist bakers and lobby groups such as the UK’s Real Bread Campaign are pushing back against supermarkets labelling bread as sourdough when it doesn’t meet the basic requirements.
Much like the differences between ice cream and frozen dessert, and boerewors and braaiwors, they claim, there’s a marked difference between authentic sourdough bread and that with added ingredients that many supermarkets are selling.
Most supermarket sourdough breads contain more than 20 ingredients, and all listed yeast
Since 2014, European bakery organisation Fedima has mandated that its members apply the “sourdough” label only to products made through traditional fermentation methods, without adding artificial acids or bases to adjust the dough’s acidity.
More recently, Lidl supermarkets in the UK were forced to rename their “Sourdough” bread, found to have been made with baker’s yeast, to the somewhat less marketable “Crusty Wheat and Rye Bloomer” after public pressure from the Real Bread Campaign.
David Donde, founder of Cape Town coffee shop Truth and, more recently, specialist bakery Flour Market, says true sourdough bread is, in theory, simple — and that many local supermarkets are selling impostors.
“Our sourdough consists of four ingredients: flour, water, salt, and time,” says Donde. “Some products on supermarket shelves may look like sourdough bread, but it’s not the same thing. Supermarkets are assigning value to the ‘sourdough’ label without delivering the real product.”
Lance Littlefield, who runs Franschhoek’s Motherdough bakery, agrees — and encourages consumers to read labels and ask questions.
“Supermarkets sell bread that is sourdough in name only. Proper sourdough products should be made using a live mother or starter, with long, slow fermentation and containing no additional yeast, chemical additives or even vitamins, which would render the whole process flawed and negate many of the health benefits,” Littlefield says.
Of the high-end pre-packed sourdough that the FM found on supermarket shelves all listed significantly more than the three traditional ingredients. Most supermarket sourdough breads contain more than 20 ingredients, and all listed yeast.
Responding to questions about its sourdough, a Woolworths spokesperson told the FM that its 400g crushed wheat sourdough, which sells for R49.99 or R12.50 per 100g, is among its top 50 most popular food market products.
The spokesperson maintained that all sourdough products in Woolworths stores are made “in line with traditional methods” but that its pre-packed sourdough “contains a small quantity of yeast that aids in proving the bread as part of an automated production process”. When required, the spokesperson said, “Yeast is always used sparingly and as an aid to the sourdough starter”.
In response to the same questions, a Checkers spokesperson told the FM it introduced sourdough bread in certain supermarkets in 2020 “in response to the growing global trend of consumers gravitating towards healthier, more artisanal food choices”.
Littlefield believes that bread labelling legislation would help consumers better understand that what they’re buying usually isn’t sourdough.
“Supermarkets should not be allowed to call their products sourdough at all,” Littlefield says. “It implies a completely natural fermentation process — which is simply not possible given the ingredients that are used.”
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