SAN FRANCISCO — Sourdough bread skyrocketed to popularity during the pandemic, and it’s been one of the fastest-growing bread categories ever since. Research shows that online conversations about it are up 79% year over year, and in a new study by the Grain Foods Foundation (GFF), out of 1,043 adults surveyed, 20% named sourdough as their bread choice for the ideal sandwich, a result that greatly outpaces any other bread variety.
What’s driving sourdough growth? One primary source is the perception that it improves gut health and digestion. The GFF study backs that up, revealing that of respondents who said they’re consuming more artisan, sourdough or alternative bread formats, 53% said they believe sourdough bread is better for gut health and digestion than regular bread. And 19% of all respondents cited sourdough starter/naturally fermented as qualities they look for in a healthy or high-quality bread.
“Over the past few years, we’ve seen a lot of growth in the sourdough category, a lot of talk about sourdough, and a lot of talk about the health benefits of sourdough,” said Dan Giraudo, the owner and CEO of Boudin Bakery, the oldest continuously operating business in San Francisco and the home of The Original San Francisco Sourdough. Its Mother Dough starter has been alive for 177 years. It’s still fed by hand and used in every loaf of sourdough Boudin produces.
“We’ve known for hundreds of years that sourdough is the healthiest bread you can eat because it’s just flour, water, salt and starter,” Giraudo said.
The science behind slow sourdough fermentation
The bakery collaborated with registered dietitian nutritionist Whitney English to collect the scientific evidence to support that knowledge. English conducted a research review on the health benefits of eating sourdough bread and translated the science into talking points for the Boudin team to use internally and with customers.
“The research on sourdough has been ongoing for a few decades, but we’re learning more and more, especially about different digestive diseases that are impacted by our food intake,” English said. “One of the most interesting health benefits of sourdough is its ability to potentially be more tolerable for people with conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or non-celiac wheat sensitivity.”
That’s because of the long fermentation time the sourdough-making process requires.
“The research showed that with sourdough, what matters most is the process, not the label,” English said. “True long fermentation gives wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria the time they need to break down fructans. These are the short-chain fermentable carbohydrates found in products made with wheat that can trigger bloating for people with IBS and non-celiac wheat sensitivity. That takes real time, often 24 hours or more, which is exactly the process Boudin still uses today.”
Sharing sourdough’s secret ingredient with customers
To spread the word, Boudin has launched a marketing campaign to educate customers about the science-backed health benefits of sourdough. There’s information on the bakery’s website, signage in its stores, social media posts and promotional emails to its 200,000-member-strong loyalty club program. The team is also brainstorming in-person activations to get the word out.
“We’ve got a few things in the works, but we want to do it right,” he said. “Sourdough is a movement. Just two years ago there were areas in the US that didn’t know about sourdough. And now, they understand what it is.”
The first step is educating Boudin team members company-wide about sourdough’s health benefits, the research and why the bakery’s slow fermentation process is key to unlocking those benefits.
“We want to educate everyone in the company so they can relay the knowledge to our customers,” Giraudo said. “It will take time. It’s not going to happen overnight through training. We’re building it into our culture.”
Overall, he’s excited to see the product he’s passionate about get the praise and acknowledgment it deserves.
“Our bakers have used the same starter and the same patience since 1849, long before anyone understood why it worked,” Giraudo said. “It means a great deal to us that science is now confirming what generations of Boudin bakers already knew: Time is the real ingredient in a good loaf of sourdough.”
