Bread is one of the easiest recipes that you can learn if you are trying to start baking. There are different types of bread that you can learn how to bake such as sourdough bread and white bread.
Sourdough bread and white bread are not the simplest bread but they can be learned after a few practices. Processing white bread includes removing some fibers and other components.
While sourdough bread requires you to add something other than the basic ingredients in making the dough. This is due to the fact that the flour used in sourdough does not rise as much as other kinds of bread.
Usually, you just leave the dough to rise at room temperature but there are some factors that you should consider in the mixing process first to make a specific kind of dough rise.
White bread is often found in most supermarkets and they have been through a lot of processes that might have removed some of the nutritional values in it.
It is also possible that some white bread has nutrients and other additives have been added into them to make them healthier while maintaining the clean, white color of the bread.
There are also other things that separate these two kinds of bread. Here in this post, we will see those similarities as well as the differences between the two.
Nutritional Value
If you look at the contents of sourdough and white bread, there is little difference but there are things where one bread is more beneficial than the other.
You will see that these two types of bread have the same fat content but the sourdough has much less calorie content making it healthier in that content.
It is often said that sourdough is healthier than white bread because of the less calorie content and the fact that it has more fiber which is the healthiest part of the bread.
Fiber is said to be a major help in making your digestive tract healthier meaning you have a faster metabolism and it will make you feel full even after only a few slices.
As for other health risks, sourdough still wins as it is considered to be one of the most helpful foods that reduce the risk of having a stroke or other heart complications.
White bread has less carbohydrate content so if you are cutting in those carbs, you can choose white bread over sourdough bread.
White bread also has a higher sugar content so if you want to make your blood sugar level rise, then this bread is perfect for you. Just don’t eat too much of it as it may be unhealthy.
There is no major difference between the health and nutritional contents of these bread but the consumption is what needs to be looked at.
You see there are a lot more health benefits that you can get if you eat more of the sourdough bread than when you take an ample amount of white bread.
The Taste
As you may have already experienced, and as the name suggests, sourdough bread has a distinct taste that is not liked by everyone.
The sour and tangy flavor that comes from sourdough bread is produced through a combination of specific ingredients and the process of letting it rise as well.
White bread is the perfect bread when you love making sandwiches as it does not add any unnecessary flavors in your sauce or the contents of your sandwich.
Kids are not necessarily a fan of sourdough bread because of its taste. However, it is an acquired taste and the longer you eat it, the more you get to ignore the sour taste.
Making a sandwich with sourdough bread should include ingredients that will contrast the sourness of the bread. You can use fruits with zest or sweet ingredients to do this.
The Yeast Used
This is probably where the two start to differentiate a lot with each other as they use different types of yeast in order for the specific type of flour to rise properly.
White bread uses dried and preserved yeast. Combined with the other ingredients, white bread rises like regular dough without additional flavor getting into the dough itself.
As for the sourdough bread, making it always includes using live yeast. Live yeast adds so much flavor to the dough and it is where the tangy flavor of a sourdough bread comes from.
Live yeast will also bring a fresh taste to the bread. After baking, the bread would still taste fresh and will last longer than factory-processed bread.
It also prevents the formation of mold that will eventually ruin the whole bread. Live yeast helps in making the bread taste better (for some) and fresher.
White bread requires preservatives for it to last long. See, since white bread is stored in supermarkets, it is going to need some sort of preservatives to last longer on shelves.
That is where the sourdough has a healthier advantage since it does not use preservatives and can sometimes even last longer than bread with preservatives in it.
The Color
Differentiating bread was much easier in the past since you will clearly see the white bread over the other kinds of bread. But in this day and age, white bread can be hardly differentiated.
Sourdough bread is not hard to find as you can see the crisp and brown crust that it usually has. The contents and baking process will reveal the color of a sourdough.
Nowadays, white bread processes let people add colors that will make them look like whole-wheat bread or other kinds of bread that do not have a pale white color.
For example, most companies that produce white bread noticed that there are more and more people that choose whole wheat or sourdough bread over white bread.
So the solution is they add some artificial flavors such as caramel that when baked, will turn the bread into a beautiful golden brown color once it is finished.
The Process (Sourdough Bread)
If you are home and you want to make sourdough bread, then we have the perfect guide for you that will allow you to make the perfect one.
Sourdough bread has ingredients that might be different from regular bread. The process is also a little bit more complicated than most but with a lot of practice, you are going to perfect it in no time.
See, sourdough bread does not contain a lot of water when you are processing it so the process will include some steps that you cannot find in other doughs to make it rise more.
So first, you are going to mix the ingredients well in a bowl. The ingredients in making sourdough bread include flour, water, starter dough, and salt.
There are two steps in proofing sourdough bread and the first one is that you are going to need to let it rise at room temperature for the initial proofing.
The second rising process or proofing includes some heat. Low heat will be enough and you can do this in a regular home oven.
Just be careful and avoid over rising. Over rising is when the sourdough has extracted all the rising power that it has and will not taste as good as it should be.
Preheating the oven is very important since the dough will need to rise more than the other kinds of dough. You will need to use a baking stone that will also need to be preheated.
Sourdough bread relies largely on the oven spring. This is the heat that the oven abruptly produces when it is heated enough.
You will need to cook the sourdough for 20 minutes at a temperature of 500 degrees for the bread to properly rise. You can also score the dough to make it rise more.
The Process (White Bread)
Just like sourdough bread, white bread has specific steps that you will need to follow in order to make that clean, white finish that you would usually see.
The first thing that you need to know is that white bread uses oil. So if you are letting it rise, make sure that you put it in a bowl that was greased and cover it with plastic wrap.
The ingredients include all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, water, and dry yeast. You can add other ingredients such as butter if you want to.
Let it rise at room temperature for about an hour or when it has doubled its size. Then bake it for 30 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
The lab-grown yeast that is used in white bread is a fast-acting yeast so one proofing is enough. However, the downside of this is that there would not be as much flavor added in the bread.
Making your own white bread at home is the best choice when you want white bread so that you can avoid all that processing that factories make as well as the preservatives.
You can go healthier if you make your own as you can add healthier ingredients into the dough before baking while keeping all the nutrients inside it.
See, processed white bread only uses the endosperm from the flour while other healthier bread uses up to three nutrition parts to make the bread, well, healthier.
This way, you are going to have healthier bread with more fiber that can help you lose or maintain weight and reduce heart risks.
So Which Bread Wins?
Our judgment takes on sourdough bread as the winner. It has all the nutrients that you need plus sourdough bread has a tastier flavor that you can get used to.
Aside from that, you get more natural ingredients in the bread and no artificial preservatives added so you can be sure that you are eating healthy.
Sourdough bread stays fresh and prevents the formation of molds that can ruin not only one slice but the whole loaf of bread.
Sourdough bread is also fermented through lactobacillus cultures and although the cultures do not last when baked, they can still produce lactic acids that are beneficial to the body.
The lactic acid removes phytic acid in bread and breaks down the nutrients that sourdough bread contains to make them more available and easier to digest.
Conclusion
Sourdough bread and white bread are great and they are both healthy. Although the other is healthier, you should still limit the intake as too much of a good thing can be bad.
Nonetheless, you can make your meals healthier by eating bread on the side as it helps you feel more full therefore reducing your intake.
Sourdough bread is perfect for people who are trying to lose weight. It is a great source of carbohydrate and also protein so you can limit the other foods that contain these nutrients.
You can also make a lot of recipes with bread. From a simple grilled cheese to a beautifully stacked sandwich, it is your choice.
Although I would personally prefer consuming the Sourdough bread any day because I try avoiding Guten than comes with the normal White Bread.
Sourdough bread is amazing and some people who have gluten intolerance can still digest sourdough bread which is amazing. If you are gluten intolerant then you can give Sourdough a try or make Sourdough Bread with Gluten-Free flour.
You can even create your own homemade white bread so you can alter it into a healthier option compared to processed bread that you buy in your local supermarket.
You can even make a Sourdough Pizza crust and that tastes absolutely amazing. If you have not tasted it already then you should definitely go ahead and taste it because it has an amazing flavor and taste.
We do have some Sourdough Pizza Recipe recommendations in this post and if you want to check them out make sure you do. Making a sourdough pizza crust is very easy and it tastes amazing.
I would choose the Sourdough Pizza Crust over normal crust because it is so crispy and packed with flavors.
So it will still boil down to your preferences on which type of bread is better for you. If you want more sugar, then white bread is the choice, if you want a fiber-rich option then go for sourdough bread.
Let us know which one would you choose?
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