16 Types Of Sourdough Bread And What Makes Them So Different

Sourdough is a type of leavened bread made with a starter — a combination of flour and water left to ferment slowly. This type of bread does not use any commercial yeast or additives, and it rises due to wild yeast and good bacteria in the starter culture. Along with a bubbly and ripe starter, sourdough bread requires only three ingredients: flour, water, and salt (via BBC Good Food). Though it may seem as if sourdough is just a recent foodie trend, this could not be further from the truth. Sourdough is one of the ancient bread types and is most likely the original form of leavened bread familiar to the Egyptians. It is often considered superior in texture, flavor, and nutritional value to your standard yeast loaf (via Bakerpedia).

BBC Good Food explains that sourdough can be made with any flour and is an excellent base for additional ingredients and flavorings, which naturally results in numerous varieties. Apart from savory bread, sourdough starters are sometimes used for sweet baked goods. Italian fruit-studded panettone is probably the most famous sweet representative, traditionally made with a stiff starter called pasta madre.

This list mostly includes savory varieties that are defined by ingredients and some traditional regional practices, resulting in a colorful collection of sourdoughs showcasing the extent of creativity in sourdough baking.

Borodinsky is a rye-based sourdough bread mainly associated with Russia and former Soviet countries. Russia Beyond describes it as spicy but also sweet and sour, claiming that you may not find anything quite like it. The bread usually combines rye and wheat, along with molasses and coriander seeds, resulting in a bread with a crispy exterior and a soft center. Bench And Bowl shares an intricate story of how this bread came to life, explaining that it was the first standardized bread in the Soviet Union. The first versions were 100% rye as wheat was too pricey and usually reserved for pastries and for more expensive loaves.

Pants Down Aprons On provides his version of the bread, saying that though rye starter is mostly used, it can be replaced with other starters or even yeast. The combination of ingredients results in a flavorful bread with a soft and moist texture. The chef explains that this bread is mainly used for open-faced sandwiches and can be paired with various toppings. Baketo Bakery suggests cutting the loaf into thin slices and skipping the toasting step to get the best out of this rye sourdough.

Pumpernickel is a rich and dense rye-based bread that originates from Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. This bread is traditionally made with a starter. It is usually 100% rye and made with coarse rye flour. However, it should not be called rye bread, as the term can encompass numerous bread varieties that incorporate different types of flour, leavening agents, or other additions (via MasterClass).

Traditional pumpernickel will have a distinctive dark color due to the amount of rye used in the dough. The texture of the bread is firm but crumbly. Pumpernickel bread lacks the typical crispy crust as the whole loaf remains soft and moist. The flavor is complex, subtly sweet, and earthy (via Foodal).

Pumpernickel is best served thinly sliced. Pair it with smoked salmon or roast beef or ham slices, or top it with sweet and savory toppings; think of honey and butter, orange marmalade, creamy horseradish or hummus (via Foodal). Remember that the word pumpernickel is loosely used in the U.S., and the process and ingredients can significantly differ from traditional practices (via MasterClass).

Chocolate is a versatile ingredient. Though we mostly think of it in the realm of sweets and candies, chocolate has multiple personalities. It can be used as an excellent ingredient in savory bakes. When talking about chocolate sourdough, we mainly refer to cocoa powder as the ingredient providing the chocolate-like flavor.

Adding cocoa to sourdough bread will result in dark-colored bread with intense flavors reminiscent of dark chocolate. You can add a twist by including other ingredients, as this bread will pair well with nuts, spices, or dry fruit (via MasterClass). The Clever Carrot suggests adding chocolate chips, while baker Josh Axler flavors his version with hot chocolate, claiming that this is the most decadent bread you will ever taste.

If you embark on this chocolate-fueled sourdough journey, you can get a basic chocolate sourdough starter to elevate the chocolate experience. As explained, cocoa will provide a delicious background flavor, and the starter can be used for any bread.

Spelt is one of the ancient grains that was only recently reintroduced as a mainstream baking ingredient, mainly because of its numerous health benefits. Spelt sourdough bread can be made with white or whole-grain spelt flour. Because spelt flour is naturally low in gluten, the bread dough can't really hold shape as there isn't enough gluten development, but adding strong bread flour can be an excellent option to produce nice gluten structure and well-risen bread. Water percentage can also be tricky as spelt-based dough requires less water than standard wheat sourdough (via Bakerpedia).

MasterClass recommends spelt sourdough as an excellent option for sandwiches and claim that the bread is soft, with a nice crumb and crispy crust. The Sourdough School describes it as a tasty and crispy sourdough with a denser texture than what is usually expected in sourdough bread. The bread is sweet and has a nutty flavor. 

Maltese bread is a rustic, country-style bread considered an indispensable part of Maltese culinary tradition. Locally known as hobz Malti, the bread is available in several varieties, and it is made with a starter, which classifies it as sourdough (via European Cuisines). The bread is typically round, with a dark and crispy crust. It is traditionally baked in wood-fired ovens (Guide Me Malta).

This bread is also a favorite among tourists, who often buy loaves as a souvenir. As Matthew Mangion, who runs a traditional bakery in the town of Qormi, shared with The Malta Independent, the bread should have a crispy crust, while the center should remain soft, dotted with larger and smaller holes. The staff at Lovin Malta provides a decent list of all the ways you can devour this delicious sourdough if, by chance, you get tired of eating it as a standard bread. The suggestions include making a crunchy bruschetta or turning it into a sweet bread pudding. Guide Me Malta suggests the traditional version paired with tomatoes and olive oil.

As beer and sourdough are both fermented products made with similar ingredients, we can safely say they are close cousins. Apart from that, they also make great partners in bread baking. Some standard sourdough recipes will feature a starter, flour, and salt, together with water as the liquid element that will hydrate the flour and provide moisture. Surprisingly, you can swap water for a bubbly glass of your favorite beer. The Pantry Mama uses beer instead of water for her classic sourdough recipe. The fermentation process didn't show significant differences, but the aroma was strong and distinctively yeasty. The beer-like notes fade after baking, but the bread is more complex. It has a thinner crust and retains a subtle beer flavor, The Pantry Mama notes.

If you are up for a bubbly experiment, Foodgeek shows how using different beer styles in sourdough baking results in distinct breads. The beer style will affect the color, the crust, and the crumb of sourdough bread. He describes the aroma as "bready" and "hoppy," while the taste test shows that the breads will undoubtedly carry a characteristic flavor reminiscent of the type of beer used in the process.

Technically, Amish friendship bread would better fit in the cake category, but it is included in the list as most people still refer to it as bread. This cake-like bread is also unique because of its story — the starter that combines flour, sugar, milk, water, and yeast is fermented, and as you use one portion to make the bread, you divide the rest among friends or family members, hence the friendship moniker. The bread has uncertain origins, and it is questionable whether it was created by the Amish, but it was a big hit in the U.S. throughout the 1980s (via NPR).

Although the recipe can significantly vary, Friendship Bread Kitchen has the supposed original version of this sweet bread. It has a standard base with eggs, milk, starter, sugar, flour, and oil, while the flavorings include vanilla and cinnamon. Raisins and nuts give the bread some texture, and the list of ingredients also features vanilla-flavored instant-pudding mix that should provide moisture and subtle vanilla notes. The bread is sweet and aromatic, and as it is topped with cinnamon sugar, it has a delicious crispy cover. Despite numerous variations, this bread is traditionally baked as a loaf.

Rugbrød is a rye-based bread from Denmark that has a distinctive dark color and unique, coarse texture. Although it is sourdough bread, it differs from the light and airy loaf that you might associate with the name and has more in common with dense and moist Central European bread styles (via Foodgeek). Along with rye flour, this bread is packed with seeds and coarse rye that provide an interesting textural element and make the bread nutritious (via Nordic Food & Living). As Foodgeek explains, the whole grains make the bread rich in fiber and without many carbohydrates, meaning that it will keep you filled for longer.

Rugbrød is traditionally baked in rectangular bread or cake pans and is often eaten smeared with butter. It is best known as the standard bread for smørrebrød — Scandinavian open-faced sandwiches that can be topped with various ingredients. Rugbrød has a long shelf life, and the thin slices can also be dried and enjoyed as crackers (via Breadtopia).