Is Sourdough Vegan?
Day by day veganism is gaining more popularity. People are more aware than ever about animal lives. But knowing which food is vegan and which is not is a learning curve for most of us. Sourdough is one of those foods that we get confused about a lot.
But we love our bread so much we are going to learn about it but not leave it. But is Sourdough vegan? Let’s learn together about if sourdough vegan or not so that next time we can enjoy the sourdough bread a little more.
Is sourdough vegan friendly?
Yes sourdough is Vegan.
The traditional sourdough recipe is very simple. It only contains flour, salt, and water. If this is maintained in the sourdough that you buy you are already good to go. But that is not the case.
Some of the sourdough bread is made with non-vegan ingredients. It is because those ingredients increase the richness of the bread. So keep in mind that you buy a vegan-friendly brand for you and your loved ones.
What is in the enriched sourdough bread?
Enriched sourdough is those which are enriched with some non-vegan ingredients. Mostly those bread have milk, butter, and eggs.
Particularly sandwich bread is made this way and as a vegan, you should not consume these. Only look for these three ingredients and you will not regret eating the bread.
- flour
- water
- the sourdough starter made of flour and water
- salt
What about the bread in?
Vegans care about the smallest thing related to the food source. Be it as small an amount as the oil of bread tin of sourdough bread. If you buy your sourdough bread from a local bakery ask them what they use in the loaf tin.
Some use butter or margarine which is not vegan. Vegetable oil will be fine for the loaf tin. Also, some bakers brush a little butter on the loaf to soften the bread crust a little.
This also breaks the criteria of being vegan. So buy your sourdough bread from the local baker and ask as many questions you have.
What about the sweetened sourdough bread?
Sourdough rises more with the help of any sweeteners. Sugar is best for that matter but some bakers might want to go overboard. The sweetener must be vegan. A non-vegan option for sweetener is honey.
So check the ingredients if it has honey. Check the additional ingredient list because it can be used in the sourdough starter, not in the bread.
What is the sourdough fed with?
The most important thing for making sourdough bread is sourdough. If it’s perfect then you can be sure that any bread you make with it will be great.
That is why bakers take extra care to make the sourdough starter. To feed that sourdough bakers may use honey or milk in it.
Because milk or honey is a great food for the yeast. They can also use pineapple juice or normal sugar and that would be vegan. Again check the additional ingredient list to know what goes into your sourdough.
Ingredients that are found in a non-vegan sourdough breadmilk
- egg
- cream
- butter
- casein
- margarine
- honey
- ghee
- lard
- whey
List of vegan bread that you can enjoy without worries
- Focaccia
- Sourdough bread
- Pita
- Ezekiel bread
- Ciabatta
List of non-vegan bread that you should avoid unless it specially says that its vegan
- Naan
- Brioche
- Challah
- Sandwich bread and
- Garlic bread
Is sourdough bread good for us?
Sourdough has a lower glycemic index. It’s easier to digest and the fermentation makes it more nutritious. So love your bread a little more and enjoy it without feeling guilty.
Is yeast in sourdough vegan?
Yeast is a type of fungi that we use in a lot of our fermented food recipes. It is considered plant-based not from any animal. So yeast is vegan and plant-based indeed.
Final thoughts
Bread is normally vegan if there are no additional ingredients like egg or milk in it. So read the ingredients whenever you buy anything.
This is a simple habit that will save you so much money. You do not even have to mistakenly contribute to an industry that uses the animal product.
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