Real sourdough vs. what the grocery store calls “sourdough”

There’s no legal definition of “sourdough” in the United States. That means a loaf at Brookshire’s or Walmart can contain commercial yeast, vinegar, enzymes, dough conditioners, and preservatives — and still carry the word “sourdough” on the bag.

Our bread is different at every level:

Ingredients
Grocery store: 15–25 (yeast, vinegar, dough conditioners, preservatives)
Gillett Farmstead: 3 (flour, water, salt + live starter)

Leavening
Grocery store: Commercial yeast — rises in 90 minutes
Gillett Farmstead: Live sourdough culture — ferments 24+ hours

Grain
Grocery store: Commodity wheat, bred for yield
Gillett Farmstead: Heritage grains (White Sonora, Rouge de Bordeaux), bred for flavor

Baked
Grocery store: Frozen dough, thawed and finished in-store
Gillett Farmstead: Baked fresh the morning of market

Distance
Grocery store: Centralized bakery, shipped hundreds of miles
Gillett Farmstead: Quitman to Tyler = ~40 miles

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First time at the market? Ask for a sample — we’d rather you taste it than take our word for it.

Why people who “quit bread” often come back for this one

The 24-hour fermentation process breaks down phytic acid and reduces FODMAPs — the compounds in wheat that cause bloating, digestive discomfort, and the “heavy” feeling many people associate with bread.

This is why customers who’ve avoided bread for years often find they tolerate ours just fine. We hear it at the market every week.

The Grains

White Sonora & Rouge de Bordeaux

We don’t use commodity wheat. We bake with heritage grain varieties that most people have never heard of — because industrial agriculture replaced them decades ago with strains optimized for yield, not flavor.

White Sonora is one of the oldest wheat varieties in North America. Spanish missionaries brought it to the Southwest in the 1600s. It’s soft, slightly sweet, and has a lower gluten content than modern wheat. It makes a tender, flavorful crumb.

Rouge de Bordeaux is a French heritage variety known for rich, complex flavor and high mineral content. The bran is a deep red color — and you can taste the depth it adds to the bread.

These grains cost more. They yield less. They require different handling. We use them because the bread is better — and you’ll taste it on the first bite.

24 hours from start to finish

Our process hasn’t been optimized for speed. It’s been optimized for flavor.

Mix. Heritage grain flour, water, salt, and live sourdough starter — a culture of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria that Angie maintains and feeds daily.

Ferment. The dough rests and rises for 24 hours. During that time, the wild yeast and bacteria do what commercial yeast can’t: they break down phytic acid, reduce FODMAPs, and develop complex flavor compounds. This is why real sourdough tastes different and digests different than grocery bread.

Shape and score. Each loaf is shaped by hand and scored with a blade — the cut pattern isn’t decoration. It controls how the loaf expands in the oven.

Bake. Into a screaming-hot Dutch oven. Steam, heat, and time produce the golden crust, the open crumb, and the crackle you hear when you tear the first piece off.

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