How to Choose Low FODMAP Sourdough

Sourdough is one of the best tolerated breads on the low FODMAP, plus its super healthy and good for those gut bugs. BUT, are all sourdoughs low FODMAP?

Monash state that sourdough must be wheat or spelt flour and “made traditionally” to be low FODMAP, but what does this actually mean?

• Start with a bread that lists wheat or spelt flour as the main flour used.
• Make sure that your bread contains “sourdough starter” or “sourdough culture”. This is the good stuff that munches away at the FODMAPs while the bread proves, making the final product low FODMAP.
• Make sure the sourdough does not contain any other high fodmap ingredients e.g. inulin, dried fruit, garlic etc.

If you can tick these 3 boxes you can assume that your sourdough is low FODMAP.

What about rising time?
We know that the “proving” time is when the sourdough bacteria does its magic to lower the FODMAPs. How long this takes is not specified in research. However, we have FODMAP certified sourdoughs that have a rising time of 1-2 hours, indicating that this is enough.

What about yeast?
It has been suggested that if yeast is present then the bread is not a “true” sourdough. Yeast itself is not high FODMAP and it doesn’t prevent the need for rising time. In addition to this, we have low FODMAP certified sourdoughs that contain yeast. Given this and that there is no indication that the addition of yeast renders a bread high FODMAP, there is no need to avoid sourdough that lists yeast in the ingredients.

Important note: Sourdough culture/starter is made with flour and water. In some cases the culture/starter is not listed separately. If there is no culture/starter listed and also no yeast listed, you can assume that this is sourdough bread. If the bread is labeled “sourdough” and has no culture/starter but does list yeast, it may or may not be sourdough. In this case it is best to check with the baker if sourdough culture or starter was used or not.

What “sourdough” is not low FODMAP?
Occasionally we come across “sourdough style” bread. This is regular bread with a flavour added to make it taste like sourdough. In this case the bread does not contain the sourdough culture or bacteria and is not low FODMAP. This is regular bread and is only low FODMAP at one slice.

Final Thoughts
Sourdoughs will vary from one bakery to another. There are also reasons other than FODMAP that people get gut upset. If you find that you don’t tolerate one sourdough, try a different brand to see if you tolerate it better.