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Sourdough is definitely the bread du jour. Whether you’re standing in the queue outside the bakery to get the bread before it sells out, or selecting the smashed avocado on sourdough toast in the café without fail, everyone wants a slice, so of course supermarkets have got in on the action by making their own loaves, and I’ve got some high-end options on supermarket own-brand and supermarket shelves to find things worth adding to your weekly shop.
It is believed that its history dates back thousands of years to ancient Egypt, sourdough is nothing new, but it is difficult to agree on what its definition is. “‘Sourdough’ is not a legally protected term, so technically any bread can currently be called sourdough,” explains Swi Xu, head baker. Palmerston Restaurant In Edinburgh, which bakes its own excellent sourdough in its ground-floor bakery.
Generally, to be considered sourdough, bread must be made with a live sourdough starter (a culture made from natural yeast, not store-bought, and bacteria) and go through a slow fermentation process. Xu advises you to check the ingredients list of sourdough bread before purchasing it, as if it lists ‘yeast’, it is not true sourdough, as yeast should not be added.
Sourdough is a leavened bread, meaning that the dough rises naturally as a result of natural yeast, creating distinct air pockets. A well-prepared dough has a nice spongy ‘crumb’ (the internal structure of the bread) with evenly sized and distributed air pockets. If fermentation or baking goes wrong, it can cause ‘tunneling’, where the holes are too large and frequent.
Whether you’re doing the big Christmas shop ahead of the festive period, or are just looking for some expert-recommended everyday foodie essentials, the IndieBest team has also reviewed Best Supermarket PizzaThe best supermarket olive oil and including top tipples supermarket wine, Supermarket Champagne and this best supermarket whiskey,
To see if supermarkets can really impress with their sourdough loaves, I tasted over 20 loaves of bread. Here’s how I got on.
Read more: The best supermarket pizza, tried and tested
The best supermarket sourdough bread for 2025 is:
- overall best – Wild Farmed White Sourdough Bread: £4, waitrose.com
- best budget option – Sainsbury’s Taste of Difference White Sour Half Bloomer: £2, sainsburys.co.uk
- best to taste – Waitrose No 1 White Sourdough Bread: £2.25, waitrose.com
- Best Gluten-Free – Good Grain Bakery Gluten-Free Seeded Sourdough: £6.20, Ocado.com
- best for toast – Co-op Irresistible Slow Cooker White Sour Bloomers: £2.50, Coop.co.uk
how i tested
First and foremost, I kept head baker Swee Ju’s advice in mind when analyzing each bread’s ingredient list. I then tasted over 20 loaves of bread, including pre-sliced and unsliced loaves from all the major supermarkets’ own ranges. I also tested some well-known branded and high-end options that are available in supermarkets. Where available, I chose a white bread, so each sample was as similar as could be. I eat it plain, in sandwiches, and on toast with butter. When taste-testing, I considered the crumb (I wanted the bread to be spongy, evenly sized and fairly open with well-distributed air pockets), crust, flavor, and shelf life. But you can read my full testing methodology at the end of the review.
Why can you trust IndyBest reviews?
emma henderson He is fond of eating himself. She was also the editor of IndyEats, The Independent’’s monthly digital food magazine, and was twice shortlisted for “Best Food Magazine” at the Guild of Food Writers Awards. She’s sampled everything from the Michelin-recommended menu best olive oilSo she knows exactly what’s worth tasting. When it comes to the sour, he has tasted everything good, bad and questionably dirty in the name of journalism. Each bread in this review has been rigorously tested, from smelling and cutting to coating in butter.