Why San Francisco sourdough bread tastes completely different

Boudin Bakery, established in 1849 — about the time when the California gold rush was just heating up — is credited with codifying the recipe for San Francisco sourdough bread.

Boudin Bakery via Yelp

“What sets San Francisco sourdough bread apart is the history of it and the strong culture around it in the city,” explains legendary San Francisco bakery Tartine’s Head of Bakery Production, Stephanie Tantillo. “San Francisco is known for its sourdough bread and is definitely the city in the U.S. that really put naturally leavened bread on the map.”

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Read on to find out why San Francisco’s sourdough reigns supreme and if it’s really any different here than around the world.

A little history of sourdough in San Francisco

Sourdough is the oldest form of leavened bread, used in ancient Egypt. NPR suggests that it was most likely discovered by accident when bread dough came into contact with wild yeast microorganisms, resulting in a bread with a unique texture and taste. Thousands of years later, sourdough became a staple during the Gold Rush, when a loaf would sustain hungry miners throughout the day. Although loaves could be bought from San Francisco’s Boudin Bakery, which opened in 1849 just as the Gold Rush was getting underway, miners also made their own with their own homemade supply of sour, fermented dough (legend has it miners would even snuggle their sourdough starter on cold nights, to make sure it didn’t die). Naturally, the taste was tangy and unusual – that, plus the rough life miners were living, purportedly lent it the name “sourdough.” 

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Even though it’s now famous, the gold miners didn’t love their sour concoction. At the time, this style of bread wasn’t common, with most people preferring a sweeter, less pungent tasting — and smelling — bread. And miners were often terrible bakers, making their bread in unsanitary conditions. But they often had no choice. Once store-bought baking supplies ran out, they used what they could: flour, water and fresh air. 

According to lore, it wasn’t until the 49ers introduced their sourdough concoction to the recently-emigrated European bakers that the iconic sourdough loaf really took off. (Although there’s some debate as to whether miners introduced sourdough to European bakers newly immigrated to San Francisco or Europeans brought sourdough to the Americas.) Enter the famous Boudin Bakery, which was established in 1849, when Isidore Boudin nailed the “Original San Francisco Sourdough” after she acquired a wild yeast starter from a gold miner and perfected the recipe with a magical combination of flour, water, salt and mother dough.

Boudin Bakery, still in operation today, has been using the same sourdough starter for over 170 years. It’s so special and integral to the taste of their sourdough that Boudin reportedly sends its retail shops a fresh starter every 23 days. Not surprisingly, their sourdough is arguably the most famous in the city (and certainly most popular with tourists). 

Some of the features of sourdough include a glossy crust firm enough to knock plus a chewy but airy texture inside. The taste, tangy from the fermentation, is the hallmark of a great sourdough. 

Rawpixel/Getty Images/iStockphoto

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Is San Francisco sourdough different from sourdough elsewhere?

Yes and no. Though it’s widely claimed that San Francisco sourdough is different from others, some aren’t convinced. 

“Sourdough isn’t a flavor, it’s a leavening agent or yeast,” states Matthew Kosoy, owner of Rosalind Bakery in Pacifica. The key to sourdough bread tasting the way it does is the strain of bacteria, lactobacillus sanfranciscensis. And if that name looks like it has ties to San Francisco, it does. 

“This special strain of lactic acid bacteria thrives in our salty, cold environment,” says Kosoy. “It isn’t unique to San Francisco but it was discovered here.” Indeed, in the 1970’s researchers set out to find out what gave the city’s sourdough its signature taste. They discovered the bacteria lactobacillus sanfranciscensis while in San Francisco, naming it after the city that they believed was the only one to have it.

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This theory has since been disproven, with the bacteria being found in countries around the world. That said, the bacteria does particularly well in San Francisco’s climate. As a result, this city is highly conducive to making excellent sourdough bread.

Tartine Bakery, a favorite San Francisco destination for baked goods since it opened in 2002, makes some of the city’s best sourdough bread.

Adrienne L. via Yelp

What makes San Francisco sourdough bread arguably the best tasting?

OK, so sourdough isn’t unique to San Francisco. But many claim it tastes best here. Many, including Raymond Ofiesh of Raymond’s Sourdough Outlet and Bakery, says it’s our cool, foggy weather. “Everybody says ‘there’s nothing like San Francisco sourdough bread,’ and you know, they are absolutely right,” says Ofiesh. “San Francisco sourdough bread is the epitome of sourdough bread. It is truly this awesome, cool climate we have which allows the bacteria to flourish. This gift of nature also improves the shelf life of this amazing sourdough bread.”

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“I think there’s a couple factors involved,” says Harry Flager, pastry chef at Stanly Ranch in Napa. “San Francisco has the perfect year-round climate for sourdough production, it’s never overly humid, it doesn’t snow, it’s never crazy hot. So for a bread that relies entirely upon time and consistent temperature — to naturally develop gas and rise — San Francisco is ideal.”

Another theory is that San Francisco sourdough tastes so good here because of its heritage. “Most San Francisco sourdough is made with starters that have been bred in the Bay Area, so it’s possible that the natural yeast in the area leads to a starter with a different flavor than one grown elsewhere, but I couldn’t say for sure,” Flager continues, noting that there was a time when no one was making sourdough bread with the methods used in San Francisco, which included high hydration, the bassinage method of mixing and the combinations of flours used. “By now the techniques and methods have been transferred across the country, especially with books like Tartine, but for a while the way that San Francisco sourdough was made was very unique.”

“When you have such a strong history around a product, and it becomes almost the namesake of the city, the expectations are high,” Tartine’s Tantillo explains. “San Franciscans know bread, they have a high standard for sourdough and a deep understanding. You really can’t get away with subpar naturally leavened bread in this city, there’s so many great options and so many well educated customers. It’s a staple in the city’s diet!”

Grab a loaf for yourself and decide whether sourdough bread made the San Francisco way really is special. Either way, you’ll be hard pressed to argue that it’s not delicious.

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This story was edited by Hearst Newspapers Managing Editor Kristina Moy; you can contact her at kristina.moy@hearst.com.