Grocery Store Sourdough Bread, Ranked Worst To Best

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Zoom calls and Peloton rides may have reached their heyday during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, but another activity also exploded in popularity: baking. From scones to cakes and everything in between, people turned their ovens to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and pulled out the stand mixers with little else to do during the global shutdown. Despite the plethora of sweet treats, though, bread was unquestionably the king of the pandemic baking world, and sourdough sat on the throne.

People have been making sourdough bread for about as long as humans have been recording history. The ancient Egyptians and Romans both crafted starters that were passed down through generations. Today, some of the oldest known sourdough starters date back to the gold rushes of the late 1800s, when miners would curl up with their starters at night to keep them warm and alive.

Thankfully, for anyone not looking to cuddle with a jar of fermenting flour, there are plenty of store-bought options on shelves today if you're craving a slice of sourdough. I tried out 11 different varieties from my local store and was shocked at how much they varied in shape, size, texture, and taste. Turns out, every sourdough is unique, so read on to find out which ones should be on your table tonight.

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Pepperidge Farm makes a lot of really tasty products, but the sourdough is a swing and a miss. Visually, there's nothing particularly special about this pre-sliced loaf, dusted with a bit of flour. It's a bit wider than some of the others, and the semi-rectangular slices would work well for a sandwich.

This is one of the denser breads on the list, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, the lack of flavor leaves you with the feeling of chewing on a memory foam mattress. There's a little bit of the funky taste that sourdough is supposed to offer, but it's more of an afterthought than a defining quality.

I tried every variety of bread, first plain and then toasted with a little butter, and while most were elevated by toasting, this one still remained an uninspired bite. For something like French toast where you're adding external flavors, Pepperidge Farm Sourdough would work well, but for $4.69 a loaf, I'm not rushing out to buy this one again. It's not bad; it's just not all that good.

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The Rustik Oven is the first of several halved loaves on our list. I love the idea of buying a half-loaf, so this sourdough gets bonus points there. Aesthetically, this is also one of the nicer-looking options. The wide, round loaf with sesame seeds on the bottom and a dusting of flour across the top makes it look like a high-quality loaf of bread, and the price tag would seem to back that up at $5.50 for a half-loaf, marking it as the second-most expensive option on our list.

Unfortunately, the taste doesn't live up to the billing. The bread seems to battle between a light sourness and a nuttiness that might come from the sesame seeds. It's not a terribly fluffy bread, and the crust is fine, but it's not nearly as good-tasting as it looks. In the end, The Rustic Oven Sourdough is a victim of its own hype. This looks like a loaf of bread you'd pull out of the oven and be excited to eat, but ultimately, it's a serviceable, if not exciting, take on sourdough. Even toasted, it just sort of exists, so it's not something I'm rushing back to anytime soon.

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So, I think this might just be white bread with good marketing. Visually, it looks like every loaf of white sandwich bread you've ever seen. The slices are wide, so they're good for sandwich construction depending on your sandwich-bread preference, but the crust is absolutely nothing special. The density is a touch less than Pepperidge Farm, but not by much.

Like the other entries so far, there's nothing inherently wrong with Village Hearth's sourdough; the issue is that it lacks any and all personality. If I wanted a loaf of white bread, I'd have bought that, but I came here for the distinct flavor and, ideally, texture of sourdough, only to find a soft, spongy slice designed for PB&Js, the occasional ham sandwich, and little else. Toasted, this bread fares a bit better than those ranked lower, but it remains a disappointment in the world of sourdough, and for $4.50, I know we can do better.

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The "is this sourdough?" trend continues with Aunt Millie's Bakehouse. The loaf is more square than rectangular, but otherwise, you could be forgiven for mixing up this and the prior entry. As far as standard white bread goes, this one is pretty good! Unfortunately, this is supposed to be sourdough, and I just don't see or taste it.

I wasn't able to track down a release date for this product, but it, along with several others, feels like the result of a company looking to capitalize on a trend. It's possible Aunt Millie's has been cranking out loaves of sourdough for decades since the brand has been around since the '90s, but to me, this feels like another lazy attempt at capitalizing on the recent popularity of sourdough. For $3.50 a loaf, at least this is a good deal, but if a true sourdough is what you're craving, you'll want to keep reading.

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Another half-loaf, Lewis Bake Shop reflects its size in its pricing, with the smallest sticker on this list at just $2.70. This is a rather small loaf, though, so don't expect a massive bargain. Lewis Bake Shop makes a very, very soft bread. Think Wonder Bread texture, but mercifully, this one has some sourdough flavor to fall back on. It's not overly strong, but at the very least, I know what I'm eating when I take a bite.

Still, the loaf's shape and lack of a crust are unfortunate. I want a sourdough I can sink my teeth into. Instead, I've gotten a lot of super soft sandwich bread. Toasting does help elevate this one somewhat, especially if you like a light slice of toast that drinks up the melted butter. I'm still not placing this one on my next shopping list, but we've finally found a sourdough that begins to resemble its name.

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Organic foods can be a real toss-up when it comes to taste. I've had good, and I've had really bad (do not seek out store-bought, organic vanilla ice cream), so I wasn't sure what Rudi's was going to have in store, especially when I found this loaf in the freezer aisle. Truthfully, I'm not sure whether freezing this bread in the store is a decision made by the company or the grocer, since the Rudi's packaging doesn't say anything about freezing or thawing.

Once I did get a piece up to room temperature, though, I was pleasantly surprised. Rudi's makes a good sourdough. The slices are large and wide, and they do trend towards being dense, but the flavor of a proper sourdough is present. At $6.20 per loaf, this is easily the most expensive bread on the list. If organic is a priority, you'll be thrilled with this sourdough, but I'm not sure the price tag is justified otherwise, even though this is a quality loaf of bread.

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I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Picking out the subtle differences in different brands of the same food can be tricky (see my breakdown of store-bought pancake mixes as evidence). Sometimes the unique characteristics are obvious, and other times, it feels like I'm biting into a carbon copy of the last one, which is why I opted to toast each of my selections. I absolutely love toast, and even when I bake bread at home, other than the day it comes out of the oven, I tend to lightly toast my slices to add some warmth and a bit of texture.

Sara Lee Sourdough needs to be textured. Its super soft, white-bread vibes are fine, but I want some crunch in my sourdough. The hallmark sourness is present, even if it is mild, but it's the toast that elevates Sara Lee above the likes of Lewis Bake Shop. I could eat an entire loaf of this bread as toast, even if it's only sold in a half-loaf for $2.79. It's light and airy, which creates the perfect crispiness on the outside. If you're looking for toast with a twist, Sara Lee Sourdough is the way to go.

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Private Selection is Kroger's higher-end store brand. I've sampled a few of the brand's products in the past and was impressed. The sourdough is no different. Visually, this is just another larger rectangular loaf of white bread. The price, $3.69, isn't anything special either, so what about this bread landed it so high on my list? It's all about the flavor.

Private Selection saw the other uninspired loaves out there and said, "Let's make sure there's no question about our sourdough." The undeniable funk of the culture is present not only in the taste but even in the smell when opening up the bag. As toast, it holds up just as well, and I thought the stronger flavor paired perfectly with lightly salted butter. This is the last of the sandwich-style bread offerings on the list, but it's easily the best in that category.

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Believe it or not, I don't plan on eating 11 loaves of bread before they go bad, so I froze pretty much everything after I conducted my taste tests. The Redstone Classic loaf was so large that only about three-quarters of it could fit in a gallon-sized bag. This sourdough looks like a real bakery loaf. The crust has a beautiful golden color, and rather than a rectangular shape, this is an elongated oval, giving you a variety of slice sizes in a single package.

The edges are chewy, and in a lot of ways, Redstone sourdough reminds me of Italian bread. It's pretty light and airy, and while there's definitely a sourdough taste, it's on the milder side. For $3.79, this might be the best overall value on the list. Toasted, the bread maintains a nice chewiness. The slices are on the thinner side, which I don't mind because it makes it easier to enjoy a few pieces in a sitting rather than gnawing on a single slice.

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When reviewing food, it can be hard to ignore the packaging. I'm here to evaluate what's inside, not on the outside, but Stan's does stand out because of its pink logo. The bread inside is equally unique: a circular, precut loaf. While Redstone was a longer, more oval shape, Stan's is perfectly round, giving off homemade sourdough more than any previous entry.

The taste matches the appearance, too. The crust is chewy, and a layer of cornmeal across the bottom adds a little extra texture. There's no denying the yeast flavor in each bite, which I loved with a little bit of butter. Overall, this is what I have in mind for a sourdough loaf. Stan's sells both pre-sliced (which is what I got) and whole loaves. I enjoyed the pre-sliced version, but if you have the opportunity to try a full loaf, I would recommend it. I would happily pay $3.99 for a loaf of Stan's anytime.

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It almost feels like cheating to put a loaf found in the bakery section at the top of a list filled with options from the bread aisle, but the criteria was sourdough from the grocery store, so the bakery section is up for grabs. La Brea Bakery in California ships bread nationwide in its distinctive red-and-white packaging. The loaves are generally uncut, but pre-sliced options are available. I went with a whole, uncut loaf, and I'm so glad I did. This is near-perfect sourdough.

First, let's talk about the crust. There's simply no way for a precut bag of bread to compete with this loaf when it comes to crust. I pulled out my bread knife and watched as pieces of sourdough shrapnel flew across my counter. Crispy, chewy, and thick, this is the crust all breads should strive towards.

As great as the crust is, the inside offers the perfect contrast, with a soft, chewy texture backed by stability. This is not a standard white bread; it has substance. There's also the undeniable yeasty, sourdough taste that was so elusive in the earlier parts of the list. Overall, this is easily the best sourdough I've tried.

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I honestly did not realize there were this many sourdough options at the grocery store. Truthfully, there are more, but there's only so much bread one person can consume (though my toddler begs to differ). For all of the variety, though, there's a pretty wide gulf in quality. If you want a good sourdough, skip the bread aisle and head to the bakery. However, if you're looking to add a twist to your sandwich game or want a fast and easy option to toss on the table, there are plenty of good pre-sliced loaves to choose from.

I purchased all of my sourdough and brought it home to photograph and test. I sampled a single slice of each, cutting them in half to try one side plain and the other toasted with butter. My evaluation was based on taste, texture, and aesthetics because a good bread is often a beautiful one.