Aldi Sourdough Round Bread (Specially Selected) Review
Author’s note: I have no affiliation with Aldi, and I was not compensated in any way for this review. Obviously.
Staler than a bad dad joke.
The internet was awash with Aldi fans gushing about this Sourdough Bread Round, so I had to try it. I was tremendously impressed by Aldi’s Italian Take & Bake Bread (read my review of it here), so I thought this sourdough was a sure thing.
Welp. I didn’t like it. In fact, of all the bread I’ve reviewed on this blog thus far, this one is THEE worst. Not sure what the hype is about. It was pretty bad.
Did I get a fluke? I have no idea. I don’t want another one.
I think the biggest problem is the freshness. The bread is only available pre-sliced (believe me, I looked diligently several times for a whole, unsliced loaf), and it comes out of the bag tasting very stale. It appears the bread was frozen (after slicing) and then thawed on the shelf before being sold. Hopefully, it only went through one such freeze-thaw cycle. But it’s impossible to know.
I don’t say this lightly: this bread tasted OLD. And this is coming from a food reviewer who happily keeps bread for 10 days (or longer) before considering it unpalatable. Moments after purchase, Aldi’s sourdough was staler than a 2-week old loaf. Ick.
(Also “ick”: my grubby fingernails in that photo. Sorry, I was gardening. Gardening happens.)
The texture is dry. I’m usually not picky about this, because I tend to toast all my bread before eating anyway. But it was just … dry in an irredeemable way. Old dry. The only thing I would use this for is: bread pudding, stuffing, or croutons. Or duck food, for the evil Muscovy ducks who attack me when I go for a walk. If you know, you know.
Speaking of toasting, I did try that. I pan-toasted mine with some butter before making it into an egg sandwich. While this disguised the staleness and dryness a bit, it did not completely correct it.
Flavor-wise, Aldi’s sourdough has a subtle tanginess. It’s less than other sourdoughs, but pleasantly natural-tasting. I dipped a slice in Aldi Spinach-Parmesan Tzatziki, and enjoyed it. The tart sourdough flavor complements the creamy-cheesiness of the dip. The firmness (ahem, staleness) of the bread makes it better suited to soaking up moisture from flavorful dips. There. I put a good spin on it. I knew I could do it!
Compared to similar breads, this one has less salty flavor (more about the nutrition facts later). Unfortunately, although the crust has a beautiful browned color, it was flaccid and uncrusty — and totally unenjoyable. Sorry, I ran out of “nice.”
As is common for sourdough, the slices have many large, irregular holes. No more than expected. If you don’t like gaping, cavernous holes in your bread, try the Greenwise Organic Sourdough from Publix. (Check out my review of it here.)
I always think round loaf shapes make perfect bread slices for feeding a family of Russian Nesting Dolls: the ends have tiny slices, then you get a few medium slices, and eventually some jumbo slices towards the center. Because I’m not a Russian Nesting Doll, it was difficult to make sandwiches out of about 50% of the loaf. Not an Aldi problem, just the loaf shape. Probably a better bread for dipping or serving as a side item. Aldi does offer a “Square Sourdough” loaf option — a much better shape for sandwiches!
Nutrition Facts in Aldi Sourdough Round
Here are the Nutrition Facts from the label. There are 12 servings per loaf of 120 calories each. A 2-ounce serving has 4 grams of protein and 0 grams of fat. You get one lonely gram of fiber, and 25 grams of carbohydrates. Zero grams of sugar. This bread is slightly lower in sodium than similar breads, with 10% of your daily value per two slices.
Ingredients in Sourdough Bread from Aldi
Here are the ingredients from the label:
- Wheat Flour (Wheat flour, Malted barley flour)
- Water
- Sea Salt
- Sourdough Culture (Wheat flour, Water)
- Enzymes
The label also states:
- Non-GMO Verified
- No artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors
- Kosher Pareve
These ingredients are stellar, and one of the main selling points for this product. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen another mass-produced supermarket bread with such simple and praise-worthy ingredients.
This is an example of a sourdough without added yeast, which is a rarity outside of specialty bakeries. Since there are no additional flavorings or tartness enhancers, the tangy sourdough taste is entirely due to the natural fermentation of the sourdough culture & enzymes. Bravo!
But, awesome ingredients cannot make up for awful taste. Sorry.
Price and Shelf-Life for Aldi Sourdough Bread Round
My loaf cost $3.79 at my local store. This is a 24 ounce loaf, which is 1.5 pounds — significantly larger than similar bakery bread options. Since there are 12 servings per package, each serving costs a paltry 32 cents. This is an excellent price — better than Costco’s Sourdough, which is 44 cents per serving.
Because this bread appeared to have already been frozen and thawed (by Aldi), I would not recommend freezing it again at home. I typically re-bake my supermarket loaves — to make them taste freshly made — but not the pre-sliced kind. So that’s not an option here, either.
Aldi, if you’re listening, please give us an un-sliced version of this sourdough. Please, please, please. Pleeeeease.
The “sell-by” sticker on my loaf was dated for about 5 days after my purchase. Which is staggering, given how “old” it already tasted. Yikes.
Dramatic Conclusion
Unless there is a Muscovy duck convention on my front lawn, I won’t be buying this bread again. Aldi has many fabulous bakery items which have exceeded my expectations, but this isn’t one of them. Sorry, ya’ll.
The end.
More Reviews You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out a few other bread reviews I’ve written:
