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Costco’s new Kirkland Signature olive and rosemary sourdough bread is a hit with many shoppers, but it’s also renewed the debate about how many ingredients belong in genuine sourdough.
For bread to be labeled sourdough, it should be leavened solely with a live sourdough culture, without commercial yeast or other leavening agents, and contain no additives or other ingredients like vinegar to mimic sourdough flavor or acidity, according to the Real Bread Campaign.
“In 2015, Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young coined the word sourfaux for any product that is named or marketed using the word sourdough, but that is made using one or more additives and/or an alternative raising agent (such as baker’s yeast or baking powder) in addition to or instead of a live sourdough starter culture,” the organization states on its website.
Instagram user @costcohotfinds raved about Costco’s new bread for the account’s 3.5 million followers.
“I can’t stop eating this bread,” @costcohotfinds creator Laura Jayne Lamb captioned her video review. “It’s made with Kalamata and green olives, and it’s amazing!”
She said the bread has “actual olives baked right into it,” adding, “the outside is so crusty, and the center is perfectly soft and chewy.”
“Please stop pushing this as sourdough,” commented one Instagram user on the post. “It is not! True sourdough has flour, water and salt. Plus any inclusions. This has far too many to pass as ‘sourdough.’”
“Funny you say [that], as my wife makes her own [sourdough] bread and won’t buy Costco’s because it has more than those three ingredients,” someone replied.
“I know I was reading, the ingredients are like 50,” someone else wrote, alongside a laughing emoji.
“I’ll stick with making my own,” commented another user.
“Support your local micro-bakeries by buying original sourdough bread from them,” wrote another commenter. “Once you taste it, you can’t go back to store-bought.”
Sourdough purists have taken issue primarily with the Costco loaf’s yeast, yeast extract and sour culture, according to Tasting Table.
These are common ingredients in the commercial baking process, and Costco’s sourdough bread is “not far off” from the real deal, the publication reported.
Costco triggered a similar discussion earlier this year when the company introduced its sourdough bread bowls. The bread bowls also contained enriched wheat flour and ingredients commonly used to speed commercial bread production, The Takeout reported.
“The thing you have to remember about store-bought sourdough is that often it’s not real sourdough,” Kate Freebairn, an Australia-based sourdough recipe developer and author of the upcoming cookbook “Easy Sourdough On Any Schedule,” told Fox News Digital. “They have still used commercial yeast.”
Many social media users nevertheless agreed that the olive and rosemary bread is worth adding to their shopping carts.
“Warmed up olive and rosemary sourdough bread with a stick of butter, and I’m one happy lady,” wrote one Instagram user.
“This bread is my weakness!” wrote another. “So delicious!”
“May not be real sourdough, but it sure is delicious!” added someone else.
“Omg we get it,” chimed in another Instagram user. “All the Costco bakery items have a million ingredients. No need to leave the same comment over and over in every post.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Costco for comment.
