Sourdough’s flavour comes from a mixture, not a single “sourdough” molecule. Lactic and acetic acids contribute sour taste, while alcohols, aldehydes, esters and other volatile compounds shape aroma. Flour, starter culture, fermentation conditions and baking all affect the balance.
How sourdough gets its flavour
During fermentation, yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) transform ingredients in the dough. They produce acids and volatile compounds, and they alter other ingredients that can become flavour precursors. Baking then adds another layer: fermentation has a stronger influence on crumb flavour, while heat-driven reactions, including Maillard reactions and caramelization, contribute substantially to crust flavour.
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That distinction matters because sourness and aroma are not the same thing. Organic acids are central to sour taste; the smell of sourdough comes from a broader blend of volatile compounds. Some volatile acids can contribute to odour as well as taste.
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Lactic and acetic acids
Lactic and acetic acids are key products of sourdough fermentation. Their balance helps determine the bread’s acidity and sour character, but it does not by itself describe the bread’s full flavour.
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Succinic acid
Researchers have also detected succinic acid in sourdough and the breads made from it. A study comparing four formulations found lactic, acetic and succinic acids in both sourdoughs and corresponding breads, with relative amounts varying by formulation. Those findings describe the samples studied, not target proportions for every loaf.
Which compounds shape sourdough aroma?
Analyses have identified several families of volatile compounds in sourdough and sourdough bread: alcohols, aldehydes and other carbonyls, esters, acids, ketones, lactones and heterocyclic compounds. Examples reported in studies include ethanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, phenylethanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, acetaldehyde, 2,3-butanedione and acetate esters.
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These are examples found in particular samples, not a fixed formula for sourdough or a complete ranking of its most important odorants. Detecting a volatile compound does not by itself show how much it contributes to what a person smells: its concentration and odour threshold matter too.
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Why sourdoughs have different flavour profiles
In a 2022 study, Warburton, Silcock and Eyres compared bread made with 12 mixed sourdough cultures propagated with wholemeal flour. They found three clusters of breads with different volatile and physicochemical profiles:
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- One cluster contained compounds including ethanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, phenylethanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, acetaldehyde and 2,3-butanedione. It was associated with yeast activity and increased lactic acid production.
- A second cluster was associated with acetic acid, acetate esters and acidity measures.
- A third was associated with yeast activity and lipid fermentation, and had more aldehydes and lactones.
The authors linked these differences to fermentation activity and the balance of yeasts and different LAB groups. The results show that culture composition can affect bread’s chemical profile; they do not establish one universally most flavourful culture.
Other variables matter as well. A study comparing wheat and teff flours, starter strains, added citrate or malate, and 24- and 72-hour fermentations found distinct profiles in teff and wheat breads. Ethanol was the major volatile identified tentatively, alongside alcohols, aldehydes, esters, terpenes and heterocyclic compounds. Several volatiles trended higher in sourdough fermented up to 72 hours, but that result does not guarantee a particular aroma in another recipe. Some compounds could not be distinguished from one another by the method used.
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Flour type, ingredients, fermentation duration and temperature, culture composition, and starter refreshment practices can all influence the resulting profile. Experimental studies establish variation under their tested conditions; they cannot precisely predict the flavour of every home loaf.
Amino acids are flavour precursors, too
Proteolysis during fermentation releases free amino acids. These may contribute directly to flavour intensity or serve as precursors from which volatile compounds form. Their role helps explain why flavour depends not only on compounds produced directly by microbes, but also on changes to the dough that feed later reactions.
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Why published compound counts differ
Reviews report different totals because they cover different samples and bodies of literature. A systematic review published in 2021 summarized about 90 volatile organic compounds reported in sourdough breads in the mass-spectrometry literature it reviewed. A 2017 review reported more than 540 volatile compounds across sourdoughs and sourdough breads. These figures describe different review scopes, not competing counts from the same samples or a definitive inventory of every flavour molecule. Extraction and measurement methods, sample type and included studies affect what gets counted.
What to take from the chemistry
Acids help explain sourness; a wider mix of volatile compounds helps explain aroma; and baking changes the flavour further, especially in the crust. Because flour and fermentation conditions alter that mix, no single compound or schedule accounts for every sourdough’s flavour.
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