sourdough
Americannoun
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fermented dough retained from one baking and used as leaven, rather than fresh yeast, to start the next.
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bread leavened with this fermented dough.
Pick up a loaf of sourdough and a baguette, too.
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a prospector or pioneer, especially in Alaska or Canada.
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any longtime resident, especially in Alaska or Canada.
adjective
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of sourdough
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English: literally, “leaven, leavened bread” ; see origin at sour, dough
Explanation
Sourdough is bread that's made with a fermented mixture of flour and water instead of yeast. If you have some sourdough starter, you can easily bake your own sourdough loaf. Before it came to mean "fermented dough" in the 19th century, sourdough simply meant "leavened bread." Sourdough tastes a tiny bit sour, thanks to the fermentation that helps the bread rise. The practice of saving a piece of dough from a previous loaf and using it to bake another one became especially popular during the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon territories. It was so common, in fact, that sourdough was a well-known nickname for experienced prospectors.
Vocabulary lists containing sourdough
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The recipes in “The Book of Pizza” go from simpler and more traditional to considerably more creative, culminating in a sourdough Detroit pizza with a cacio e pepe topping.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
When everyone focuses on sourdough starters, The Dog who adopted me over half a decade ago, and I, embark on a journey in my little Spanish house surrounded by San Diego desert soil.
From Salon • May 9, 2026
Many businesses have also declared war on unhealthy eating, with fruit and veg, vegan and sourdough offerings all aimed at taking on the fast food heavyweights.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
Sometimes we’ll order Grá to the house, which is a pizza place in Echo Park — excellent sourdough crust pizza.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
I’d mash the beans with roasted garlic and sage and serve them on toasted rounds of homemade sourdough bread.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
