I Switched to King Arthur Bread Flour for My Sourdough and Here Is What Changed

If you have been baking sourdough for any length of time, you already know how much flour matters. I spent nearly eight months chasing better oven spring and a more open crumb before I finally stopped blaming my starter. This King Arthur bread flour sourdough review is the result of six weeks of deliberate testing after switching away from a generic store brand. The difference was not subtle, and I want to walk you through exactly what changed — and what did not.

My loaves had a consistent problem. They spread outward instead of rising upward. The crust baked up pale and soft rather than deep amber and crackling. I scored beautifully every single time, but the ears just flopped. I tried adjusting my hydration, extending my bulk ferment, and even buying a new Dutch oven. Nothing fixed it reliably. Eventually, a few bakers in an online sourdough community pointed me toward my flour as the likely culprit.

The store brand I was using had a protein content right around 11.5 percent. That sounds reasonable on paper, but bread flour typically needs to sit at 12.5 percent or higher to build the gluten network sourdough demands. Once I understood that, the search for a better flour became pretty focused.

The Flour That Finally Fixed My Flat, Spreading Loaves

For months I was convinced my starter was weak or my shaping was sloppy, but the real culprit was flour with too little protein to hold structure through bulk fermentation. Switching to King Arthur’s bread flour — with its higher protein content and consistent strength — transformed how my dough behaved from mix to bake.

What works

• Dough holds tension through bulk fermentation without collapsing or spreading thin — I noticed the difference in my banneton by hour four, where loaves used to flatten.
• Oven spring is predictable and reliable; my loaves now rise up instead of out, giving me that actual ear I was chasing for eight months.
• The crumb structure is noticeably more open and even without changing my hydration or technique — just the flour doing what it’s supposed to do.

What doesn’t

• It costs more than generic store-brand bread flour, and the 5 lb bag doesn’t last as long if you’re baking multiple loaves a week.
• The organic certification means no bleached flour, so you do need to give your dough slightly longer to develop gluten — impatience will show in the crumb.

I almost talked myself out of buying a second bag because the price stung after years of grabbing whatever was on sale, but one flat loaf with old flour convinced me fast. King Arthur 100% Organic Bread Flour, Unbleached, 5 lb (Pack of 1) – Non-GMO Project Verified, No Preservatives

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