How to label homemade sourdough bread
What a cottage food label for homemade sourdough bread should show, an example made with our free label maker, allergen tips, and what each state’s official list says about sourdough bread.
On every label: the name of the food, net weight, ingredients heaviest first, an allergen “Contains” line, your business name and address, and your state’s required statement.
Last checked against the official sources. Sources
What goes on a sourdough bread label
- Name of the food, such as “Sourdough Bread” (21 CFR 101.3).
- Net weight in ounces and grams, in the bottom 30% of the package front: net weight guide.
- Ingredients in descending order by weight, with sub-ingredients of store-bought items: ingredient order guide.
- Allergens in a “Contains” line or in the ingredient list: allergen guide.
- Name and place of business (21 CFR 101.5), plus anything your state adds, such as a phone number, registration number or date.
- Your state’s statement, word for word: see your state page.
- Nutrition Facts: FDA has small business exemptions, and a nutrition claim can remove them: Nutrition Facts guide.
Text at least 1/16 inch tall: type size guide. Printing at home: Avery sheet guide. Before you print: printable checklist.
Example sourdough bread label
Made with our label maker for the fictional “Sample Kitchen” in California. Every business detail is a placeholder; use your own recipe and details.
The tool’s ingredient and allergen lines for this example:
Ingredients: bread flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, sourdough starter (wheat flour, water), salt.
Contains: Wheat.
Allergen tips for sourdough bread
- List your starter as an ingredient with what it is made of, for example “sourdough starter (wheat flour, water)”, as in the example.
- Bread flour you buy often has its own ingredients (such as malted barley flour and added vitamins). Copy them from the bag.
- Seeds and toppings count: if you top loaves with sesame seeds, sesame must be declared.
The tool suggests a “Contains” line from the ingredient names it recognizes; always check it against your recipe and the labels of what you buy. Details: the nine major allergens and how to declare them.
Can you sell sourdough bread as a cottage food?
What each state’s official allowed-foods list says, word for word. Lists change, and your state agency has the final word.
| State | Official list says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Arizona’s rules cover foods that do and do not need time or temperature control, with different conditions. Check your state page. | — |
| California | 1. Baked Goods Without Cream, Custard, or Meat Fillings Bread | CDPH Approved Cottage Foods List (PDF) |
| Florida | Loaf breads, rolls, biscuits | FDACS: Cottage Foods |
| Georgia | Loaf Breads, Rolls, and Biscuits Cottage food operators are permitted to make only food that is not potentially hazardous | Georgia Department of Agriculture: Cottage Food |
| Michigan | Breads | MDARD: What can I make? (cottage food) |
| Ohio | (1) Non-potentially hazardous bakery products | Ohio Adm.Code 901:3-20-04 |
| Oregon | Baked goods Products must not be time/temperature controlled for safety | ODA: Cottage Food Exemption (PDF, March 2026) |
| Texas | Allowable foods now include any foods, except for the followingThe exceptions listed are meat and poultry, seafood, ice products (including ice cream and frozen custard), low-acid canned goods, products with CBD or THC, and raw milk. Texas also requires registration and a safe-handling label for time/temperature-controlled (TCS) foods. | Texas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production |
We checked the allowed-foods lists of these 8 states. For Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, see their state pages. Other state? Our label maker has an “Other state” option where you paste your state’s statement, or we can make your labels.
Make your sourdough bread label
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Sources
Last checked . Quotes in the state table are copied from these official sources.
- California: CDPH Approved Cottage Foods List (PDF)
- Florida: FDACS: Cottage Foods
- Georgia: Georgia Department of Agriculture: Cottage Food
- Michigan: MDARD: What can I make? (cottage food)
- Ohio: Ohio Adm.Code 901:3-20-04
- Oregon: ODA: Cottage Food Exemption (PDF, March 2026)
- Texas: Texas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production
- 21 CFR 101.3: statement of identity
- 21 CFR 101.5: name and place of business
Plain-English summary, not legal advice. Found something wrong? Contact us · How we verify