Interesting Benefits of Sourdough Bread
Sourdough bread is everywhere nowadays as people strive to make sense of their food system and take back some control. You see beautiful loaves and perfectly carved boules pop up on your Instagram feed, Pinterest boards, and Facebook groups. But what is all the hype about? If you have never dove into the world of sourdough, this is a great place to start learning. We will share the benefits of sourdough bread and some of our favorite accounts to follow to learn how to make it yourself.
What is Sourdough
Most breads purchased in a store or made at home today use yeast to help them rise and give them a nice soft and fluffy texture. This yeast has been domesticated over the years to create the Baker’s Yeast we know today. Baker’s yeast has made it simple for home bakers to make breads and pastries and yields relatively uniform results loaf to loaf.
Sourdough bread on the other hand relies on a starter to get its extra oomph. Sourdough is an ancient technique for making leavened bread that uses a fermentation process that supports the growth of good bacteria and natural wild yeast to make a mildly tangy and deliciously soft and healthy bread.
What is really interesting and unique about sourdough starter is that each bakers starter is slightly different. Sourdough starter takes on the characteristics of the environment it is grown in right down to the bakers hands used to make it.
Nutritional Benefits of Sourdough Bread
Fermented products like Sauerkraut and Sourdough Bread offer a host of nutritional benefits. The process of fermentation begins to break down some of the structure and makes the nutritional components of the food more readily available during digestion. In the case of sourdough, the process of fermentation allows the nutrients that are in the wheat to be “brought to the surface” if you will and allows your body to absorb those vitamins and minerals more fully. It does this by unbinding the minerals from Phytate which is found in grains and inhibits the absorption of vitamins and minerals during the digestion process.
So while Sourdough bread is fundamentally made from the same ingredients as yeast breads, the process it goes through makes the nutrients more available for your body thus increasing the nutritional benefits of Sourdough Bread. You can make it even more nutrient dense by using freshly milled grains, but that is another post for another day!
Health Benefits of Sourdough Bread
As mentioned before, sourdough relies on wild yeast and good bacteria to grow and make delicious bread. This good bacteria is called Lactobacillus.
Lactobacillus is a bacteria that supports good gut health by regulating intestinal flora and has been shown to regulate blood sugar levels, reduce cardiovascular disease, and decrease adverse reactions to mild gluten intolerance. It has been said that eating sourdough bread with a meal can lower the glycemic index of the entire meal. How amazing is that?!
Commercially made breads purchased at the store are not only less nutritious, but they are also chock full of additional ingredients that don’t belong in breads such as dough conditioners, additives, hydrogenated oils, and subpar ingredients. Some breads have upwards to twenty different ingredients! When it comes to bread, less is more. Don’t be fooled by store bought sourdough, many are not naturally fermented. Make sure you read the label if you are buying instead of making.
Sustainability Benefits of Sourdough Bread
One of my favorite benefits of sourdough bread is the fact that I do not have to worry about the availability of yeast. In 2020, during the throws of the Pandemic, many store shelves were bare of not only commercially manufactured breads, but also yeast to make leavened breads at home. Sourdough was thought to be a difficult skill only mastered by artisan bakers. We had become so disconnected from the fact that sourdough was traditionally the way bread was made for centuries before commercialization of our food industry. To be honest, I grew up making yeast breads and honestly was not as familiar with sourdough bread. I didn’t start my journey in sourdough until 2020!
Sourdough starter not only provides a huge health advantage, but it also is a far more sustainable way to make your own bread at home.
Our Favorite Sourdough Accounts to Follow
I do not claim to be a sourdough expert. Like I said before, I only began my journey in 2020 when I started my starter before we moved to the farmhouse. And if it wasn’t for my husband I probably would have given up when after a week it started smelling like vomit. But thankfully I have him and he encouraged me to keep going, and I am going to do the same with you!
Starting sourdough can see like a daunting task, but I promise it is not as scary as it seems. One thing that really helped me was finding a community I could learn from. One of my favorite accounts is Farmhouse On Boone. Lisa is a busy mom that shows you how easy it is to bring sourdough into your everyday life. Most people in the homesteading community know who she is, but finding her account has been a wonderful way for me to learn more about sourdough. It has become second nature to us here at the farm so much so that we are over 1 year of not purchasing any bread products from the store.
I also really love the recipes on Turner Farm. Ash shares some great holiday and gift giving ideas around sourdough. She also offers a masterclass that while I have never taken, may be the thing you need to give you the confidence to start.
If you have been thinking about taking the leap into sourdough, but have been nervous or just don’t know where to start stick around and we will learn together! We are just over one year of no store bought bread! And I would love to challenge you to the same! It has been such a cool experience to reduce what we buy from the grocery store one item at a time.
We hope you stick around and learn with us. We would love to hear what your sourdough questions are. Leave us a comment below and we will do our best to make sure we get you answers.
Also check out some of our favorite sourdough recipes
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