Sourdough Bread

History

Yeast wasn’t always available for bread making and it wasn’t until 1857 when yeast was discovered under a microscope. The yeast was then isolated from the bacteria that was still present in the sourdough starter...we’ll talk about what a sourdough starter is later on. This process was then used to develop commercial yeasts that you can find at your grocery store. Bread at this point stopped being fermented...

Have you ever wondered why so many people today have gluten intolerances and celiac disease?? Well, our flour has been so hybridized that the gluten can no longer be digested by any human being. The protein content in the gluten now is way too high for our bodies to actually break down properly. This is where sourdough shines through!! If you have ever made sourdough bread before you know its a slow process to get one loaf of bread! This long slow painful process is the good part. It takes about 2 days to make a loaf of sourdough and in that fermentation process (this is our natural yeast filled with tons of beneficial bacteria) the gluten in the bread has 2 days to break down making it easier to digest by us! 

Benefits of Sourdough

Sourdough bread is a fermented bread meaning it contains a lot of beneficial bacteria. One of them being Lactobacillus Reuteri (bacteria that lives in the colon which is originally delivered from the mom). 

When the mom is nine months pregnant, there is a signal that is sent from the uterus to the colon which tells the bacteria to come out of the colon . The way that this happens is through the our blood cells. Think of the blood cells like little cab or Uber drivers waiting to take the bacteria from its home (the colon) to the party (the mother’s breasts).  When breastfeeding actually occurs, the bacteria that has now been sent to the breast milk is injected into the new born baby. It is said that if you breast feed your new born, the Lactobaccilus Reuteri (same bacteria in sourdough bread) can reduce the growth of breast cancer and studies have shown that it can protect four generations of breast cancer which is so crazy!!

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Sourdough Starter

There are many different recipes and techniques to follow when it comes to making sourdough bread but I like to make it as simple as possible. The rise that we would traditionally get with a commercial yeast is made with fermentation and this comes from what is called a sourdough starter. It seems overwhelming at the start but it’s actually really easy and becomes enjoyable once you get it figured out!

Meet EVA!! (yes, you have to name your sourdough)..Eva was born on April 6th, 2024 after I tragically threw away my first sourdough starter...that’s a story for a later date!.

What you’ll need for your starter is 2 glass jars with a lid making sure it doesn’t seal, your starter needs to breathe! Flour of your choice (I use a 50/50 ratio of white flour and rye flour) but you can do whatever works best for you, and a kitchen scale.  Now having a sourdough starter is a bit like caring for a plant or a dog, where it needs to be fed daily otherwise it will die...

The feeding schedule is usually every 24hrs but you can feed your starter twice daily if you find it’s not developing enough. When feeding your sourdough, you’ll want to measure on your scale 50g (25g white flour, 25g rye flour) of flour, and 50g of warm water and that’s it!! Stir them together until you get a thick sticky consistency, lightly place the lid on top, place it a warm spot in you home and walk away. I like to put a mark where my starter begins so I can see how much it grows...that’s the fun part!

You can use any measurement you want for flour and water etc...as long as you stay with a 1:1:1 ratio. So for instance, instead of 50g flour, 50 grams water, and 50g starter you could do 75g flour, 75g water, and 75g starter. When it comes to the second feeding this is where you’ll incorporate your starter (the combination of flour and water in your jar) to a new jar. On a kitchen scale again, you’re going to add 50g of the starter you made the day before which is your mixture of flour and water (or whatever measurement you prefer) to a clean class jar, add 50g of flour, and 50 grams of warm water. stir this together, add your marker line and walk away for 24 hours. You’ll notice that your starter will start to rise and grow the longer you have it and feed it. Once your starter has double or tripled in size that is when you know it is ready for baking!! This video is very helpful for those just starting out!

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Sourdough Starter Recipe

• 50 grams flour of your choice

• 50 grams warm water

Feeding

• 50 grams sourdough starter

• 50 grams warm water

• 50 grams flour