Thursday, August 22, 2013

Sourdough Bread, Whole Grains, and Health

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Several months ago, I discovered the "Bread for Life" sourdough starter for making bread on the Azure Standard website. I had at that point already been on a quest to incorporate more cultured/fermented foods and beverages into our diet, so this was a blessing to find. 

No doubt, we have all heard of increasing numbers of people suffering from gluten intolerance and other gut-related ailments. Grains in particular have been getting a bad reputation. On the other hand, the Bible speaks very highly of bread, and the Lord's prayer teaches us to ask for "daily bread." So what gives?

Enter naturally leavened bread in the form of sourdough. Unlike bread made from fresh, non-fermented and/or non-sprouted flour, it is very gentle on the body, while having a much higher nutrient content thanks to the living
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enzymes, plus a whole host of other benefits.

Not only is sourdough bread more nutritious, it also greatly reduces the amount of phytic acid found in whole grains. You may be shocked to hear me say this, but consuming large amounts of whole grains that have not first been properly prepared by either fermentation or soaking and sprouting will have detrimental health effects, mostly in the form of mineral loss, which leads to tooth decay (cavities) and bone loss. 

If you are eating a healthy diet low in simple carbs and sugar, and are surprised to find your child(ren) developing cavities in spite of regular brushing, take a look at your family's diet - is it rich in whole grains? They may be to blame for leeching minerals from your body. For a more thorough explanation of the link between grains and tooth decay, I highly recommend the book Cure Tooth Decay by Ramiel Nagel.

I am not suggesting you switch to all-purpose white flour, which is a simple carb and will wreak havoc on your blood sugar. Nor am I saying to cut grains out of your diet (unless you are trying to heal/reverse a food allergy). What I am saying is that switching to traditional sourdough bread will allow you to eat bread, and embrace it as the health-promoting staple that is should be.

To that end, I have recorded the below video tutorial on how to make traditional sourdough bread. 

 

As you can see, my kitchen is not that of Pioneer Woman or Martha Stewart - please excuse the dirty dishes in the background :)

If you cannot buy the starter on Azure Standard, and you do not have a friend who can give you some of his/her starter, I recommend these instructions on how to start your own. Azure also carries a lovely DVD explaining the process of how to make your own starter and bake bread, and also carries my favorite bread pans. (These pans are also available through Amazon.)

(Any readers living in my area are more than welcome to hit me up for sourdough starter to get them going - just drop me a line in the comments or contact me some other way.)

Soon, I hope to be sharing other recipes using this same starter, including raisin bread, pancakes, and English muffins. For now, this post should give you enough information to chew on... (ta-da! I just crack myself up!)
 
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12 comments:

  1. I am so excited about this, can`t wait to see your other recipes. Lately I have not had much luck with sourdough or yogurt, this video helps big time. Thank you for posting!

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  2. That was great! You totally inspired me to give bread-making another try, especially as the recipe is so simple.

    Of course, you WOULD post this just a couple of months after I got rid of my eight-year-old sourdough starter. I was tired of it taking up room in the fridge when I wasn't using it! Now I'll have to give it a go again. When I was in cooking school, we did make our own from scratch (the starter, that is), and that is definitely a very long and involved process!!

    I am also planning on trying some einkorn wheat from Azure (they sell both flour and whole grain for grinding) - it's the ancestral form of wheat before it was hybridized in the 1980s. I'm looking forward to trying that as well.

    Thanks for putting all the work into that video to share! :)

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  3. Thanks for the post. I have a 2 year old starter I made myself from potato water - so easy! I've been making bread for years and yet I'm always learning more. I've always kept the starter on the counter - I thought refrigerating it caused it to not be active? What are your thoughts for that?

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  5. Cooking/baking is great; watching/learning from my grandmamma cook, of all different cultures of food. She really made all from real/ natural ingredients, fresh products just as you do Mrs. Anderson. :) I make all by hand. I have no kitchen aids of any kind, so I do every thing of baking , cooking by hand. Some small devices I have but none electrical. I am always into big time of learning new recipes. I thank you for taking your time showing of to do such of baking of bread> and also of the safe cook ware that you use. And especially what is best of nutrition for the body for better health. Very much helpful. Looking forward to more of your recipes. Rosita (((thank you )))! What a blessing!

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  6. I have a question about bread making, not necessarily sourdough, just regular old bread (which I am working to master prior to starting the "hard stuff") I live in Florida, and it's summer time, so the humidity may affect it, but I have had terrible luck with my bread coming out heavy and hard as a rock no matter how long I let it rise. It will be fluffy and nice in the dough stage, then turns to hard rocks in the oven. Do you know why this is happening? I understand if you don't have time to answer, I really envy your busy life with all your kids. (I only have 3 so far, one more on the way, though!) Thanks!

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  7. Thanks for the video. Your bread looks amazing!!! I have read Ramiel's Tooth Decay book as well. Some really good information don't you think? With the new age info aside, great information to incorporate into homeschooling. So, I was wondering what your thoughts are on sifting the flour after reading the book? I have not started sifting yet but am going to give it a try. I really like how you incorporate biblical reasoning into using properly prepared grains.

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  8. I've read that one reason why today's grains are bad for us before fermentation or sprouting is because of how highly hybridized they are. I'm completely against using anything hybrid such as veggie seeds for gardens. I unfortunately end up using regular all-purpose non-bleached flour just because that's what is most readily available. If my dear hubby would ever allow me(and I'm sure someday soon he will), I'd like to get my own grain mill and start making flour from einkorn wheat, brown rice, oats, and so on. I don't think that the old grains were bad for us, even with the gluten. God did tell the Israelites to eat bread that was unfermented a few times if I remember correctly. If that was the case, I don't think God would have told them to eat something that was bad for their health; especially when their whole dietary law avoided those foods that were unhealthy.

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  9. Hi! I've enjoyed following your blog for a while now. This is the first time I have posted. Your family is just adorable! I have six children six and under right now (the last two were twins). So I am familiar with the busyness of a large family. I was recently given a grain mill and a 45 pound bucket of wheat, so I have plunged into breadmaking and am loving it. I looked into the Cure Tooth Decay book, and the Weston A. Price foundation when you posted that you were reading it a while ago. They do have some interesting stuff that was really new to me. However, It really did not settle well with me that they were saying phytic acid found in grains were responsible for keeping our bodies from being able to absorb nutrients. Bread was such an important food throughout the Bible. So I looked into it a little and came across this article (http://info.breadbeckers.com/phytic-acid/)from a homeschooling mom who runs a bread shop with her family near my house in Georgia. They have lots of their bread making classes on their website that you can watch for free. I thought you might want to look into it. Perhaps it really isn't necessary to drop all breads that are not sourdough? I would really like your opinion on the article anyway. I haven't read Ramiel's book and probably won't be able to for a while.

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  10. What type of grain did you use to feed your starter? Is that the same grain you use for the bread making? Your loaves are beautiful.

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  11. Hi. This is Laurie. I'm deaf and that I cannot hear your video. :( I'm new to sourdough. Can you tell me how many cups of flour did you use for your breads? May I ask how much sourdough should I use for making any kind of breads?
    Nice family you have here. I have four children. Hope to hear from you soon.

    Thanks!

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  12. Oh I am so happy to see this post! Of course I came to your blog for recipes and got distracted by your beautiful family photos! This is EXACTLY what I needed to get introduced to sourdough. After years of veganism I found a paleo diet to heal my wrecked body. So bread has been out. Then I got married to a very hungry man and gave birth to a wonderful child who despite eating only whole foods, barely any grains, breastfeeding on demand, 'lazy' toothbrushing (dentist said no need to brush until two), developed tooth decay. I felt horrible. We read Cure Tooth Decay, cut all fruits, increased probiotics, added Cod liver, and aggressive tooth brushings. His teeth improved slightly but we have since backslid since he loves fruit and BREAD. I buy organic whole grain, sugar-free boules for my husband and my son LOVES it. So, I am beside myself that not only do you show how to make sourdough, but you also mention Cure Tooth Decay. Oh Thank you!!! God is always blessing me and my family for things I need but never even ask for; thank you for taking the time to post these things for public eye.

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