What’s special about Sourdough?

​​Who doesn’t love the smell of freshly baked bread? And what is more delicious than the smell of a freshly baked sourdough loaf?

WHAT IS SOURDOUGH?

Sourdough is a bread made from the natural occurring yeast and bacteria in flour. In traditional sourdough recipes, you’ll find three ingredients: sourdough starter (which consists of flour and water), salt and flour. There is no yeast, no milk, no oils and no sweeteners. It’s about as natural as you get when it comes to bread.

WHAT MAKES SOURDOUGH SPECIAL?

Ask anyone who’s eaten sourdough and they’ll tell you that the tang is what makes it special. In fact the signature tartness of sourdough bread comes from the same bacteria that gives yogurt and sour cream their pucker too.  It’s found naturally in wheat flour, along with yeast, and comes to life when the flour is mixed with water. Nature takes its course and over time, you have a mixture that contains enough leaven (yeast) to make bread rise.  Pretty cool, right?  Who knew doing so little could yield such an amazing result!

THE AMAZING BENEFITS OF SOURDOUGH

You’ve heard about the health benefits of yogurt and kefir, right? Imagine those benefits, fresh and warm from the oven and smeared with butter. Ok, so it’s not exactly like that, but it’s close!!

LACTOBACILLUS

Lactobacillus is the good bacteria in yogurt, kefir, sour cream, buttermilk, etc. It ferments the flour/water mixture and creates lactic acid, a catalyst that greatly increases the micronutrient profile.  In simple terms – all those nutrients found in whole wheat flour are bigger and badder, and now your body is better able to USE them too.

The fermentation process alone is great for your digestive system.  The Lactobacillus helps feed the good bacteria found in your digestive system so they can continue to fight off the bad guys.  And remember that a healthy gut means a healthy body.

PHYTATES

One neat thing to the long soaking required of sourdough is that it breaks down much of the phytates that bind the awesome minerals in grains.  With the phytates gone, our bodies can grab those nutrients and actually use them!

With those nutrients readily available, digestion of the starch is MUCH easier on your body.  In fact, the natural bacteria working with the natural yeast predigests the starch a little bit for you.  The benefits of sourdough will make your tummy happy.

GLUCOSE

Remember how the natural yeast feeds on the glucose?  With a large portion of the glucose devoured in the fermentation process, sourdough doesn’t cause a spike in your blood sugars like processed white breads often do.  The long process also breaks down many of the gluten proteins into amino acids, possibly making sourdough bread tolerable for those who are sensitive to gluten!

One last neat tid-bit: Sourdough bread is less likely to go stale, retains much of its moisture as it ages, and its acidity helps prevent the growth of mold! Now this doesn’t mean your sourdough won’t EVER go stale and will NEVER grow mold. But it’s nice to know that the artisan loaf you treated yourself to at the farmer’s market won’t go bad too quickly. (Adapted from dontwastethecrumbs.com)

Visit your nearest Magsons store for a range of sourdough products including artisan breads.