The Science of Sourdough

'I Can't Today, I have to feed my Sourdough Starter'

I am a little late to the 2020 Sourdough craze that took over our social media platforms but that was because I never knew I could eat it. You see, I am gluten intolerant, sensitive or allergic or whatever you want to call it. About 10 years ago, I started to get some digestive issues and getting really sick. After doctors appointments, naturopath appointments, allergy tests, and elimination diets, I realized that wheat products and gluten seemed to the be the culprit. (I also contribute this to some hormonal changes as I entered the world of perimenopause but that can be different post at a different time).

I did not get tested for Celiac. Why? Well I felt so awful when eating wheat/gluten products that I did not want to eat the required amount of gluten to be tested so I opted to just eliminate the food instead and go on with my life. I found it hard at first, but then got into my groove and didn’t really miss glutenous foods.

Fast forward to 2023, when I went down the BIG rabbit hole of what is in and on our foods and began to realize that maybe it wasn’t the gluten but how the products were produced (the food additives, chemicals and GMO ingredients) that I was reacting to. And then one day, we stopped to chat with a sourdough vendor at our local farmers market, and they educated me a little on sourdough or Naturally Leavened Bread. The bread that our great great grandparents used to make and that it is all the in the fermentation process and the bacteria. So I ate a small piece of bread from the loaf that we purchased and waited and waited. To my surprise I did not get sick. To test it again to make sure, I had another piece a couple days later and did not get sick.

I thought is this true? I needed to learn more so I took a hands on sourdough cooking class and here is what I learned:

• I was crazy to start making sourdough bread. :)

• Stay off the internet! ( which actually is a good tip for all things)

• No More Commercial Yeast!

• Flour matters

Just so you know there is no recipe in this post. This post is about the science and the benefits of sourdough bread over commercially produced bread.

The History of Bread

Bread is one of the earliest heat prepared foods documented. It appeared in many cultures all over the world when people started using plants as food. They found they could grind down pods or berries to a flour, add water and cook it to make bread.

Ancient Egyptians were the first to develop ‘leavened’ bread with wild yeast making the bread light and airy rather than flat. The ‘starter’ was made by saving a piece of each day’s dough and adding it to the next batch, much like today’s ‘starter’

A sourdough starter is a culture containing a stable blend of wild yeasts and suitable lactic acid bacteria. The culture is maintained indefinitely, fed with fresh flour and water (also called refreshing) consistently. A sourdough starter is used to seed fermentation in new dough when baking bread and is responsible for leavening (making rise) and flavoring a loaf of sourdough bread.

What is Wild Yeast?

Wild yeast is the yeast found in sourdough cultures. It is not added, rather is collected through the process of making your starter. The yeast occurs in the ‘wild’, meaning it is all around us and benefit from a relationship with the lactobacillus species found in sourdough cultures. “A wonderful mutual relationship”

So how does this all relate to those with wheat or gluten issues being able to eat sourdough bread.

* NOTE - this information is not for those with diagnosed Celiac Disease or severe anaphylactic allergies.*

It is all about the fermentation process and making sure the flours used are not compromised.

Most flours contain a protein called gluten and gluten is what gives the bread its chewy texture. When you purchase commercially produced bread products, they use commercially produced ingredients which usually means that this flour is compromised and contains ingredients that our bodies are reacting to, which includes the gluten. Also added is commercial yeast to help the bread rise and give it is fluffy texture. The dough is aggressively mixed causing more gluten activity. (when making sourdough at home, it is longer process of folding he dough. The less hands on folding and shaping the better.) So unfortunately, in today’s world, sourdough bread that you buy in the grocery store or conventional bakery, is not long fermented and is not real sourdough. Most fermented breads are now known as ‘naturally leavened bread’ or ‘country bread’.

Fermentation

When you make real sourdough bread, you are using wild yeast and bacteria for natural rise and bread spring. During fermentation, enzymes break down complex molecules like starch and protein. In wheat, the enzyme protease breaks down gluten proteins into smaller pieces. In essence, fermentation pre-digests the gluten before you ever take a bite. And in some cases the gluten is broken down by 50%.

The longer the fermentation time the more gluten gets broken down. There are so many advantages to the long fermentation time.

1. Increased phytase activity (phytase is the enzyme used is the breakdown of the phytic acid in the grain)

   Prolonged Fermentation of Whole Wheat Sourdough Reduces Phytate Level and Increases Soluble Magnesium | Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (acs.org)

2. Digestion of the protein, ie gluten

3. Synthesize GABA (GABA is an amino acid transmitter and good for mood and gut health)

4. Increase antioxidant activity

5. Increase mineral availability (Phytic acid in conventional bread binds to important minerals like calcium, zinc, iron, and magnesium, making these nutrients bio-unavailable to us.)

6. Increase gluten tolerance

7. Lower glycemic activity

8. More sour flavour

9. Anti fungal

10. Reduced stale rate - natural shelf life without preservatives.

Does the Flour Matter?

Yes, the flour does matter for taste and bread spring. But is also matters when it comes to keeping the product as clean as possible. Choose a non GMO, stone milled flour or better yet, mill your own using fresh wheat berries. The key is freshness! And experiment with heritage wheat such as Einkorn which has different gluten chemistry which may even be a getter form of tolerable gluten for those with issues. There are also certain flours that have lower gluten protein content. The more whole grain, the more gluten. Protein content declines in order of bread flour, all purpose and pastry flour.

Like most foods that we now consume our bread is not like it used to be. Today’s bread consists of ingredients like refined, bleached flour with food additives like potassium bromate, seed oils like canola oil, synthetic vitamins and processed yeast. Bread of our ancestors consisted of water, stone milled flour, (salt in later years) and using a fermentation process with bacteria that lives all around us. It was really a daily staple with no evidence of intolerances or allergies.

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So, what does this all mean? Well if you, like me, know that your gluten/wheat issue is not an autoimmune or anaphylactic allergy and would like to maybe have a piece of bread on a special occasion, you can most likely enjoy a “true” sourdough bread from time to time with no issues. But make sure you ask questions. Know where you food is coming from.

How long is the fermentation. Do they use commercially processed yeast? What flours do they use? Or better yet, learn how to make your own where you have the control.

I will still continue to eat mostly gluten free outside of the home but I now know that I can make my own naturally leaved bread, if I want to have it , and not get sick.

I am so appreciative of Trent and Luke at Icon Bread for all their help and bread wisdom. A couple of tips in closing from Trent:

• follow the recipe and really concentrate on your technique and basics like time and temperature.  Remember 78-82 degrees F is essential to great sourdough!

• Make porridge sourdoughs! Absolutely the best!

Also recommended is the book - Tartine Bread

Curious to know what are your thoughts and experiences with sourdough done the right way.

Off to feed my starter…again

Danni