Sourdough is created when wild yeast and bacteria interact. Working together, these organisms can transform grains and make them more digestible. This is beneficial to people with wheat or yeast allergies.
Benefits and More
Sourdough starter is FREE unless you don’t like the type that can be cultivated in your area from the bacteria in your local air. Michigan sourdough starter is not the best. Other types can easily be purchased online.
Wild yeast multiplies aerobically. Keep feeding your starter and you will never run out of sourdough starter.
10 Reasons to Eat Sourdough
1. Sourdough frequently has a lower glycemic index than that of other breads. This bread type does not elevate blood sugar as dramatically as other kinds because it depletes damaged starches due to fermentation.
2. Sourdough bread has a higher proportion of the Lactobacillus culture to yeast than generic breads. The production of lactic acid is bigger, a lower amount of potentially hazardous phytic acid, which is a substance that reduces the absorption of valuable vitamins and minerals (such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc) in the body. Lactobacilli bacteria also produce the distinctively tangy, sour taste typical for this bread type.
3. The bacteria-yeast combination makes food easier to digest.
4. Gluten is broken down into amino acids due to a longer prep time. The dough needs to rests for hours at a time. Digestion will be easier.
5. Acetic acid, a weak organic chemical compound best known for giving vinegar a pungent smell and sour taste, is produced when you make sourdough. It helps with the preservation of sourdough – no need for toxic preservatives.
6. The fermentation process and probiotic organisms in sourdough bread increase the content of beneficial bacteria in your intestinal tract (gut).
7. Sourdough contains uniquely balanced cellulose, fatty acids, minerals, proteins, and countless other nutrients your bodies need.
8. Do you want to reduce the growth of bad food bacteria? Sourdough creates a beneficial acidic environment, produces valuable anti-bacterial agents, and absorbs all the B vitamins found in their surroundings removing a ton of harmful bacteria.
9. Sourdough bread is full of proteins and other nutrients, such as B1 through B6, B12, vitamin E, folate, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, iron, selenium, calcium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. Many of these elements are hardly or not at all found in commercially prepared breads.
10. Sourdough bread is generally made from wheat. The oligosaccharides and inulin (a type of carbohydrate produced by plants) found in wheat are excellent fuel sources for the good bacteria in our gut.
One final reason to try sourdough bread is: it tastes great!
Note: Starter can be purchased online. You can also ask a friend for a few spoons, or catch your own wild yeast when the weather is warm.
Irida Sangemino is an accomplished permaculture adviser, homesteading expert, and instructor. Follow her and her husband Joe’s adventures at the Stony Creek Permaculture Farm at http://www.stonycreekpermaculture.com. Your sustainable lifestyle starts here. Contact her at: info@stonycreekpermaculture.com
