There’s a growing interest in food as medicine as we are trying to prevent diseases and increase longevity. As a result, there’s more research on the potential benefits (or dangers) of certain foods, and more companies are trying to sell their health products to you. Make sure to do your due diligence before you trust different “food experts” and consume the produce they recommend.
One of such hype superfoods in today’s food industry is sourdough bread. You can find it in almost any grocery story – a traditional San-Francisco sourdough, whole-wheat sourdough, rosemary sourdough, Borodinsky bread (a dark brown rye-based sourdough bread of Russian origin sweetened with molasses and flavored with coriander and caraway seeds), sourdough focaccia, etc. During the COVID-19 pandemic there was a boom in the sourdough bread trend as more people became aware of its many health benefits, and it even ranked as the third most frequently searched recipe on Google (21 March, 2021).
Why has sourdough bread gained so much popularity in the recent years? What makes it stand out in the bread kingdom? It’s the fermentation process. The sourdough starter has “a diverse ecosystem of interacting yeasts and bacteria” unlike baker’s yeast that may have only one single species. As science has shown, our gut thrives on the beneficial bacteria which in turn gives a major boost to our immune system. So, consuming foods rich in good bacteria (such as Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria, Lactic acid bacteria, etc.) is essential for your health and longevity.
All you need to make your own sourdough starter is flour and water. The magic happens though when the yeast and bacteria found in your environment will start feeding on the sugars found in the flour, later acidifying the starter, and producing organic acids such as lactic acid and acetic acid. This fermentation process breaks down some anti-nutritional factors such as phytates (phytic acid) (found in whole grains, legumes, nuts, and known for reducing the absorption of iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium), thus enhancing your absorption of some vital micronutrients.
We have come full circle in regard to our understanding of health and vitality. My great-grandmother (baba Dina), who lived in a remote Siberian village, would intuitively make her own sourdough bread with no access to the most searched Google recipes or PubMed articles. Our ancestors had innate wisdom and nature connectedness that we are trying to recreate with so much effort now.
Making your own sourdough bread can become a beautiful ritual to honor that sacred wisdom and reap all those endorphins that are produced from making things with your hands.
P.S. Beware of the bioengineered ingredient (GMO) added to conventional sourdough bread found in many grocery stores (even Whole Foods!). Adding BS to health foods quite literally makes my blood boil, and that’s not how I wanted to end this week’s blog post. But I do feel obliged to mention that – PLEASE, read the ingredients list. Remember that all you need to make sourdough bread is flour, water, and salt. Make your own and feed those “good gut bugs”.
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