why people are daring to quit sourdough
When we look to improve our health and digestion, we are aware of the great benefits of fermentation. Naturally, a way to rise our bread that doesn’t utilize commercial yeast and that pre digests our grains for us is going to be off the charts better for us. People who are gluten free or gluten sensitive can consume sourdough bread with greater success. People feel better eating sourdough. Many natural folks consume it and it’s even very “on trend” right now. But is it really the complete answer for our health woes? Is it really the way bread “should” be? Keep reading to find out why people are daring to quit sourdough.
the slow fade
Years ago I became interested in the idea of grinding my own wheat. It was a great “back to nature” type of way to process my own food. And wheat berries were shelf stable! I looked into the grain mills but was feeling the crunch for space in my kitchen. At about $150-$200 the price was a little too much to suggest to my husband as something I wanted to purchase that didn’t appear to be a necessity. So on the back burner it went and I continued to buy bulk white flour from my coop and to made my own sourdough bread.
i can’t unsee
Years later, and I can’t even remember what prompted it, but I happened upon a Youtube video from Grains and Grit which spoke this powerful message into my ears about freshly ground wheat and it’s benefits. Her material was very compelling especially as a Believer and she talked about grain milling from a Christian aspect as well. I had recently happened upon a little extra money and I told my hubby I’d like to use some of it to purchase a stone ground mill, a Mockmill 100. I’d noticed the price had increased, and I took personal note that these tools are becoming more popular and that I had been onto something all those years ago.
The process unfolds
I ordered some soft white wheat berries and some hard white wheat berries and started the process. I wanted to do a 100% whole grain sourdough loaf of bread. This did not prove to be easy, nor very fluffy or tasty despite my countless attempts. Eventually, I knew I needed to give myself and my family a break from eating my less than pleasant bread. I switched back to what I was doing before with white flour and a small amount of the freshly ground wheat. Over the course of a few months I increased the percentages to 50% freshly ground and 50% white flour and I felt good about that.
why anti-yeast?
Listening to Lisa Bass’ compelling podcast interview with Sue Becker from The Bread Beckers set me on fire again. But where I left off with the freshly ground whole wheat was not a great place. I got to thinking, I should be able to make a yummy, puffy loaf with yeast, but why do I feel this hesitancy against doing so?
I thought of my great aunt who when I had mentioned my fixation on recipes using sourdough seemed completely befuddled. She’s was always suggesting, “Why not just use instant yeast?” I always felt this woman surely was taking a shortcut. She didn’t even want to use REGULAR speed yeast? There must be some consequence to using such a shortcut. But is there?
This is something I haven’t quite answered yet for myself. Either way, I am more willing to try yeast in order to yield a family friendly product. I am convinced that utilizing as much freshly ground wheat as possible is the way to go. I decided I will choose freshly ground wheat over sourdough if I need to.
why people are daring to quit sourdough
I am convinced that our bodies are missing out on crucial nutrition by consuming only sifted flour. Sifted flour is missing the bran and germ and leaving behind only the endosperm. Even many commercially produced whole wheat flours are missing some bran and germ. God made wheat so why would we could cause digestive issues for people because of the decreased fiber.
Never mind nutrient content is lost over time when the flour is milled. How long ago had my store bought flour been milled? Is this even a nutritionally sound product? We have lingering skin issues in our family. I want to see if incorporating this nutritional building block which has been missing for all of our lives would make a difference in our skin, our digestion, and our overall health.
how to get in the grains?
When I embarked on my health journey upping my protein and watching my caloric intake, I noted that consuming baked goods wasn’t necessarily what my body needed much of. I didn’t really want to eat a ton of baked products when I could easily get carbohydrates through rice, sweet potato, or white potato. But now I am so convinced that whole grains are a nutrient dense part of a complete diet and that this is something I want to definitely incorporate into our diets.
How I’m doing this so far is by weekly or biweekly incorporating freshly ground wheat buttermilk pancakes. A quick breakfast when I don’t have time for steel cut oats is freshly ground cream of wheat. And our small family of 3 will graciously go through about a loaf of bread a week. I’m still working on getting that perfect loaf for us. It will be 100% freshly ground wheat whatever way I do it 🙂
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Hi Laura, my name is Amber. I’m also a follower of Christ and I’ve been seeking Him on how to eat and steward mine and my families health well. I just recently started toying with the idea of grinding wheat berries and making my own breads and then today I stumbled upon your recipe for cream of wheat made from wheat berries . I am so excited to try it once I get a mill.
I’ve found it to be an interesting adventure navigating health through a Christian perspective. The mill is a great investment!