MY INTRODUCTION TO SOURDOUGH BREAD

I was in my mid-20’s when I learned about Sourdough bread. It was during the 70’s amid a food health craze when the bread industry was experiencing its own cultural revolution. Everyone wanted a healthier change from the lifeless white enriched bread, like the Wonder Bread Classic White, sold at supermarkets everywhere. At the time, I was working for a small Iowa based animal health company and starting my international business career. A friend at that company steered me to a recently published cookbook, James Beard’s Beard on Bread, and began mentoring me on the fine art of “hands-on” Sourdough bread making.

During the two years I spent in Iowa prior to a job relocation overseas, I gradually improved my sourdough baking skills such as learning to catch “wild” yeasts from the air to create my own “starters”. James Beard recommended combining milk, water and flour and adding dry active yeasts to jumpstart the fermentation process. I had particularly good results using a nonfat dry milk powder (for a sourer flavor), water, flour, and natural plain yogurt (as a substitute for dry packaged yeasts). Also, I found that whole wheat flours gave a sourer flavor to the starter as opposed to white bread flour. Also, I made bread using a variety of whole grain unrefined and unbleached flours, kneading the dough into free-form boules for a more artisan look.

Unfortunately, due to business travel demands, my bread-making was cut short, so I packed away my baking tools, including Beard on Bread, and waited to pick it up at another time, 40+ years later. Now, I am resuming where I left off in Iowa pursuing my dream of creating a crusty and delicious sourdough bread like no other. After all, from the mid 70’s to my 70’s, what matters more to me now is gaining stardom in Sourdough Heaven, one perfect loaf at a time.

In an interesting part of my career, I crossed paths with the science supporting the benefits of eating sourdough bread. I spent over 20 years in the field of animal health and nutrition. The products we developed gave support to their digestive system so they would grow faster and healthier. Learning about animal nutrition broaden my appreciation for the type of diets needed to improve gut health, such as enzymes, organic acids, probiotics and prebiotics. Although intended for entirely different species (not humans), these products compare with the benefits of sourdough bread insofar as the combination of high fiber flour with a strong fermented starter creates a perfect prebiotic and lower pH (higher acidity) that supports a strong and healthy microbial environment in the digestive tract.

Go to the section Our Health Benefits where I explain why our Sourdough Heaven premium whole grain breads offer superior protective health advantages.

Kelly Wilkinson, Indy Star, 08/21/2023, 317 Project:  “Healthy bread made in this home-based bakery”

John Tufts, Indy Star, 08/21/2023, 317 Project: “Word of mouth and fresh bread draws the hungry to this Avalon Hills bakery”