Breaducation: Is All Sourdough Bread the Same?

Flour is ground grain. The grain is what's left after other parts of the grain plant stalk (the chaff) are removed. A kernel of grain consists of the gluten core (the protein part), the germ (the part that allows reproduction of more grain) and the bran (a protective hull around the gluten and germ). Whole Grain refers to grain that is ground without removing the bran or germ. Most people believe that whole grain is better than "light" or "white" grain. After all, how much nutrition could there be in a loaf of Wonder Bread?

But when Dr. Steven Gundry published his landmark book, The Plant Paradox, in 2017, that paradigm was challenged. Dr. Gundry is a former heart surgeon with over 10,000 heart surgeries to his credit. But he wondered how so many of his patients ended up on the operating table in the first place. His research led to some key discoveries and theories that he tested out on his patients. The results were significant. One of those discoveries was the presence of LECTINS in most of the plants that people eat. Lectins are plant proteins evolved to protect the plant from being eaten by predators. Kind of like a natural pesticide. Well, what might stop a bug won't stop a human from eating food that tastes good; the human body is too big for the lectins to have much impact. Or is it?

Turns out lectins DO create damage to the body, but the symptoms of that damage may not be noticeable for 15-20 years. Lectins cause a low level of inflammation that accumulates over time. When the results of that long-time inflammation appear, you see illnesses like diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, auto-immune disorders, cancer, and other serious diseases. Dr. Gundry found that when he removed the harmful lectins (and other "No List" items like sugar, etc.) from his patients' diets, their conditions began to reverse. It's my belief that when a body is under stress trying to fight off an intruder, it cannot effect repairs. But if there is nothing to fight, then all resources can be applied to healing.  

At this juncture I point out that not all lectins negatively affect the body. It's mainly lectins from plants that were introduced into the human diet about 10,000 years ago that are problematic. (Apparently, your body has found a way to neutralize the lectins from plants dating back millions of years; not so for the "newbies.") A significant source of these harmful lectins is grains, beans and nightshades (tomatoes, white potatoes, peppers, eggplant). And since we're talking about making bread, and most grains contain harmful lectins, this merits some discussion!

Dr. Gundry discovered that the bran and the germ of most grains contain the harmful lectins! The very things that have been considered to be the healthiest parts of the grain were discovered to create the most harm in the body. When I was growing up, wheat germ was, and probably still is, touted as a health supplement. But Dr. Gundry revealed in his book that wheat germ contains a highly toxic compound called WGA. And if you ever wondered why bran makes you have to go to the bathroom, it's because the body is trying to get rid of it as fast as possible!

Okay... back to our problem. Is there a way to make a not-harmful bread that still has some nutritional benefits? Fortunately, there is, and our clever ancestors figured it out a long time ago. It starts with the flour, but not just any flour. First, the grains used for flour should be organically grown. Why? That's the way all grains used to be grown before industrialization, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms. Those practices poison the grain and those toxins will enter your body if you eat foods made with those grains. Second, the bran and germ should be stripped from the grain. To maintain the integrity of what remains, the grain should not be bleached white. Then it is ground to the consistency of flour. The result is a white or light flour which  contains the gluten.

Gluten is not natively healthy, as evidenced by the increasing number of people who cannot eat gluten (celiac) or are sensitive to it. But if the dough for sourdough bread is made the way our ancestors did, the natural yeast microbes in the starter will do the heavy lifting for us. Over a three-day period, the starter breaks down the gluten to a more digestible state, hence, in the case of Breadness, we have a gluten-neutral bread.

Going one step further, for this traditional artisan (crafted by hand in the time-honored way) sourdough to do the most good for the body, it should not break down in the stomach. The goal is for the bread to make it down to the microbiome where, as a resistive starch, it feeds the good microbes in your digestive tract. The best way to do that is by always having a good fat with your slice of Breadness: raw butter, organic olive oil, avocado, coconut butter/oil, A2 cheese, etc. The fat slows the conversion of the bread to sugar long enough for it to pass into the intestines.

When I started making Breadness at home in 2016 I didn't know any of this. But when friends of mine who were gluten-sensitive told me they had no negative reaction to eating this bread, I wanted to know why. Pages 50-51 of Dr. Gundry's book answered all my questions. He described the way this kind of "white bread" is made in Europe. Every detail described in those paragraphs was exactly how I was making this bread. This was the turning point for me as I realized I didn't have to stop making this bread that I was giving it away to friends, family and clients and bringing them (and me) so much joy!

Not to neglect the other ingredients that go into making our version of sourdough, besides organic unbleached white bread flour (which is a blend of wheat and malted barley) there is a certain amount of organic light rye flour used in our dough mix. This makes our bread a little sweeter than most sourdough breads. We use an organic San Francisco Sourdough starter I ordered from a website back in 2016. I feed it organic unbleached white bread flour and Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water exclusively. This is also the same water we use to make all of our breads at the bakery. Redmond Real Salt is the only salt I've ever used for Breadness. It's a  full-spectrum salt extracted from an ancient sea bed mine in Utah. And for our Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan sourdough, we use organic versions of all of those four ingredients.

What I've just described is what goes into making Breadness, which is different than most breads, even sourdough breads, sold at other stores and bakeries. It's not uncommon to see dry yeast and additives on the ingredients list of those breads. What's not shown is how long those breads ferment their dough which affects the digestibility of the gluten. And if the flours used are not organic, then they most likely contain glyphosate (a highly-toxic weed killer from Monsanto), GMOs, pesticide residue, etc.

I hope this bit of Breaducation has helped you understand how Breadness is different from other breads, how it's better for your body, and why it's priced accordingly. Of course, none of this would mean much if Breadness tasted like cardboard! Fortunately, my initial goal was to make a sourdough bread that tasted great. The fact that it also turned out to be healthy was an added bonus!

This Week's Breadness...

Here's what breads are available this week:

> Artisan Sourdough Country Loaves (full-size boule, batard and petite)
> Cinnamon Raisin Maple Pecan Sourdough Loaves (full-size and petite)

Order the above (and any of our other artisan products) at breadness.com/#shop. If a product is visible in the online shop, it's in stock. If you don't see a product in the online shop, it's sold out (but we might be making more, in which case the counter will be set to the available quantity).

Also, we can slice your bread(s) different thicknesses. Our most popular are Medium (about 5/8") and Thin (about 3/8") but we can do in between as well. Just ask! If ordering on line, enter your slicing preference(s) in the Special Instructions box during Checkout.

And Remember... we also carry the finest and freshest Organic Olive Oils from Ojai, Aged Balsamics from Modena, Jamazing Jams from Laura Ann in Eagle Rock, Solar Grown Honey Spreads from Clif Family in Napa, Tasty Tapenades from Lisa Grabow in Pasadena, and  the Best Butters from Raw Farm in Fresno.

Do we ship? Absolutely! If you (or someone you wish to gift) live within 120 miles of Los Angeles, we can ship on Wednesday or Thursday (via UPS Ground) and in most cases your Breadness Box will arrive on Thursday or Friday. Place your order before Wednesday morning here. If you live outside of So Cal, we can now ship 2-Day Air (or Ground service) on Wednesday (unsliced bread) for Friday delivery (orders that require 2-Day Air shipping must be in by Wednesday morning!). Join our growing list of nationwide customers who look forward to receiving their Breadness deliveries on a regular basis!

Connect with us...
Random Acts of Breadness is located at 2214 West Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank (2-1/2 blocks east of Buena Vista on the south side of the street). Come to the bakery and sample our artisan wares, or order on line for bakery pickup, or have Breadness delivered or shipped to your door. You may also order by phone at 818-562-7303 and pay when you come pick it up. We're open Thursday, Friday & Saturday 12 to 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.