What are the benefits of Sour Dough Breads?

Well, for most people the thought of sour dough bread is simply for a great tasting bread. It might even make you think of a family memory or place. In fact, I was talking with a friend who said it reverted them to San Francisco! Interesting what smells and tastes can conjure up in our memory banks.

So besides great and unique taste, there is other purposes for sour dough bread. Sue Gregg details it well in her book, "Whole Grain Baking" (click here to purchase book; remember I can adjust shipping for the cookbooks!)

Sue Gregg writes concerning the health benefits of sour dough bread:
"Baking with sourdough produces nutritionally superior breads because the lactic-acid helps eliminate toxic wastes from cells...because sourdough breads are partially 'predigested' by the lactic-acid fermentation process before baking."

Another article that is really good info about the health benefits of sour dough bread is found on nourishingdays.com The airborne yeast creates the enzymes needed to eat up or predigest some of the parts of the grain. This action creates carbon dioxide, which gets trapped in tiny pockets of dough, resulting in a natural rising of the bread.

Sourdough bread preparation improves nutrition by:
-pre-digesting starches, making the bread more easily digestible
-lowering insulin response/improving glucose tolerance
-protecting Vitamin B1 from the damage of the heat of baking
-breaking down gluten, which may result in a bread that gluten-sensitive people can eat
-activating phytase to hydrolyze (dissolve) the phytates, thus freeing up minerals such as: zinc,iron, magnesium,copper, phosphorus
(info from: kitchenstewardship.com)

By eating sour dough breads, sour dough biscuits, sour dough pancakes, sour dough waffles...you get the picture, add this wonderful sour dough starter in your bread items to add great flavor and help your health!