Why is sourdough good for you? 2024 update

By now, you all know about my fascination with bread, panini and beyond 🙂 I started baking bread during the lockdowns, and I never looked back to the grocery store bread I’d used to buy before. Even though it has been awhile since my first bread baking experiments (which I chronicled here), I still consider myself a novice, and I continue to research, to improvise, to try, fail, and try some more. This is valid particularly when it comes to sourdough, whose secrets were revealed by my friend Marina in the guest post she wrote for me.

Sourdough-based breads are considered healthier than those made with normal dough, as well as higher in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The long and slow fermentation process provides unique flavor and visual appeal, and brings health benefits, such as lowering effect on blood glucose levels, making gluten more digestible, strengthening immunity, and keeping you fuller for longer (the latter thanks to the soluble fiber content).

Equally important, sourdough breads are perfect for round the clock meals including breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert, and they are a great choice to pair with cheese, beer, and wine. 

With National Sourdough Bread Day coming up on April 1st, I thought now would be the perfect time to restate the nutritional benefits of consuming sourdough products, with help from La Brea Bakery‘s Registered Dietician, Mia Syn, RDN.

I wrote about La Brea Bakery in the past (here and here), and their breads continue to be my first choice when I lack the time to bake and I want to get the best bread for my family conveniently, and without sacrificing flavors and nutrition.

Here’s what Mia Syn, RDN for La Brea Bakery, shares about sourdough:

1. Better bread. “While whole grain bread often gets all the nutritional glory, sourdough bread shouldn’t be discounted. The long and slow fermentation process not only helps break down gluten and anti-nutrient phytic acid, making the bread easier to digest for some people compared to breads made with regular dough, it also results in increased nutrient bioavailability. Not only that, but the fermentation process results in a lower glycemic index bread which means a slower and steadier increase in blood sugar levels after consumption.”  

2. Unique flavor. “There is more to love about sourdough than its unique sour flavor and visual appeal. Its potential health benefits beat out breads made with regular dough, and it often has a longer shelf life because of its acidity, helping to reduce food waste.

3. Simple ingredients. “La Brea Bakery is unique in that they use their very own signature sourdough starter in every single loaf made using only flour, salt, water, and wild yeasts from the skin of organic grapes, and ferment their bread for at least 10 hours allowing more complex flavors and textures to develop.”

4. Good for you. “The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that healthy adults consume around 5 to 10 ounces of grain foods per day depending on their age, sex, and activity level. Grain foods are important sources of many nutrients including complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber and several B vitamins which play a key role in metabolism – helping the body convert the food we eat, into useable energy.”  

 

While I continue to perfect my craft, and to add to my understanding of the art of sourdough making, I am pleased to know that there are delicious and nutritious sourdough offerings on the market, such as those made by La Brea Bakery.

Are you a fan of sourdough bread, and if so, do you have a favorite recipe you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments 🙂

 

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