This is how we did it for millennia.

While I, personally, am delighted to have refrigeration, it has been the downfall of fermented foods in our culture - and fermented foods mean better gut health. In fact, the diversity of microbes in those eating a Western diet today is typically 30% less than it was just 50 years ago.

What’s wrong with conventional bread?

Depending on what type of bread we’re talking about, the problem can simply be the preservatives added to storebought bread to extend the shelf life, to multiple applications of Glyphosate to the wheat used to make bread. Unfortunately, in our commercial quest for “more,” we’ve sacrificed many things - from our health to the integrity of our food system.

Is Sourdough really “better”?

Let’s talk about conventional homemade bread baked with organic flour; isn’t that just as good as sourdough?

Sourdough uses a living culture of naturally-occurring wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria. As the dough is mixed and integrated, the yeast produces enzymes that break down the sugars in the flour, making the bread more digestible and unlocking nutrients. Not only does fermentation increase nutrition and make bread more digestible, but it also increases microbes - making sourdough (especially whole wheat) a prebiotic that feeds your friendly bacteria and facilitates their support of your microbiome.

The longer the ferment, the sourer the loaf and the better the tradition.

While all true sourdough provides the benefits of fermentation, the longer the ferment (to a point…of course, we all know that fermentation eventually becomes…well, rotten), the more health benefits and the more sour the behavior.

White vs. whole wheat (and mixed).

All of our baked goods at Mother are organic, but we currently offer two types of boules:

We bake an all-white loaf that is lighter, softer, and milder than our other loaves. It is easy to digest and nutritious.

We also offer a “country loaf” that is mostly white wheat with a bit of fresh ground whole wheat. This gives the boule a bit more of the whole grain nutrition while keeping it light and sweet.

We are also working on a 100% whole-wheat boule that is denser and tangier than our white boule. Because it requires a longer ferment, it is even easier to digest than our all-white boule and offers even more vitamins and minerals. However, this one is harder to master and we are not yet ready to offer it for purchase. Watch for it this summer!

Eat the crust!

In her fascinating book, The Sourdough School, baker and teacher Vanessa Kimbell breaks down what happens to sourdough through its various baking stages. In the final stage, something fascinating and nutritious happens. Here’s how she writes it: “This is…the point at which, according to a German study, an antioxidant called Pronyl-lysine is formed by the reaction of the protein-bound amino acid L-lysine. This is a potential cancer-preventing antioxidant bread that is eight times more abundant in the dark crust than in the crumb.”