Sourdough has its advantages. "With the right choice of flour and water, bakers can control the taste and texture of the sourdough bread themselves," says Caroline Vanderbauwede of Dossche Mills. "Dossche Mills supports artisanal bakers by offering personal demos and getting them started with sourdough themselves."

Sourdough bread is not leavened with yeast, but with a sourdough starter. The sourdough starter contains a variety of lactic acid bacterial cultures, so the dough takes longer to rise, improving quality. Quality takes time. "Of course, the right blend of flours also affects the taste of the bread," says Dossche Mills marketing manager Caroline Vanderbauwede. "Dossche Mills is among the leading producers and suppliers of bakery ingredients. As well as selling our products to craft bakeries, we also supply the pastry and food sector and industrial bakeries."

Acidic? No!

A sourdough starter is not sour or acidic. That’s a misunderstanding. In most countries, the name for sourdough usually has nothing to do with acidity. In French sourdough is called ‘levain’, meaning leaven. In Spanish it is ‘massa madre’, which translates as ‘mother culture’. In Italy they refer to ‘lievito naturale’ or natural yeast. German does indeed call it ‘sauerteich’, or sourdough.

Healthier

A number of studies show that fermenting yeasts and lactic acid bacteria have beneficial health effects, depending on the micro-organisms and the type of flour and grain. Substances such as phenols, sterols, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre, fats, proteins, bioactive peptides and starches are better absorbed into the body through the gut (source: Brood & Gezondheid). Sourdough bread also has a low glycaemic index. This means that after you have eaten, the energy is released to your body over a longer period of time, so you feel full for longer. This can only be good for your health.

Certain sourdough cultures can partially break down gluten and other proteins. This can be beneficial for people who are gluten-sensitive. The extent to which this occurs seems to depend on protease activity, an enzyme naturally present in flour that breaks down proteins. The length of fermentation and the choice of lactic acid bacteria strains affect acidity and protease activity and hence the ability to break down proteins (source: Brood & Gezondheid).

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