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Research suggests that people with celiac disease tolerate sourdough bread where the dough is fermented with a specialized sourdough starter in accordance with traditional methods.
Buyer beware! Most breads labeled as “sourdough” on the market today are anything but…
These fake sourdough breads typically contain yeast and/or a sweetener.
This is an easy giveaway clue that the bread is a phony and should be avoided if one seeks a traditionally baked loaf.
Baker’s Yeast Is Not Traditional
When baker’s yeast was first introduced in France as an alternative to sourdough starter in the mid-1600s, it was strongly rejected!
The scientist-noblemen of the day knew that it would negatively impact people’s health. When the Faculty of Medicine decided to formally examine the question, they banned its use. (1)
True sourdough bread does not contain baker’s yeast. Instead, a Lactobacilli-based starter culture is used.
In addition, authentic sourdough is baked at a lower temperature for a longer period of time.
These methods protect the integrity of the cereal grains and preserve nutritional value.
What’s more, anti-nutrients such as phytic acid are eliminated, and gluten, that very difficult-to-digest plant protein, is significantly broken down.
As a practical bonus, sourdough bread stays fresh longer than yeasted bread.
Despite the initial rejection of baker’s yeast, the convenience aspect of quick-rise yeasted loaves resulted in widespread adoption over the last century.
It is no surprise, then, that the skyrocketing cases of gluten intolerance and celiac disease have risen in lockstep over the decades.
Why did pre-industrialized people groups consume gluten-containing breads with no digestive difficulty whatsoever?
Could it be that the traditional preparation methods were somehow protective?
Sourdough and Celiac
The peer-reviewed Journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology researched this very question, publishing a study conducted in Europe that examined how celiacs tolerate true sourdough bread. (2)
Seventeen people suffering from celiac disease were given 2 grams of gluten-containing bread risen with either baker’s yeast or a Lactobacilli culture.
Thirteen of the seventeen participants showed negative changes in intestinal permeability consistent with celiac disease. Four participants did not show any negative changes.
Then, all the study participants were given true sourdough bread fermented with a special Lactobacilli culture able to break down the primary amino acid building block that causes an immune response in people with celiac.
None of the study participants showed any negative changes in their intestinal permeability after consuming the bread baked using 30% wheat flour and a mix of oat, millet, and buckwheat flour.
The researchers’ conclusions were summarized as follows:
These results showed that a bread biotechnology that uses selected lactobacilli, nontoxic flours, and a long fermentation time is a novel tool for decreasing the level of gluten intolerance in humans. (3)
What I find interesting about the study is that even when the people who consumed the wheat bread baked with either baker’s yeast or a normal Lactobacilli culture, four (nearly one-quarter) did not show any negative changes to their baseline values of intestinal permeability.
Did these people consume bread raised with a normal sourdough culture?
If so, perhaps even regular sourdough cultures would be sufficient for some celiacs to consume.
Certainly, most with simple gluten intolerance would find true sourdough bread to be easily consumed with no digestive distress.
It seems that the noblemen in the court of Louis XIV of France had it right all along.
Abandoning the traditional methods of bread preparation in favor of baker’s yeast would have disastrous effects on people’s health.
Little did they know that their wisdom several centuries later would be termed “novel” by scientists in the biotechnology industry!
(1) History of Baker’s Yeast
(2, 3) Study Finds Wheat-based Sourdough Bread Started with Selected Lactobacilli is Tolerated by Celiac Disease Patients
More Information
No-Knead Einkorn Sourdough Bread
The Good Gluten You Can Probably Eat Just Fine
The Real Reason Wheat is Toxic (It’s Not the Gluten)
My sourdough bread recipe is to mix 1 cup of sourdough starter with 1 cup of water. In another bowl combine 2 teaspoons of salt with 3 cups of flour. Combine the two. Cover the bowl and let rise for 8 – 12 hours. Preheat a covered pot in a 350 oven. Grease pot and add dough. Bake for 30 minutes covered and then 30 minutes uncovered.
This recipe worked great! Thank you.
I’m lazy and don’t want to bake my own bread. I’ve been eating Berlin Bakery’s Old Fashioned Sourdough Spelt Bread. The only ingredients are whole spelt flour, water, and sea salt. Sarah, do you think this qualifies as a true sourdough?
I’ve used this one in the past and I really like it.
My mom has gluten issues and recently began making sourdough. She can only eat it without trouble if she kneads the dough for at least 20 minutes. It has something to do with developing the gluten. I’m sorry I don’t have a reference but she read an online article about it.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing this tip!
This point confused me as well… “didn’t sourdoughs use natural yeasts?”
Indeed: “Sourdough is a dough containing a lactobacillus culture, usually in symbiotic combination with yeasts.” What’s important is giving the lactobacillus time to deactivate the nasties. 🙂
You can buy “San Francisco Sourdough Starter” online, which is a powder with lactobacillus and San Francisco’s native yeasts, or just make your own starter using whatever’s in the air. I think /Nourishing Traditions/ has directions.
-james
Lactobacilli is in the air everywhere and on all living things even our skin. So if you make a sourdough culture, it will have lactobacilli in it as well as natural yeasts.
The sourdough starter looks like a variation of soaked flour. Wonder what would happen using whey and flour?
Ciao, Pavil
There is no recipe for sourdough starter. It’s flour and water. Period. It sets on the counter until it bubbles and then you feed it again, and it sets for a while longer and then you feed it again. I keep mine in the fridge when I know I’m not going to be using it for a while and I’ve never had a problem yet. It is sometimes in there for two-three weeks between feedings. I never throw away starter either – I use it for biscuits or pancakes or something.
Here’s a web site with some good information, although it is not the one I usually refer people to. I can’t find my information on that other one right now! If I find it, I’ll post it later. But this one has pretty decent advice:
*Hint: Sometimes I take advice from one site and combine it with info from another site, too. Such as take the recipe from one site and then the storage and use information from another. Make good use of all those blogs out there, ladies!
Now I am searching…how can I become a Sourdough bread purest!
Now I am searching…how can I become a Sourdough bread purest!
I second the cautious approach that Rachel mentions. However, I’m celiac and I personally have been able to eat true sourdough (meaning traditionally prepared, not with yeast) SPELT bread; even though that contains gluten, it’s not wheat and is an older grain. Now, I have only eaten a couple of pieces at a time, and only on a couple of occasions (once was at the WAPF conference) but did not notice any troubles at all with it. No digestive upset, pain, autoimmune issues, etc. I have done a lot of work on my gut, though, and do tolerate more foods than I used to. I still think most grains need to be avoided for a while to allow the gut to heal (a la GAPS) but that traditionally prepared (soaked, soured, fermented) grains CAN be a part of a healthy diet for most people. (Modern grains that lack proper preparation are NEVER a healthy part of anyone’s diet in my opinion)
Amy, thank you for sharing this testimonial! 🙂
Hi, Sarah,
This is very interesting article.
Do you know about any research indicating sourdough spelt bread is good for people with celiac/gluten intolerance?
Sounds like we all want a “real deal” recipe! For starting a culture AND for making the bread!