Sourdough page

[Donna]

Erased.

[js290]

You may want to consider rye bread. According to wikipedia, rye has less gluten than wheat and traditionally has been leavened with sourdough starter.

FYI... Mechanisms of Sugar Addiction: Or, Why You’re Addicted To Bread (Updated) - GNOLLS.ORG

You're probably taking the sensible approach by making incremental improvements instead of wholesale changes. Bread is definitely something you want to moderate.

[Prime]

I have made bread with coconut flour, almond flour, and rice flour. The rice flour breads are not low carb but are gluten free... most bakeries carry gluten free bread and they are also sold at my local Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. It may be worth trying a gluten free bread as you ease into the primal eating plan.

I agree that Rye has a lower glycemic load than sourdough, and some buckwheat breads are also low on the scale.

[Dragonfly]

Welcome, Donna!

Gluten is what you want to avoid (it is essentially toxic to our digestive systems), and eating sourdough bread (no matter how long it is fermented) does nothing to eliminate gluten. Fermenting reduces (but does not eliminate) phytates, which reduce mineral absorption.

Your best bet, from a health perspective, is to find a gluten-free alternative. There are many gluten free breads available in most grocery stores and all health stores & Whole Foods carry them.

If you must, slowly cut down on your bread consumption. I was waaaaay to addicted to do this & needed to go cold turkey. It was worth it! I felt so much better-- after 2.5 weeks, my digestion finally normalized.

[lil_earthmomma]

Okay. Thanks for the advice. I will try gluten-free bread. I usually only have one or two slices of bread per day. I should be fine with gluten-free bread. I’ve never been one to binge on bread or even really crave bread until I told myself I couldn’t have any. (I have had a slice of buttered toast with eggs for breakfast almost every day for years and I really missed that.)

From the info I saw on the site, I thought that sourdough was better than gluten-free bread because of the fermentation and because most gluten-free bread is so highly processed or refined. I guess I misunderstood. Thanks for the correction.

Almond flour and coconut flour are probably better than grain flours like rice. I looked for bread made from almond flour in the store, but couldn’t find it. But now that I think about it, I don’t think I checked in the cold section. They might keep almond flour bread refrigerated. I bought some almond meal today and it was in the cold section. I shop at Whole Foods. Is there a particular brand of gluten-free bread you recommend?

I don't think they sell almond flour bread.

The gluten free breads are still full of grains, and therefore not good for you. Why don't you try making something yourself if you "need" bread. I think you should try to go bread free for a month. Try one month bread free and you will find that bread was just a tasteless crutch holding you back from all of the delicious foods you could have been eating.

[Pitter]

yes, sourdough that is traditionally fermented does in fact break down some of the gluten. The fermentation process involves both yeast and lactobacteria. The yeast release gas that will help the bread rise, it's the bacteria that will produce acid and enzymes that break down some of the gluten.

I think the above bread sounds quite nice and it's fresh and local. Now, not all of the gluten is broken down and bread isn't primal as you know, but your choice would be a pretty decent compromise bread to try. In my personal opinion gluten free bread just isn't worth eating due to the unsatisfying texture. Gluten is what makes a bread springy and well, "bready".

Besides sourdough, if I were to choose a bread product, I sometimes buy a traditional german rye bread. I get it at my health food co-op. It's a very dense, brown, non-leavened bread that has a nutty flavor and is extremely filling, so it's not something I would feel I have to binge on.

Another decent choice is sprouted bread, which contains fewer anti-nutrients due to the sprouting process. Tastewise though, the sourdough or the German rye are my favorites.

Nothing wrong with easing into things. Do whatever you have to to keep from feeling overwhelmed or slipping into destructive habits

[Dragonfly]

Rice bread is actually fine.

IMO, any amount of gluten is a problem.

[OneDeltaTenTango]

You can do a traditionally leavened bread with much longer (and cooler) fermentaiton - like 24-36 hrs. Google "artisan bread in 5 minutes a day" - pretty good book and the basic recipe makes great traditional bread. Mark did a post on sourdough recently. If I recall, the message was something like, "if you are going to eat bread, traditionally leavened sourdough might be the best of a bad thing". I have moved beyond it all, but there is something magic about a pain levaine that is hard to beat.

[lil_earthmomma]

You can do a traditionally leavened bread with much longer (and cooler) fermentaiton - like 24-36 hrs. Google "artisan bread in 5 minutes a day" - pretty good book and the basic recipe makes great traditional bread. Mark did a post on sourdough recently. If I recall, the message was something like, "if you are going to eat bread, traditionally leavened sourdough might be the best of a bad thing". I have moved beyond it all, but there is something magic about a pain levaine that is hard to beat.

This is so true. Before I was diagnosed celiac, I loved making artisan bread, and catching wild yeast... sigh. I still dream about that bread sometimes.

Marks post does indeed basically say that of all of the awful grainfilled gluten filled things, sourdough is less harmful, but still not something that you should encorporate into your everyday life.



My parents have been trying to encorporate sourdough into their lukewarm attempt at eating primal, and it's not going well. They have massive carb cravings and are struggling to lose any weight.

[zoebird]

rye bread -- so long as there isn't any wheat in it -- is gluten free, and when DH went gluten free (before we went paleo/primal), we would get "normandy rye" from the french bakery which was a sourdough rye bread and gluten free. it's a good option. it toasts nicely, is good with butter (but hard to eat without butter), and makes a decent, flavorful sandwich.

you can easily move from daily bread to weekly bread, then biweekly, then monthly. you'll get there -- if it's where you want to be.

you shoul