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.
True sourdough bread does not contain bakers yeast and instead utilizes a lactobacilli based starter culture. True sourdough bread is also baked at a lower temperature for a longer period of time which protects the integrity of the cereal grains and preserves the nutritional value. Not only is the nutritional value maintained, but anti-nutrients such as phytic acid are eliminated and gluten, that very difficult to digest plant protein, is broken down.
When baker’s yeast was first introduced as an alternative to sourdough starters in 1668 in France, it was strongly rejected because scientists at the time already knew that it would negatively impact people’s health.Â
While yeast is used almost universally for baking breads anymore, the skyrocketing cases of gluten intolerance and celiac disease are causing many to look backwards at how nonindustrialized peoples consumed gluten containing breads with no digestive difficulty.
One study that examined how celiacs tolerate true sourdough bread was conducted in Europe. 17 people suffering from celiac disease were given 2 grams of gluten containing bread risen with either baker’s yeast or a normal lactobacilli culture.  13 of the 17 showed negative changes in intestinal permeability consistent with celiac disease. 4 people did not show any negative changes.
Then, the 17 study participants were given true sourdough bread risen with a special lactobacilli culture able to hydrolyze the 33-mer peptide which is the primary amino acid building block that causes an immune response in people with celiac disease. None showed any negative changes in their intestinal permeability after consuming the bread which was made up of 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.
What I find interesting about the study is that even when the people who consumed the gluten containing bread risen with either baker’s yeast or a normal lactobacilli culture, 4 did not show any negative changes to their baseline values of intestinal permeability.  Did these 4 consume bread raised with a normal lactobacilli culture? If so, perhaps even a normal sourdough culture would be sufficient for many celiacs to consume.
Certainly, most with simple gluten intolerance would find true sourdough bread to be easily consumed with no digestive distress.
Clearly, more study on this needs to be done, but the results are incredibly promising.
It seems that the noblemen in the court of Louis XIV of France back in 1668 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!
Sarah, The Healthy  Home Economist
Sources and More Information
Study Finds Wheat-based Sourdough Bread Tolerated by Celiac Patients
Einkorn Sourdough Crackers with Nut Butter
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)
Monica de la Rosa
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.
charlotte
This recipe worked great! Thank you.
Theresa
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?
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
I’ve used this one in the past and I really like it.
Christy
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.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing this tip!
James Knochel
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
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
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.
Pavil, the Uber Noob
The sourdough starter looks like a variation of soaked flour. Wonder what would happen using whey and flour?
Ciao, Pavil
D.
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!
Leigh Layman via Facebook
Now I am searching…how can I become a Sourdough bread purest!
Leigh Layman via Facebook
Now I am searching…how can I become a Sourdough bread purest!
Amy Love@Real Food Whole Health
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)
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Amy, thank you for sharing this testimonial! 🙂
Mary
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?
Susie
Sounds like we all want a “real deal” recipe! For starting a culture AND for making the bread!