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Sourdough - transform your bread & your health

The Healthiest Bread in the World: Science-Backed Baking for a Better Gut Heath

Vanessa Kimbell is a time-served baker who specialises in gut health and trained in the art of sourdough bread in the Dordogne. A bestselling author, she holds a doctorate in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine and Preventative Health and is a member of BANT. Vanessa combines deep expertise in sourdough with unparalleled knowledge of the science of bread and digestion. At The Sourdough School, she teaches personalised artisan bread tailored to optimise gut health and genetics. Discover healthy bread recipes, tips, and techniques featuring sourdough fermentation, wholegrain benefits, and personalised baking advice—designed to inspire a slower, healthier approach to baking, eating, and sharing bread.

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  • Articles
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  • Baking
    • Recipes
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    • Sourdough Baking Equipment
    • Flours from Farmers Directory
    • Add Farmer to the Directory
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Home Bakers: Learn To Bake As Lifestyle Medicine

Sourdough at Mirabelle Bakery, Copenhagen

12 September 2016 by Dr Vanessa Kimbell

A few weeks ago I went to Sweden on a break to bake sourdough for three days with a group of international bakers. I mentioned to a friend, who happens to be one of the the most amazing bakers I know, that I would have an afternoon free to spend in Copenhagen. He recommended that I go to the Bistro called Manfrids. I have learned, over the years that people who make fantastic bread also tend to know all the best places to eat, so I decided to take his advise and book lunch. I called and booked lunch for one.

As I discovered, my new friends on the course had also realised never to pass up a recommendation for a great restaurant either. I rang back and booked for two, then three, and by the end of the day I had called the restaurant back so many times, I think that they thought I was playing a practical joke. In the end my quiet contemplative moment I had planned turned into a party of seven rambunctious and unruly sourdough bakers. Despite loving the food my friends just couldn’t get enough of the sourdough bread. To be fair it was truly amazing sourdough bread. The crust was burnished, the crumb was chewy and full of flavour, and it had a fruity acidity to it. It was exceptional bread so when the waiter told us it was from a nearby bakery called Mirabelle, we finished that last of the ( amazing naturally fermented wine) and headed en mass for the last hour of our trip, before we all had to head off home – in different directions around the world.

We found Mirabelle, and like a bunch of hungry orphans, looked lovingly into the bakery. I wonder what flour they use, asked Paul wistfully, an Australian baker, who has just setup a bakery in Barcelona. How long do you think that they ferment it asked Monica Loo? Do you think it is baked in a wood fired oven wondered Sue … As we stood back imagining how this bread was made, I decided imagination was no substitute for finding out, so I walked in and asked if we might have a few minutes to ask the baker some questions. Amazingly she agreed to show us around the bakery and be interviewed. This is the unedited recording.

 

 

All reasonable care is taken when writing about health aspects of bread, but the information it contains is not intended to take the place of treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. You must seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about any medical condition. Any application of the ideas and information contained on this website is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

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Dr Vanessa Kimbell

About Dr Vanessa Kimbell

Dr. Vanessa Kimbell is a leading expert in nutrition and the digestibility of bread. Her doctorate focuses on Baking as Lifestyle Medicine and preventative health, specialising in personalising bread for gut health and genetics. She is the Course Director at The Sourdough School, a world-renowned centre of research and education in bread, the gut microbiome, and the impact of bread on health, based in Northamptonshire. She is currently writing her 6th book and is a best-selling international author.

More information about Vanessa can be found:
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tim

    5 February 2017 at 1:45 pm

    @Peter, they are using Olands wheat, grown on a little island of Sweden. It’s a wheat variety. Low in gluten, high in flavour.

    Reply
  2. Tim

    5 February 2017 at 1:43 pm

    I was there too last fall. Had the bread. I was amazed, it is so good! The flour they use is really great I guess. Did they tell you what percentage of levain they would add to the dough?

    Reply
  3. Peter

    13 September 2016 at 11:58 am

    Manfreds is the name …. https://manfreds.dk/en/ the visit to the bakery sounds awesome.
    Did you catch the name of the flour they used, I have a hard time getting that.
    Wish I could have gone with with you all to Mirabelle after Holma.

    Best
    Peter

    Reply
    • mike

      18 September 2019 at 12:30 pm

      like most of copenhagens artisan bakeries they’re using flours from kornby mølle
      http://kornbymoelle.dk

      Reply

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Todays live for diploma students will be on 'How t Todays live for diploma students will be on 'How to engage your patient in the lifestyle changes of the BALM' with @vanessakimbell 

In their 6pm live session, we help keep our students on track with the syllabus and discuss the application of Baking As Lifestyle Medicine to the 6 pillars of Lifestyle medicine, applying the research papers, application of the Research, and how this ties into prescribing, along with guest lecturers, discussions and sharing knowledge.

#lifestylemedicine #health #functionalmedicine #nutrition #integrativemedicine #healthylifestyle #wellness #lifestyle #rcgp #dietitian #nutritionist #healthcareprofessional #holistichealth #healthyliving #plantbased #guthealth #naturopathicmedicine #selfcare #functionalnutrition  #naturopathicdoctor #foodasmedicine #foodismedicine #lifestylegoals #cpd #lifestylechange #mentalhealth #sourdough #sourdoughschool #bakeforhealth
BAKE, ANALYSE, EAT; RECALIBRATE & REPEAT. 📆 Th BAKE, ANALYSE, EAT; RECALIBRATE & REPEAT.

📆 The Sourdough School Clinic - Thursdays 8pm - for students of The Sourdough School 

✏️ In this weekly live session, we cover technical baking questions. Students can submit their Baking Record Sheets in advance of the session.

📋 We look at the details of our student's bakes - the specifics of the flour, timings and temperatures. Using our sourdough record sheets Vanessa will make suggestions on how they might modify, or recalibrate the next time they bake.

Follow the link in the bio to learn more about becoming a student at The Sourdough School 👆

#sourdough #sourdoughschool #bread #sourdoughlove #sourdoughlover #naturalleavened #leavening #levain #realbread #breadmaking #bakebread #makebread #makerealbread #learntobakebread #breadmakingclass #sourdoughstories #bakingforlove #bakingtherapy #sourdoughbaking
IBS AWARENESS MONTH Do you suffer from irritable IBS AWARENESS MONTH

Do you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? It can be tough to deal with the uncomfortable symptoms of stomach cramps, constipation, diarrhoea and bloating. But did you know that making dietary changes, such as incorporating sourdough bread into your diet, could help alleviate some of those symptoms?

Studies have shown that sourdough's long, slow fermentation process can reduce IBS symptoms. Plus, during #ibsawarenessmonth, we're exploring how adding different herbs and spices to your sourdough can further improve both the flavour and the digestion of your bread.

Let's talk about gut health, fermentation, and how sourdough can be a delicious and healthy addition to your diet. Join the conversation and share your experiences with IBS and sourdough.

#guthealth #healyourgut #healthygut #guthealing #guthealthmatters #letfoodbethymedicine #foodasmedicine #gutbrainconnection #nutrientdense #micronutrients #digestivehealth #nutritionfacts #microbiome #breadandguts #ibsawarenessmonth
THE SOURDOUGH SCHOOL – HAND CARVED WOODEN LAME THE SOURDOUGH SCHOOL – HAND CARVED WOODEN LAME

One of the biggest issues around using a plastic lame to score sourdough, of course, is that eventually the blade will become blunt and the lame could end up in landfill.  So several years ago I talked to my dear friend EJ about developing a lame with a replaceable blade. And he came up with this very beautiful hand carved wooden lame.

Very sadly EJ is no longer with us. Recently a friend of EJ’s who is also a wood turner and carver offered to make these again for us in remembrance of our dear friend.

Follow the link in the bio to our shop where you can find our full selection of wooden sourdough tools 👆

#sourdough #sourdoughschool #bread #sourdoughlove #sourdoughlover #naturalleavened #leavening #levain #realbread #breadmaking #bakebread #makebread #makerealbread #learntobakebread #breadmakingclass #sourdoughstories #bakingforlove #bakingtherapy #sourdoughbaking
The Baking As Lifestyle Medicine (BALM) Protocol The Baking As Lifestyle Medicine (BALM) Protocol

The current food system is broken at multiple levels, from the pesticides used in our soils to the emulsifiers and additives adulterating industrially-processed foods. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the bread we eat.  The figures reported by the UK Flour Millers say that bread is bought by a staggering “99.8% of British households” and that “the equivalent of nearly 11 million loaves are sold each day. Approximately 60-70% of the bread we eat is white and sandwiches are thought to account for 50% of overall bread consumption. Average bread purchases are the equivalent of 60.3 loaves per person per year.” 

Most bread sold is made by modern processing methods that strip heart-healthy whole grains of their nutrient contents, resulting in low-fibre bread with a high glycemic index. Over time, white processed bread can increase a person’s risk of insulin resistance alongside other lifestyle diseases.

We’re on a mission to revolutionise the bread making process at every level – from soil to slice. The rules governing this are laid out in our Baking As Lifestyle Medicine protocol. 

#lifestylemedicine #health #functionalmedicine #nutrition #integrativemedicine #healthylifestyle #wellness #lifestyle #rcgp #dietitian #nutritionist #healthcareprofessional #holistichealth #healthyliving #plantbased #guthealth #naturopathicmedicine #selfcare #functionalnutrition  #naturopathicdoctor #foodasmedicine #foodismedicine #lifestylegoals #cpd #lifestylechange #mentalhealth #sourdough #sourdoughschool #bakeforhealth
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