Tags
antibiotics, celiac, fermentation, fermented foods, gluten intolerance, microorganisms, probiotics, sourdough bread, wild yeast
Bread has been the “staff of life” for millennia, sustaining entire civilizations and billions of people without the ugly spectre of Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities. But that bread was very different from the typical wheat products we see lining supermarket shelves today. Boxes of cookies, crackers, wheaty snacks, cakes, quick breads, mass-produced yeast breads and rolls leap off those shelves and into shopping carts, while fast-food pizza, hamburgers and hot dogs are the meal of choice for so many families (all wheat-based and made with speed, economy and efficiency—using the cheapest ingredients. Bakeries using natural ingredients and healthful methods out of concern for their customers are hard to find.)
And how did the day start for most people? Perhaps some of that mass-produced yeast bread in the form of toast or muffins—maybe even a doughnut or two. And while one or two of these as a treat would not usually be a problem, a constant barrage of mass-produced wheat products on our systems has definitely taken a dear toll.
The health topic du jour seems to be “gluten” and related issues. And many people are crying—perhaps with good reason—that today’s wheat has been hybridized to the point where we can’t digest it properly so we should avoid it altogether.
Truth is, we do have an alarming rise in gluten sensitivities, and the number of people with Celiac disease in the United States (according to the Celiac Sprue Association) is estimated to be one in 141 and climbing—a 400 percent increase in the last 50 years.
But is it just the hybridization of wheat that is the cause of this misery? What else has changed in the last century?
As someone with an interest in food history (who has enjoyed making sourdough bread for decades), I can’t help but compare the methods used in the past with the speeded-up, cost-effective methods of today. While the Staff of Life used to grow slowly from living starters—fermenting, breaking down gluten and creating beneficial microorganisms—today we use quick-rise methods that include baking powder or soda and commercial dried yeast. This works quite well for gargantuan commercial bakeries, but does not do as well for us as individuals.
Living foods like sourdough add much to our health. The fermentation process actually increases the nutritive value of foods. The resulting probiotic microorganisms (including several strains of Lactobacillus and wild yeast among possible billions of others) feed on sugars, help us maintain a healthy digestive tract, produce various acids that help break down starches, gluten and gluten-forming proteins while creating an unfriendly environment for harmful bacteria, and supply us with a surprising array of nutrients including fatty acids, B vitamins (including the elusive B6 and B12), C and E. The microbes supply us with an array of minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and others), counteract the phytates (anti-nutrients) found in the hulls of seeds and grains, and supply a complete set of the amino acids necessary for our bodies to build protein.
Today’s mass-produced bread products are a poor substitute for something with so many health benefits—and if you’ve ever tasted a a true sourdough bread or even a really good pain au levain, you know it’s worth seeking out. I sincerely appreciate the small artisan bakers who are trying to make a difference one loaf at a time.
A few years ago, I met Jack Bezian’s sourdough bread at the Real Food Symposium in Pasadena, California. These wonderful breads are made in the traditional way, with no added yeast and plenty of time to ferment, rise and develop to perfection. Jack, who has been baking bread since 1966, creates wonderful flavor combinations and textures that meld with the intensely sour, addictive tang of the dough. Moroccan Olive, Sun-Dried Tomato, Fig, Green Olive and untold others—fruits and vegetables and cheeses mixed with herbs and ethereal hints of spice that hold you hostage until the entire loaf disappears. Oh, and they’re really good for you, too.
Jack has a bakery in Los Angeles, but he doesn’t sell from there. He can be found at farmers’ markets throughout Southern California. Just follow the crowd. When he’s not slinging loaves to the hungry masses, he is more than willing to speak about his favorite subject. Jack is a wellspring of information about the history and the benefits of true, slowly-raised, fermented, wild yeast sourdough.
I enjoyed interviewing Jack Bezian recently, and hope you enjoy the video. Some of his ideas may seem radical and may run counter to modern conventional wisdom—whole grain breads are not better for you than white? people who are gluten-intolerant can often eat his bread?—but it seems he may be on to something.
Until next time~
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Hi Alice:
What a great job you have done with this interview. Thank you so much.
I see that you have such a great way of developing a presentation that makes our subject so easy to understand. This is such a great start to get the message out to an ever wider audience for everyone’s health benefits.
write a book for us Bezian! i want to know how to make healthy bread!
Me too!! Teach us, Jack! I live really far away from these farmers mkts and I need easier access to your bread.
Thank you, so much, Alice & Jack. I “just happened” to come across this post in my search for real answers & real solutions, in nourishing my growing children – some with obvious food sensitives – & my large family as a whole. As a mom of 8, 7 I am so blessed to nourish & nurture each & everyday, this post on sourdough, the gluten issue & probiotics/micro flora is heaven sent & beginning to fill in many gaps for me. I am poignantly aware of the powerful role our nourishment – or lack thereof – plays in our lives – affecting EVERY aspect. We need to be educated about the things you share here Jack. Even on a very traditional & whole foods diet, food sensitives & allergies can still be present (I know from personal experience!) There is just something missing in the, often times conflicting, whole foods direction & information available online. (For example, the whole soaking or not soaking grains topic, or the sprouting of grains, but then turning around & cooking them, which kills all the live enzymes you just took care to grow???) This post is beginning to fill in gaps for me! Again, thank you both for doing this interview & post.
The only thing is, I want to learn more from both of you about this! I do not live in California, so I cannot just come to the market & ask you my questions Jack. I would love, not only the opportunity to try your bread, but to learn more from you about this. I want to learn how to make this bread in my own home, for my own large family. How does one make this special starter? How do we care for the starter & properly prepare/let rise the dough? How on earth do you bake the bread to keep the optimal flora alive & flourishing? I have questions that I need real answers to, but I am not sure where to ask them. I am hoping one or both of you can help me answer these questions.
Jack, if you do choose to sell your bread so people like me can enjoy it via shipment, that would be wonderful. I would buy from you today, if this was available. But, I very much also want to learn how to make this special starter, as well as gain the bread preparation/cooking information. This is SOOO needed in the homes of today Jack. I trust you already know that.
Alice, I do apologize for this lengthy comment! Please feel free to only post the first paragraph, or what you’d like. I feel so blessed to have “found” your blog Alice & gain real education, real answers & real solutions, on such an important & whole-life significant topic – the true nourishment of ourselves & our families. I look forward to learning more & hearing back from you.
Take care & God bless you both & your families,
D.D.
well i’m just wondering how bezian makes his bread. has he written any books? i hear he often ferments his bread for a month…is that at room temp or in cold storage? so many questions i have because i want to replicate his healthy bread i hear about so much!
Hi Jason,
Although many of our customers with gluten intolerance do better with our bread, everyone is different.
One way to test for food intolerance (when you’re relaxed) is to take your pulse before eating and 15 minutes after eating. If your pulse goes up more than 10 beats per minute, your body is not happy and you should avoid that food.
Please see attached for more information on ordering our product.
Thank you,
Jack Bezian
I want to learn too!! I’m wondering what kind of flour he uses. Does he grind his own and separate out the bran? does he just start with unbleached white flour and a starter?? How would the starter have any nutrients to feed on if this was the case? Does he teach classes??
Dear Kathy:
Thank you for your interest in our work. I will try to answer questions as I find time.
Kathy, Ingredients do not make ”food”. When Microorganisms eat, they secrete your
nourishment. Also, you do not want Probiotics unless you feed them. They have to
eat to give you Nutrition. Whole grain is like a planet size to a bacterium; it cannot
deplete all of the gluten (protein). We are successful because, besides being 85% of
the whole grain, and the only part of wheat that is fermentable in bread, the white
flour is ground down 28 times finer than Whole Wheat flour. We even add gluten in
some of our breads and it still does not harm the customer’s digestion. It is very
important not to over mix or under mix the dough. The gluten has to be developed
to perfection, and then broken down with proper fermentation.
Bacteria can only derive nutrition from flour because of the help of the wild yeast.
Otherwise it is a miserable Microorganism. It can only eat simple sugars if on its
own. The wild yeasts in our cultures break down the flour (complex carbohydrate)
into simple sugars, which the bacteria can then feed on and thrive .
Bees eat sugars from flowers and produce honey, which is a complex carbohydrate
for ”storage food”. Bacteria eat simple sugars, raise the loaf and turn the rest of the
starch into polysaccharides , unlike other breads, where Baker’s yeast is added to the
sourdough, not allowing enough time to form the polysaccharides and to break down
more of the gluten. Consequently, eating our sourdough bread has helped a lot of
our customers lose weight among other benefits. According to research, sugars are
depleted in true sourdough bread , especially with long fermentation times (up to a
month in our case). Sugars, if not depleted, would go to the liver and get stored as
fats.
You will probably enjoy reading the September 2012 issue of Martha Stewart’s
Whole Living magazine at: http://www.wholeliving.com/183942/our‐daily‐
bread.
Jack Bezian
Love that article. I actually came across that article first, then did a Google search on your name Jack, which led me here. Educational & well written. I appreciate the level of research this author shares. A great read for anyone seeking to understand more about the grain issues we are seeing today. Supportive in making a more educated decision. Now, we just need to know how to make this bread like you do! I am so grateful for the information you shared here Jack. But, how long is “long enough”, but “not too long” when it comes to kneading? What do we need to be watching for in the dough?
Can you share more instruction so we can make this bread at home? (Even if it is not here, maybe an online course or make an instructional DVD available?) Many of us do not have access to the bread you personally make. And, after reading & viewing the things you share, we see & understand the need, if we are going to eat bread, that we need to make it the way you do. We have received the underlying education. Now, we need the how to. So, will you please teach us?
Thank you much for sharing your information. I find myself wanting more knowledge and information. Where could I learn/read more. Jack- do you teach classes on bread making, fermenting etc. PleSe write a book, or teach classes- I would pay for the information and travel for the class! Just lived too far from L A area to make it to weekly farmers market.