Anyone do this?
I have been kind of mentally prepping myself for a few years and thinking about it. I always put it off due to not having a place that was warm constantly for the fermentation process, but now we have moved to a house with an Aga so I can't put off any longer!
So why bother?
In my nutritional research into grains and the methods of preparation for eating, it became obvious that quick rise breads using commercial yeast were just not a healthy food source. Apparently there is something called phytic acid in the germ of the grain (any grain, wheat, rice whatever) that binds with minerals in our gut. This is not a good thing as basically leeches, pulling out our precious reserves of minerals. What traditional methods of grain production did that we no longer do was to soak the grains and then dry them out before grinding into flour or using straight up. The soaking (or fermenting) causes a neutralising of the phytic acid and stops mineral binding. All over the world (pre-industrialisation) people left wheat standing up in fields in those piles… mmm what are they called, like little houses… anyway this meant dew and rain soaked in, helping render the grain more digestible. Traditional methods used to make bread would have been the sourdough method which relies upon the cultivating of wild yeast by leaving flour and water in a warm place until it bubbles. This is the fermentation/soaking process which occured out of necessity but made the finished food 100% digestible. Some even say that gluten allergies are actually mistaken and it is not the actual grain causing the problem but the production methods, quick, quick, chop, harvest, add in dried yeast etc means the grain is not broken down properly (which our stomaches just can't do alone!) and the body can't digest the stuff.
So slow foods. Nurtured, made slowly. A total contradiction to popular food and our society.
It is also thought that the same can be said of nuts and seeds. Traditional people intstinctively knew that they are hard to digest and so would soak them before eating. It was popular in South America to soak nuts and seeds in brine and then spread out in the sun to dry before grinding up for use. Many places that relied upon these sorts of foods tended to do this, if you look far back enough.
Anyhoo, I have wanted to make proper bread for ages, but have not. So I am going to start! I am excited! 
My family will be going, oh gawd, another crazy thing for us to all eat and suffer through until it tastes good :lol
I have a friend who makes fantastic sourdough (it is not heavy like that german shop stuff) but light and chewy and just, well tasty. I am going to get her recipe and try it. She tinkers lots so it should be good.
Anyone want me to stick it up here? Anyone have their own recipe?
First off is making the 'starter' so here we go…...
I'll let you know how I get on when I borrow her recipe.
