Your Daily Bread that Heals + Restores
Some of my fondest memories include the soothing smell of soft, freshly baked bread. On Saturday mornings in winter, my mom would bake rusks. By the time I’d wake up, they’d be cooling on the rack already. I’d make a beeline for the tea towel that covered the “Liewe Heksie bolletjies” – little buns my mom made with the leftover rusk dough. We would butter them and add sweet or savory spreads. Later in life, I lived above a supermarket bakery, and that warm, sweet, yeasty smell would be a constant fragrance in my home. Yes, I’ve loved bread all my life and tried to make many—failing most of the time. But I’m proud to announce that I have finally succeeded and I now “get it”. Practice really makes perfect. I can hear the crust crackle as it gives way to the breadknife, and I can smell the butter melt on the soft, warm inside. Yep, it took me until today years old to learn not to cut a hot bread fresh out of the oven, for the sake of the moisture distribution. Letting it cool down is key to the perfect texture. Then again, you’ll learn from this blog–especially from the food sections—that I’m not about perfection that restricts my expression. My measurements are typically based on feeling and momentary inspiration, with a little bit of scientific common sense thrown in. Things are not perfect only when you do everything “right” or according to a recipe. Perfection typically hides in the broken but beautiful parts of life. So when I share my recipes, expect a lot of innovation, creativity (some of it perhaps somewhat bordering on insanity), and typically a little different. Don’t expect “tradition” —unless it’s my unique spin on a traditional recipe. There was a time I avoided bread. I was convinced that it’s high in calories and therefore fattening. My tummy didn’t love bread. Minimizing bread for several years was one of the many keys to helping me lose 43kgs. Why do we talk about sourdough like it’s a wellness super-star? It all comes down to the ancient art of “the long pause,”a slow fermentation process that makes the bread far easier to digest and unlocks nutrients conventional bread keeps locked away. Standard supermarket bread is often rushed, but sourdough takes its time (which is SO aligned with our business name and model! <3 ), and that’s the key to its benefits. Standard supermarket bread is often rushed, but sourdough takes its time, and that’s the key to its benefits. what’s so “special” about sourdough? the Phytic Acid problem Commercial bread uses fast-acting yeast, which doesn’t have time to deal with phytic acid (or phytate), a naturally occurring compound in grains. Phytic acid is an anti-nutrient—it binds to minerals like iron, zinc, and magnesium, making it impossible for your body to absorb them. Sourdough Solution: The long, slow fermentation process, involving Lactobacilli bacteria and wild yeasts, breaks down (hydrolyzes) up to 90% of the phytic acid. This means that the essential minerals in the flour are finally available for your body to use. Simple stewardship means choosing the bread that lets you absorb the good stuff! the Glycemic Index game Standard white bread has a high Glycemic Index (GI), meaning it causes a rapid spike in blood sugar followed by a crash (hello, mid-morning energy slump!). This is the opposite of building capacity. Sourdough Solution: The presence of organic acids (like lactic acid) produced during the slow fermentation process actually changes the starch structure of the bread. This results in a much lower GI. This means your body processes the energy slower and steadier, giving you sustained energy instead of a sugar spike and crash. the Gut Capacity lift If you find yourself feeling bloated or heavy after eating bread, it’s often due to the short fermentation time and high yeast content of commercial loaves. Sourdough Solution: The natural bacteria in the sourdough culture acts as a prebiotic, helping to feed the good bacteria in your gut. It also breaks down some of the complex starches and even small amounts of gluten before the bread even hits your stomach. This essentially gives your digestive system a head start. It’s a less demanding food, allowing your gut to focus on Restoration rather than struggling with a digestive burden. Sourdough is simply bread that respects the process. It models the se-lah pause—when you slow down, the results are exponentially better, whether in your life or in your lunch. Like many of my recipes, this one will evolve over time. My Sourdough Experiment Since I believe in radical honesty, I’ll tell you two things: I don’t follow directions in creative projects (like recipes or DIY) very well. I watch a few videos until I become confident, and then I’ll do it my way—several times before I actually “get it”. That’s when the real fun starts to kick in and I start to experiment. At sourdough, I tried harder, and learned harder than with most things, and I still didn’t get it right the first… 5 times. So many sourdough starters died on me—well, so I thought; until I learned that I actually killed them, because I didn’t know that they were hungry. (Disclaimer: I have successfully raised two human babies to adulthood, so I’m not completely horrible!) That said, here’s how the process evolved in pictures! (Be sure to follow on social media – TikTok, Facebook, Instagram) for videos and more. If you’re in the local area, here’s your chance to be a Selah Sourdough Scout! I’m constantly tweaking recipes for ultimate gut capacity, and I need a few brave, honest taste-testers (yes, this is my fancy way of asking for guinea pigs—but you get paid in artisanal carbs). DM me if you’d like to try a sample batch of the next iteration. Let’s practice simple stewardship of our bodies, one incredible slice at a time. Takeaway: We can meticulously pursue low