Promotes Beneficial Gut Bacteria
The natural yeasts contained in sourdough starters usually contain probiotics.
As you may already be aware, probiotics are bacteria that benefit people by being in their bodies.
Most of these probiotics die from the heat of the baking process however, there is scientific evidence to indicate that even after these bacteria are killed off they remain beneficial to the gut.
Apart from probiotics, there are also pre-biotics. These are fibers found in sourdough bread that happen to feed the good bacteria in the gut.
Prebiotics enables the body to more easily digest sourdough bread.
Sourdough bread also happens to contain resistant starch, which is yet another food source for the aforementioned probiotics.
Apart from this, it has also been indicated as being helpful with health issues that include heart health, blood sugar regulation, digestion, and insulin sensitivity.
So not only does this bread have a low Glycemic Index, it also regulates blood sugar levels.
This type of starch is a very rare component in many foods yet sourdough contains a sufficient amount of it.
Common whole wheat bread actually contains 50% of the resistant starch contained in sourdough bread if we are to make a comparison.
Vegan Sourdough Bread For Beginners
This is the recipe for sourdough bread for beginners that Ive been using over and over! Its a medium/large sized loaf and is easy to modify based on the flours you have at home.
Ive been lusting after sourdough ever since I first started my food blog. I remember back in 2011, one of the food blogs I used to follow, Pinch My Salt, shared her sourdough starter journey and how she made her starter with pineapple juice. I remember seeing that and being mind-blown that you could capture your own yeast just by mixing, refeeding, and waiting. The whole process also skeeved me out as someone who has accidentally grown many science experiments in my fridge, but after seeing so many people bake sourdough bread with the yeast shortage from the past few months, I got my hands on whole wheat flour and never looked back.
I recently shared my start to finish of baking sourdough bread and Ive learned a lot about bread-making since then, MOSTLY through trial and error.
A lot of error.
Ive baked at least 6 pancake loaves, mostly from over-extending myself and getting a little too ambitious with batch mixing dough to make multiple loaves OR batch mixing coloured dough to make marbled loaves.
The bread always tastes good, but I find when I overcomplicate my dough, the results tend to get pretty messy and not as beautiful. I have yet to perfect my marbled dough technique, but I figured Id nail the regular boule before I tackle marbling again.
Is Sourdough Bread Healthier Than White Bread
One of the best reasons to eat sourdough as a vegan is that its incredibly healthier. In fact, its a LOT healthier for you than traditional white bread or even natural whole wheat bread.
What makes sourdough bread so healthy for you is that its a natural probiotic food.
Lactobacillus bacteria are one of the key ingredients in modern probiotic supplements and are essential for maintaining a healthy digestive and immune system. The more sour your sourdough bread is, the more probiotics youre consuming with each serving!
As far as the calories go, though, white bread and sourdough bread have similar nutritional value.
Also Check: Mrs Anderson’s Pie Crust Shield
What Is Sourdough Bread
First of all, we must speak of the general traits of the Sourdough. It is the type of bread or dough that is especially light and airy.
This is because it ferments and simultaneously produces carbon dioxide you know that bread that has a somewhat acidic taste, and it is not as dense as some other kinds? This is the bread we are talking about.
Sourdough bread is especially tasty, lasts longer than other bread and is easier to digest, so it has some many other benefits.
Those doughs that use yeast are those that will produce white pieces of bread of all kinds, from French baguette, over Italian toad to toast bread. There are so many kinds of them.
If the bread needs to be kneaded quickly, baking powder can be used instead of yeast this is often the case with buns, for example.
The most varied pieces of bread are those made from Sourdough because Sourdough can be made from almost any type of flour you should always opt for the healthier.
These are first of all rye, oat and wheat, but also barley, spelt, young spelt grain, buckwheat flour, quinoa flour and quinoa.
The things that set apart Sourdough then some others is because it has a sourdough starter, and we will speak some more about it in the article.
Bread Ingredients That Can Come From Plants Or Animals
To ensure these products dont contain any animal products, check for vegan authenticity statements on the packaging. Unless you are buying from reputable suppliers you might want to avoid completely if you see the following ingredients on the label. These ingredients can contain non-vegan products.
Recommended Reading: Pork Pie Hats For Sale
What About Whole Wheat Vs White Which Is Best
Always opting for a whole grain option will be your best choice. Whole wheat bread is usually more nutrient-dense and less processed. White bread has commonly gone through a process to remove bran and germ, which strips the bread from many beneficial nutrients. In most cases, white bread will be fortified with added vitamins and minerals.
Most Common Types Of Vegan Bread
Many types of bread are naturally free of animal products. Heres a list of types that are commonly vegan:
- Sourdough. A type of fermented bread made from flour, water, salt, and sometimes commercial bakers yeast. Though uncommon, some varieties use milk instead of water, making them non-vegan.
- Pita. A flatbread made from a simple mixture of flour, water, yeast, and salt. Though often vegan, some varieties may add milk, eggs, or honey for flavor.
- Ezekiel. A bread made from sprouted whole grains and legumes. This type of bread is often vegan and typically richer in protein and other nutrients.
- Ciabatta. A flat, elongated bread recognizable by its harder crust and soft, airy crumb. Most versions are vegan, though ciabatta al latte replaces water with milk making it non-vegan.
- Baguette. A popular type of French bread thats long and thin with a crispy crust and tender crumb.
- Focaccia. An Italian flatbread topped with herbs and a source of fat, baked in a flat pan. Most recipes call for olive oil as the fat of choice, making this bread vegan but a few use butter or eggs instead.
- Kosher bread. Jewish dietary laws prohibit mixing dairy with meat, so many kosher types of bread are dairy free to allow for meat toppings. Some though not all also contain no eggs, making them vegan.
Therefore, checking the ingredient label remains the best way to ensure that no animal products have been added to the food.
Don’t Miss: Who Makes The Best Apple Pie
Is Dunkin Donuts Sourdough Bread Vegan
One of the best vegan options on the menu at Dunkin Donuts is their famous Avocado Toast. Despite the fact that it comes from a fast-food restaurant, I can attest that its a darn good recipe!
Avocado/guacamole is always vegan, so thats not an issue. However, most people seem a bit unsure about whether or not Dunkin Donuts sourdough bread is vegan
Thankfully, Dunkin Donuts sourdough bread is 100% vegan.
According to Dunkins ingredient list, their sourdough bread is made using:
- Enriched wheat flour
- Malted barley flour
Although its got a few more ingredients than a simple flour-water-and-salt recipe, theyre all plant-based and safe for vegans to eat.
How Can You Make Sure Youre Buying Vegan Sourdough Bread What Are Some Hidden Ingredients That A Vegan Needs To Look For On A Label When Buying Packaged Bread
Eggs and dairy are the major culprits in most commercially sold breads. Watch out for words like casein and whey, which are the proteins in milk. Lactose may also be added, which is the type of sugar in dairy milk. And egg might be disguised as albumin, which is a fancy name for the egg white.
If you see lactic acid in the ingredient list, it doesnt necessarily mean theres milk in it, though. Lactic acid is a byproduct of fermentation, and whatever the bacteria were living in at the time they fermented would determine whether its vegan or not.
Lesser-known non-vegan ingredients would be gelatin and vitamin D3, which is usually derived from sheeps wool unless its labeled as being vegan. Natural flavors may also come from animals or animal products, and theres really no way to know unless you contact the manufacturer and, by some miracle, they answer you.
The last ingredient to look for is called L-cysteine. L-cysteine is an amino acid found in tons of packaged bread loaves thats added to extend their shelf life. And L-cysteine is synthesized from human hair. It can also be made from duck feathers, pig hair, and cow horns, but the cheapest way is from hair gathered from the floors of salons.
There are a lot of reasons to make your own bread at home or buy from a small-batch bakery, and L-cysteine might be one of the top!
Don’t Miss: Ice Cream Cake Batter Recipe
Sourdough Bread Labelling Requirements
It sounds like a simple question to answer, but the problem is that most mass produced bread has additional ingredients that are not plant based or suitable for vegan diets.
What makes it worse, is that in the UK , the legal requirement for food labelling doesnt include goods that are sold unwrapped.
This means that if you go into a supermarket or your local bakery and they display their bread on the shelves, baskets or trays unwrapped, they dont have to legally include a label with ingredients.
Saying that, most bakeries, especially artisan bakeries will have trained staff who will be able to tell you if any of their products include any allergens or non-plant based ingredients.
In any case, I think its worth knowing to hand what type of sourdough is and isnt suitable for a vegan diet, so that you can choose your bread without worrying about accidentally eating something that you dont want.
MORE SOURDOUGH BREAD RESOURCES
Made From Basic Ingredients
It is believed that sourdough dates back more than 5,000 years and this type of product has constituted almost all bread throughout the history of time. Modern production methods using controlled bakers yeast are less than 200 years old by contrast, so in a sense, for a long, long time, all bread was sourdough.
Aside from the unique way in which sourdough is leavened, the rest of the production process is fairly straightforward. Some of the starter is combined with strong bread flour, water, salt and sometimes a vegan cooking oil, such as olive oil or rapeseed oil. The mixture is kneaded, is subject to a long, slow prove, then a second warmer one before being baked, initially at a high temperature with a little steam to generate the characteristic crust.
Don’t Miss: Gluten Free Prepared Pie Crust
Is Yeast And/or Sourdough Starter Vegan
Yes, Yeast is vegan and it has PETA stamp of approval on it!
Yeasts are unicellular fungi that turn sugar and starch into carbon dioxide and alcohol gasses, making them useful allies in making bread.
The yeast belongs to the fungus family so if you eat mushrooms as part of your diet, it is safe to say you can eat yeast as well.PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is satisfied when living creatures do not suffer any cruelty or exploitation of any kind in order to get to our plate.
I say if its good enough for PETA, its good enough for us.
Now that we got that out of the way we can continue.
Is Challah Bread Vegan
I really like Challah but unfortunately, it is out of bounds for vegans. In baking challah, youre bound to use eggs and milk, and if it is sweet challah then there is a chance that honey is also used. The bottom line: All the problematic products are in one bread.
Verdict:Challa bread is definitely a No for the Vegan diet.
You May Like: Banana Sour Cream Bread Recipe
How Do I Store The Starter
For the first seven days, between feedings, leave your starter outside at a room temperature of no more than 75 degrees F. Make sure it’s covered with a kitchen towel.
If you find that your starter is forming a hard crust on top, but otherwise appears to be developing nicely, stir it, feed it, and cover it with something more airtight or even cling wrap after the first couple of days.
Once your starter is ready, you can store it in the refrigerator. Each time you feed it, leave it out at room temperature for a few hours or until it gets puffy and expands, then put it back in the fridge.
Is All Bread Considered Vegan
A bread recipe comprises four basic ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast.
This microscopic fungus helps bread rise.
Vegan bread is the easiest type of bread.
Some types may contain additional ingredients such as sweeteners and fats, which can be from animals.
Some recipes use butter, milk, or honey to alter the texture or flavor of the bread.
Vegan bread is the simplest.
Some breeds, however, contain ingredients from animals like eggs, milk, and honey, making them non-vegan.
How to determine if a loaf of bread has been made vegan
It is usually easy to determine if a loaf of bread has been made vegan.
The ingredient listing will help you distinguish between vegan and non-vegan bread.
Vegan bread does not contain eggs, honey, royal jelly, or gelatin.
These ingredients may be vegan, but they are not always.
- Mono and Diglycerides. These fats are used to improve texture and retain moisture. These fats are often made from soybean oil, but they can also be obtained from animal fats.
- Lecithin. Another type of emulsifier is usually made from soybeans. Lecithin can also come from egg yolks.
The label alone is not enough to determine if these ingredients are animal products or plant-based.
You can be certain that your bread is vegan by avoiding monoglycerides and diglycerides.
Monoglycerides and diglycerides, as well as lecithin, can be vegan.
The most common varieties of vegan bread
Bread of all kinds is naturally without animal products.
There are exceptions.
Recommended Reading: Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach Small Breed
How Do You Know If Store
The issue with store-bought sourdough is that it might not be genuine sourdough. There arent any regulations as far as labeling bread as sourdough. Some store-bought sourdough has sour flavoring added to make it seem like sourdough without actually being fermented.
The best way to ensure you get genuine sourdough is to buy it from a notable bakery that can answer your questions about how it was made, or make it yourself.
Should Vegans Eat Gluten Free Bread
Gluten free bread is specially for anyone that has a celiac disease or a gluten intolerance. If you dont have either of these health consideration and are vegan, you can certainly enjoy traditional bread. Most of the time people can get confused and assume that eating gluten free makes them healthier. Some gluten free breads can be high in sugar, oil and have other highly processed ingredients just as some traditional store bought breads do as well. In conclusion its not necessarily an overall healthier option.
Also Check: Ingredients To Make Pie Crust
Sourdough Bread Is Made From Plant
Sourdough bread is a type of bread that is made with plant-based ingredients. It is a slow-cooked bread that develops a unique flavor. The key to making sourdough bread is fermentation. The process involves yeast, water, and flour. In addition to these ingredients, you will need a sourdough starter. If you are vegan, you can substitute the starter with plant-based butter.
The starter is mixed with water and sourdough flour. After mixing the ingredients, it is important to fold the dough to add strength. Folding and stretching the dough helps develop gluten. Sourdough bread requires little or no kneading, but requires lots of time. The dough must be left for at least one hour to ferment properly.
It Contains Caraway And Coriander
Traditionally, sourdough bread is made with beet sugar molasses and spices such as caraway and coriander. Modern versions often use 100% whole rye. The scald must be at least 26C and 79F to ferment. The dough must also be cooled before proofing. During the proofing process, the bread is shaped into a loaf and placed in a greased baking tin.
Sourdough bread has many different varieties and names. There is Russian sourdough, which is made with rye instead of wheat and is rich in caraway and coriander. Sourdough bread is usually topped with butter or cheese, although it is not strictly vegan. Other varieties include pumpernickle, a slightly sweet bread from Germany. Some sourdough breads have non-vegan ingredients, such as milk in the starter.
Also Check: How Many Carbs Are In Angel Food Cake
Vegan Ingredients In Sourdough Bread
When it comes to vegan approved ingredients, the most fundamental ingredients that are needed to make a perfect sour dough bread are all vegan approved and that includes
- The Sourdough Starter
So well, these are the base ingredients that make the bread and any bread that you find in the store ONLY with these ingredients can be considered vegan friendly.
Breads That Are Usually Always Vegan
Sprouted or Ezekiel These breads are sprouted from their grains, which come with loads of extra nutrients and protein.Sourdough Fermented with minimal ingredients, sourdough bread, provides our gut with healthy bacteria.Ciabatta This bread has a hard crust with a fluffy inside and its perfect for a vegan sandwich option.Pita bread Pita is made with minimal ingredients and most of the time is vegan. Be on the lookout for added milk ingredients.Focaccia Commonly served and baked flat in a pan with toppings and rich olive oil.Rye Very close to the texture of regular whole wheat bread but has a more pungent taste.
You May Like: Train From Madrid To St Jean Pied De Port