Sourdough Bread --- Crohns Disease

[5thwheeleroldma]

Wife has Crohns/Colitis; recent research seems to show the emulsifiers used in food could be a big culprit in causing the disease.

I tried baking our own "Amish White Bread" thinking I was avoiding the emulsifiers, then realized the yeast I was using was full of emulsifiers. I'm thinking of trying sourdough bread, using no yeast at all, to see how it might affect her digestive system.

Three questions: Is it really that hard to bake sourdough without yeast? Can I use the left over King Arthur bread flour, or must it be all purpose flour? What's easier, baguettes or bread loaf pans?

Thanks in advance.

[5thwheeleroldma]

I meant sorbitan monostearate.

[5thwheeleroldma]

Thanks coolmom42. However the bobs red mill yeast contains sodium monostearate, an emulsifier. I did check it out. Thanks anyway.

[Go_Dogs]

You can make your own sourdough starter using only flour, water and the 'air' in your environment. You do not need commercially sold yeast. Yeast in a living one-celled organism that is present in the air around you, (especially in the kitchen of a baker!). The yeast in the environment varies from region to region-thus San Francisco starter. Try checking the CulturesforHealth.com web page to buy specific starters and really great directions for sourdough and other cultured foods.

[coolmom42]

Almost all sourdough recipes I've seen start with a purchased yeast in the very first batch. The yeast is just propagated in the starter, instead of starting at zero in the next batch. Of course each successive batch would have less of the original ingredients, but there would be some in the first few batches.

There are lots of sources of organic yeast, in bulk and consumer varieties. These do not use the emulsifiers and anti-foam agents (although some use a natural oil for anti-foam, which is fine.) You could just use the organic yeast instead of bothering with sourdough, which takes up a lot of refrigerator space and is fairly high maintenance.

Check out Shipton Mills, or Bob's Red Mill.

You might also be able to find some organic yeast locally at an organic food store.

[5thwheeleroldma]

Yes, some people have suggested gluten free diets, but the research does not seem to point that way, at least for now. Their latest research, which we try to follow, points at the emulsifiers used in processed foods. Special lab mice fed with equivalent doses of emulsifiers had the heavy protective mucous lining of their intestines destroyed by the emulsifiers. Bakeries are the biggest users of emulsifiers in the country, by far, so I thought I would start with trying emulsifier free bread. The emulsifiers improve quality and texture of all bought baked goods, so you can't really buy any baked goods without it. All the commercial yeasts I have found have emulsifiers added into the yeast --- no choice! I figure the natural yeast would not have artificial emulsifiers; thus my interest in sourdough.

[magnusfide]

Most sourdough cultures do have yeast. If the bread is for you no problem; just bake a smaller loaf and refrigerate the rest of the dough to be used in a couple days. The yeast is less active in fridge temps. Do a search for "no-knead bread" and you'll find this method. You can have fresh bread every day.

As for your wife, she may want to forgo bread altogether with Crohns. Bless her heart, special diet requirements are never easy.

[5thwheeleroldma]

Thanks GoDogs. About what I thought, though I wasn't sure about the bread flour as most of the recipes call for all purpose. I guess a "boule" is one of those big round things of bread, right? Some of the articles I read make it sound almost impossible to bake sourdough without using yeast. The yeast would defeat my purpose as it always seems to include emulsifiers.

[Go_Dogs]

Three questions: Is it really that hard to bake sourdough without yeast? Can I use the left over King Arthur bread flour, or must it be all purpose flour? What's easier, baguettes or bread loaf pans?

Duh, I should just answer the OP's questions.
I don't think it's hard to make sourdough. Again, there are azillion YouTube videos on it, Yes, bread flour is perfect for sourdough. I think the loaf pan would be a lot easier than baguettes. I make boules in a cast iron Dutch oven. Good Baking!

[Roy_Lynne]

How about French Bread or flour tortillas. I don't know, just asking

[Go_Dogs]

Sourdough starter contains the natural yeast that is in the environment-it does not have 'commercial' yeast. You can certainly get a dough to raise using only a sourdough starter-it will take time, as the starter is slower than commercial yeast. That's what gives sourdough, it's distinctive taste and crumb.