I have been avoiding gluten and wheat for almost a year now, not because I was diagnosed coeliac or with a wheat allergy, but simply because of the agonising pain I get when I eat it. I’ve had the allergy tests and they all came back clear, so my GP chalks it up to IBS.
After turning vegan some years ago, the omission of dairy in my diet really changed my life, but wheat and gluten still cause an issue. So last year I decided to cut it out altogether, it’s been challenging, but the relief is undeniable. No more crippling pains, cramps or feeling sick and bloated.
I’ve been making my own baked goods at home, especially breads. Shop bought gluten free bread is almost all horrible! I’m very proud of the breads I’ve been making and I enjoy them as much as their wheat counterparts. It was around October 2020 when I mastered my artisan gluten free loaf that I’ve been making. But, it still uses ‘quick yeast’ which I keep reading isn’t always the best thing for the flora of ones gut.
During Covid times, I’ve seen the sourdough craze take hold of everyone and in classic me I resisted for two reasons. One: I hate following the crowd. Two: I can’t eat ‘real bread’ anymore… or can I? Safe to say – I’ve been both curious and jealous!
After much research and reading I’ve discovered there are many out there like me who aren’t allergic but suffer at the perils of wheat and gluten… however they’ve found they can eat sourdough! Apparently this is because the sourdough breaks down some of the gluten in the flour so it is easier to digest, plus sourdough yeast and bacteria is healthy for your gut!
And here we come to this… behold this sourdough loaf from my local artisan baker, The Bakehouse. Marvel at it’s majesty!
I have decided to give it a try, eating sourdough I mean… I ate one tiny end slice at the start and I was terrified, but I had no pain, no issue. So on Sunday we had our usual Sunday brunch and a decent slice of this sourdough was my toast. No issues again. I haven’t eaten anymore yet, but I’ll keep you updated on how it goes!
I have also spoken to the baker from my local artisan bakery and they said:
“We’ve had hundreds of conversations with customers over the last few years who seem to be in the same situation as you and we have always managed to work with them to build up to eating all of our breads and even our other baked goods. 99% of the time people who believe they have a gluten intolerance (not coeliac) are actually suffering from bloating reactions to mass produced breads which contain additives, improvers and other nasty processing agents… this is why our bread is fine for them as we only use flour (mostly organic), salt, water and yeast.”
Does anyone else have my same ailments and have you tried sourdough? Please share your experiences in the comments, I really want to know more about others who have found they can eat sourdough but not other wheat, gluten products.
Falcore xXx