A lot of lovely customers ask us about gluten-free.  Or avoiding wheat/ eating spelt as an alternative.  Or using low GI flours.  Some even say they have to avoid bread because they’re watching their weight.

“There’s an urban myth that if you want to lose weight, you shouldn’t eat bread”

Source: 2008: Professor Terry Graham, at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, a human health & nutritional sciences researcher who has now published clinical findings into the effects of different breads on blood sugar & insulin levels.

It’s both no surprise to us & a relief to establish that there IS growing scientific evidence that not all breads are the same – it’s what ingredients the baker uses  AND the way he uses them that determines whether you are eating healthy Bread.

Clinical studies have proven that what’s most beneficial is….. tra la la la….Sourdough. 

“The subjects, who were overweight and ranged between 50 and 60 years of age, showed the most positive body responses after eating sourdough white bread..

“With the sourdough, the subjects’ blood sugar levels were lower for a similar rise in blood insulin,” said Graham

The measurement of the impact of food on your blood sugar is called the Glycemic Index – GI.  This obviously means that Sourdoughs are naturally “Low GI”.  We would never use low GI flours or “sour flavours” which are commercially available, as we don’t like the scary implications of altered flours, but hey presto!  We have the natural GI diet solution for you, in our Sourdoughs.

The clinical findings are so convincing for more serious conditions that the American Diabetes Association positively recommends real bread like Sourdough to help prevent  those with Type II from blood glucose spiking.   Who would have thought just your daily bread could have such a dramatic impact on your body’s gut reaction (literally)?  Clearly not all breads are made equal.

It’s thought that handmade Sourdough really is the healthiest bread because of the verrrr-yyyy lonnn-gggg slow ferment, positively altering the flour’s starches into digestible sugars.  Certainly the time & love & labour that goes into a Sourdough is what makes it our most premium priced bread (though let’s face it, still costing you about the price of a coffee).  Rex Bakery sourdough takes at least 3 days to make,  relies on a homemade sourdough starter originally derived from local  honey and that’s constantly fed & nurtured by the Rex Baker; and the very best organic flour with absolutely no additives.  The Rex Baker has even been known to take his Sourdough starter on holiday with him to nurture it, and goes in to the bakery late at night & on “closed days” to work the Sourdoughs.   No corner-cutting mixes here!   All our loaves take at least a day or 2 but Sourdough takes the very longest to develop.

That’s why it’s thought there’s no more fermenting, bubbling, expanding having to go on in your own tummy, because it all happened naturally in the days beforehand.  The digestive effect of slowly made real Sourdough is so benign that the researchers found it doesn’t even impact your blood sugar.  This world of difference in what bread you eat has been likened to eating a raw hard green tomato versus a vine-ripened & sun-ready tomato.

No wonder factory-fast breads are associated with bloating & weight gain, forcing some people to believe the culprit is any wheat or any bread.

Maybe even more importantly than being the healthiest option….  We like eating Sourdoughs! We plan the signature Rex sourdoughs to just. taste. delicious.!!!  We regularly rotate them but here’s our typical menu:

Daily: “regular” Rex sourdough
Saturday: Oat, Groat & Sesame; Raisin & Rosemary; Poppy & Pumpkin Seed; Pain au Levain
Weekday rotation: 3 Grain Levain, Potato, Walnut; Oat & Apple

We also make Rye, and Spelt breads.    These are the obvious alternatives to Wheat if you know you cannot digest that but could consume gluten – or just love Rye or spelt loaves as so many customers do!
Did anybody try them all yet?  We often have tasters, please ask if you would like to try something new to you.

None of our breads can be Gluten-free for the approximately 1% of the population who are confirmed Coeliacs/ gluten-intolerants because we cannot guarantee no gluten particles in the bakery atmosphere, unfortunately.  So sorry 🙁

We love that Little Chalfont has taken so to Sourdoughs, we normally sell out of these fabulous loaves before the organic Sandwich tin loaves & get incredible feedback from all you Sourdough-heads out there:

“Rex Sourdough – This was most excellent”
“Loved … the Sour Dough”
“Hiii guys that potato sourdough was sooo good the best so far for me”

So if you are watching your weight, diabetic, worried about bread-bloating or trying a low GI diet – the good news is that Sourdoughs are clinically proven to be better for you.  Oh, and seriously yummy 🙂

Have a great week!