My Love-Affair With Sourdough :D

Hi there beautiful people!

I have a confession to make.

It's a confession that I've been holding onto for quite some time now and I think now is probably the right time to share it with all of you lovely readers.

Because at Steph 2 Chef we share things. Like food obsessions, training dilemmas, injuries, food aversions, deeper/ more personal stuff... the whole shebang.

And so today I need to confess something to you all before we continue our relationship together as blogger and reader.

'BREATH'

Ok, my name is Steph and... I am having an affair with sourdough.

*inaudible gasp!*

Yes, I know, I know, it's utterly scandalous and completely crazy but sourdough and I have been seeing each other for quite some time now and I just had to tell someone!

Ok, all jokes aside... but seriously the love is real and I have just got to share some of my favourite meals involving my beloved sourdough with you all so you can truly understand the integrity of my love :P

But before we get into that, why don't I make it all the more acceptable by sharing all the benefits sourdough offers to ones body! (Sure makes me feel a bit better :)

Sourdough bread is made by the fermentation of dough using naturally-occurring lactobacilli and yeast. This means that when we eat sourdough bread it's like taking a probiotic, enhancing our gut bacteria as it contains multiple strains of beneficial microflora.

This in turn helps with prober digestion and absorption of nutrients (without microflora this would not be possible as the food would not be broken down sufficiently and thus not absorbed) and helps maintain a healthy intestinal tract.

Not only this but sourdough bread also provides vitamins B1 through B6 from lactobacillus and B12 vitamins from wild yeast.

As it's easily digested and absorbed it's also a great choice for people with a slight wheat/ gluten intolerance as it's a lot nicer on the digestive tract (not suitable for coeliacs!) which is a win for me who often gets a little bloat-y after a big wheat/ gluten meal!

So, in a very succinct nutshell; Sourdough is great and thus I will continue to eat it!

*On a little side note here, I used to work in a bakery and I was closing with a girl one day and we were saying our favourite bread,  I of course said sourdough and she looked at me as though I was crazy and said; 'Do you know how many kilojoules are in sourdough!' And apparently there is a fair few. But you know what, that's such a sad way to live your life determining which foods are your favourite depending on the caloric content!!

Now onto my beloved sourdough:

As you can see by this shot, sourdough doesn't have to be fancy. One of my all-time favourite ways of eating the delicious sour bread is simply lightly toasting and spreading with nut butter:

This also happens to be my favourite type of sourdough bread; mixed seed and grain sourdough- slightly nutty, chewy and delicious!! Topped generously with crunchy PB and cashew butter.

Possibly one of my favourite ways to enjoy this mixed seed sourdough however is with a spread of homes, some mashed avocado and a poached egg on top. Seriously, nothing beats that flavour combo and I literally have this attest once a week if not more!

pic

Lastly I wanted to show you this amazing lunch which featured pumpkin, lin and sunflower seed sourdough buns! Freshly baked from woolies and utterly amazing warmed up, spread with hummus, topped with spinach, a veggie patty and some grilled capsicum and fresh tomato slices: Hello ultimate veggie burger:

I also cannot wait to test one of these bad boys out with some rich, thick pumpkin soup for dipping. To. Die. For!

And just for your viewing pleasure... lookie!!!

Nom.

I am a big fan of chewy, dense bread, so if you're more of a lighter, fluffier, mild tasting bread, sourdough is probably not for you. but if like me you just want to chew on a deliciously flavourful bread with so much to offer whatever topping you decide to put on the throne, then definitely give sourdough a go- you will not be disappointed!!

* Another side note; pane di casa bread is also ridiculously marvellous and has a slightly less sour taste if you still want max flavour and chew- recommend!!

Now it's over to you:
What is your favourite bread of all-time?
Favourite topping for toast?
Best sourdough experience?

I hope you all have an extremely fabulous day, do something you absolutely love to do and eat something you absolutely love to eat. Your body and mind will thank you for it! bye for now friends!! :D