Hello, my name is Martha Levie. I want to talk about natural disasters,  gluten intolerance, and the magic of a dehydrated sourdough start.

You may be asking what those things have to do with each other. Imagine you faced a natural disaster. Let’s say there was an earthquake and the food trucks stopped coming and stocking the shelves of the grocery stores. So there’s nothing to eat there, but you have stored some food in your basement.

In the Intermountain West, many people store wheat, salt, and sugar, and other basic things. But if you have a gluten intolerance and go down to your basement to bring up just wheat, you might say, “Huh, I can’t eat this. I have nothing to eat but beans.” Not that there’s anything wrong with beans, but they shouldn’t be the only part of your diet.

Now imagine you added one more item to your food storage: a dehydrated sourdough start. Now, provided you know how to make sourdough bread, you are in a sweet spot because all you need is a dehydrated start, flour, water, and salt. If you don’t have a dehydrated start, you can grow your own start with flour and water. This process takes about a week, so in an emergency it’s better to have some start dehydrated.

You can either make or buy a dehydrated sourdough start ahead of time. Then all you have to do is reconstitute it in a glass bowl with just enough water to cover it. Let the start soak for 24 hours, smashing it up once in a while with your fingers to help rehydrate the larger flakes.

After 24 hours, activate your start with ½ cup purified water and ¾ cup flour. Let it sit at room temperature until doubled, then you are ready to add the wheat from your basement. Using your stored salt and your filtered water, you’ll be making delicious and nutritious bread in no time.

“Wait,” you ask, “how is wheat gluten-free?” Of course it isn’t, but because of the fermentation process and the breaking down of gluten in sourdough, many people with gluten intolerance find they can eat it without an issue. So If you find yourself in a natural disaster and in a place where you can’t go to the grocery or health food store to buy your gluten-free items, then know that sourdough may work for you.

So if you’re concerned about natural disasters or you’ve never thought about them before in relation to your gluten intolerance, go ahead and store that wheat. Store that salt. Just make sure you’ve got the magic inside this little baggy of dehydrated starter and you will be good to go.

Have a happy and safe day.