What Are Your Reasons For Eating Sourdough Bread?

We think there are probably dozens of reasons to choose sourdough over commercially baked bread, but we wanted to learn what our customers thought. So for #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay today, we opened a survey so that you can let us know why you eat, make, and/or buy sourdough bread.

And while this is a snapshot as of the end of July 2021, the survey is still live. So if you want to add your input click here and make your choices to add to our body of research.

Our guess is that you with be able to list many more than seven, but for now, the top seven choices have been:

1. Nutrition and bioavailability of vitamins and minerals
   Real Nutrition™ is part of the Abigail Oven seven-part process of Sourdough bread-making and it centers on the use of Real Wheat™. Our wheat and flour are locally grown. These grains are a non-GMO, heirloom variety, non-dwarf, deep biologically farmed wheat grown with neither pesticide nor herbicides. Our grain is then cold-processed into flour but remains unbromated, unbleached, and unenriched. It is the real thing just the way it was meant to be.
   The interesting thing is that whole wheat with its bran and germ delivers many more enzymes than white bread flour, enhancing the sourdough fermentation process. This also helps to release the vitamins and minerals in whole grains that otherwise would not be bioavailable.
   And this is part of the problem with commercially baked bread. These breads contain unfermented phytic acid, which inhibits your body’s ability to absorb the vitamins and minerals in the flour.
2. Better taste and flavor
   Real flavor™ takes at least eight hours of fermentation. In the fermentation process, enzymes found on the whole grain combine with wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the sourdough starter (the stuff that makes the dough rise), but it also develops the flavor of sourdough bread that we all enjoy. Then after it is baked, sourdough bread will mellow, making even better flavor the second day as the bread sits.
3. Simple, natural ingredients
   Abigail’s Oven Sourdough Breads are all baked with natural ingredients. The starter is made from purified, spring water and Abigail’s Oven Whole Grain Flour to grow Real™ Yeast. Then we mix that same flour and water with the starter and Real™ Salt to get the best flavor. And whenever we add cocoa, cinnamon/sugar, jalapeño/cheddar, or garlic/rosemary, these products are organically sourced, premium products.
4. Digestibility
   The fermentation process of making sourdough bread pre-metabolizes gluten which makes it easier to digest. And once the dough is fermented, our bread is high in prebiotics, an indigestible substance to humans that fosters probiotic growing conditions in your gut.
5. Lower on the glycemic index
   Compared to commercially manufactured bread, sourdough bread’s fermentation breaks down starches in the dough, which lessens blood sugar. And the probiotic effect of the dough mimics fiber so that your digestive tract further slows the release of sugars in the flour. This means sourdough won’t cause sugar spikes as commercial white bread does.
6. Good source of body fuel
   Complex, or whole carbohydrates, are the good carbs, in our flour at Abigail’s Oven, which makes our sourdough bread a good sources of energy. And the process of fermentation pre-metabolizes protein, sugars, and starches for our bodies to make into glucose, which is our fuel.
7. Beneficial micro-organisms
   Sourdough fermentation fosters more beneficial bacteria than in other bread. Interestingly the bacteria in sourdough reduces yeast populations in the dough, lessening the likelihood of yeast infections and/or overgrowth. And it cultivates good bacteria in your gut just like inulin and oligosaccharides do that come from asparagus, bananas, garlic, leeks, and onions.

What reasons did we miss for you choosing to eat sourdough bread? Tell us in the comment section below and we will include your ideas in our next survey coming soon.