As the saga of 2020 continues, a positive trend that we have noticed is the increase in the mastery of random skill-sets. Newly acquired hobbies, ranging from playing the guitar, baking, or learning how to surf, have been flaunted under #isoinspo on social media.
As Retrain Health remained open throughout the self-isolation period, the iso skill sets at the clinic, unfortunately, did not get much attention. With that said, I (Ady) did manage to dabble in a little baking, after one of our lovely patients gave me the incentive to try a gluten free sourdough recipe.
While I have only recently joined the gluten free lifestyle, I am really struggling with not having access to fresh and delicious (non GF) bread. Bread is my weakness, and it has been tough to find a gluten free option, that is also super tasty and doesn’t require toasting to be tolerated.
If you’re like me and can’t get enough of bread, choosing sourdough instead of your regular bread may be beneficial.
Sourdough has pre and probiotic properties which can help make the bread easier to digest. So if you are only intolerant to gluten, sourdough's lower gluten content may be a good alternative in small amounts.
Additionally, sourdough has higher levels of folate and antioxidants than regular bread, which makes it a more nutritious choice.
Following the #isoinspo trend, I thought it was time I tried my hand at baking my own GF sourdough bread. While I thought this would be a pretty straight forward process, there are a couple of steps involved.
I hadn’t even heard of a sourdough starter beforehand, and was lucky enough that one of my patients provided me with a starter, which is the most time-consuming part.
If you want to try your hand at baking, I used the following recipe (see bottom of the page). While the recipe may seem overwhelming, perseverance is key and once you have fed your starter several times it will become considerably easier!
For additional inspiration, check out the photo of my first attempt above! The bread tasted delicious, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. It was great fresh and also toasted with melted butter.
For starters (pun intended!)
First you will either need to find a starter or find a recipe to make your starter. Once you have your starter sorted, it will require feeding until you are ready to use it. As I was given two different flour based starters, this is how I fed both of them:
For feeding the glutinous rice flour starter:
Take 1/4 cup of starter and discard the rest. Add 3 tbsp each of glutinous rice flour and brown rice flour, and mix with 1/4-1/3 cup of water to form a thick-ish paste.
For feeding the quinoa flour starter:
Take 1/4 cup of starter and discard the rest. Add 3 tbsp each of quinoa flour and brown rice flour, and mix with 1/4-1/3 cup of water to form a thick-ish paste.
For both starters:
If keeping in the fridge, feed every 3 days. If keeping at room temperature, feed morning and night, or as soon as the culture starts to drop.
And now some links for more detailed instructions for feeding the starters and for making bread with them:
Feeding the glutinous rice flour starter and recipe for seeded multigrain:
Recipes using the glutinous rice flour starter:
Recipe for quinoa flour starter and crisp-crusted bread:
Retrain Health is based in the Northern Rivers, NSW. From our Byron Bay and Ballina clinics, our team provides a range of quality healthcare services and products.
Retrain Health offers osteopathy, remedial massage and strength and conditioning sessions with qualified practitioners.
If you are interested in finding out more information or would like to book an appointment, please contact the clinic by phone (02) 6680 7447, send us an email or click here to book an appointment online.
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