don't fear the gluten

People might be starting to realize that the so called problem with gluten is the way it has been processed. Let's face it, we've been eating wheat, wheat flour, and bread for thousands of years. Traditionally, the levain process takes a long time. During this period, the gluten forms and the bread ferments. Any type of fermented food is good for us: it is pre-digested after all and full of good bacteria. 

However, commercial bread, developed post World War 2, had other priorities, namely production volume, speed of production, and profit. First, flour was stripped down to its most basic and easily malleable product, bereft of its nutritious components and bleached for consistency. Secondly, sourdough was replaced by fast-acting yeast. Thirdly, the entire process - from mixing to proofing to baking to bagging - was reduced to 3 hours! So what once took a half day or longer could be squeezed into a fraction of that time. Ka-ching.

The resurgence of sourdough and artisanal breads is a good, good thing. The bulk ferment process (mine is 12-15 hours) ensures a very well developed dough where the gluten has had a full life cycle: from formulation through to pre-digestion. Local wheat growers and millers can now supply flour that is not bleached and full of its nascent ingredients (mine is from Moulin des Cèdres). 

The breads that this produces are alive. Everything about them is alive and infused with the earth, humanity, and a little bit of hope. It is bread for the body, the mind, the soul, the community. How can you resist?

There's a good piece about it here in Mother Jones.