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Sourdough - transform your bread & your health

The Healthiest Bread in the World: Science-Backed Baking for a Better Gut Heath

Vanessa Kimbell is a time-served baker who specialises in gut health and trained in the art of sourdough bread in the Dordogne. A bestselling author, she holds a doctorate in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine and Preventative Health and is a member of BANT. Vanessa combines deep expertise in sourdough with unparalleled knowledge of the science of bread and digestion. At The Sourdough School, she teaches personalised artisan bread tailored to optimise gut health and genetics. Discover healthy bread recipes, tips, and techniques featuring sourdough fermentation, wholegrain benefits, and personalised baking advice—designed to inspire a slower, healthier approach to baking, eating, and sharing bread.

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Bake the healthiest bread in the world

Latest Features

  • Big Poops Bread

    Big Poops Bread

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  • Is white bread healthy?

    Is white bread healthy?

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  • What is Personalised Bread?

    What is Personalised Bread?

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  • Gails - Are they ruining the landscape for independent bakers or heroes changing the balance of power?

    Gails - Are they ruining the landscape for independent bakers or heroes changing the balance of power?

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  • Olive, Rosemary & Sea Salt Sourdough Focaccia Recipe by Michael James

    Olive, Rosemary & Sea Salt Sourdough Focaccia Recipe by Michael James

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  • Podcast: Farming under threat.

    Podcast: Farming under threat.

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Why Healthy Bread Matters

Gut pain bread

How to Reintroduce Gluten – A Guide

2 June 2024
Understanding and Reintroducing Gluten: A Detailed GuideIntroductionI’ve written before about how to reintroduce gluten, but as many individuals contact me and tell me, they are struggling ( such as the lady in this feature on gluten) that …

Nourishing Bread Recipes

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Tim Spector’s Zoe Bread

olive sourdough focaccia

Olive, Rosemary & Sea Salt Sourdough Focaccia Recipe by Michael James

Bread & Health In The News

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Podcast: Farming under threat.

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Gails – Are they ruining the landscape for independent bakers or heroes changing the balance of power?


Latest Feature

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Podcast: Farming under threat.

11 November 2024
No farms = No food.Supporting UK Farmers: Connecting the Dots: Why UK Bakers Must Support British FarmersProfound shifts in the structure of our agricultural and food systems may not immediately seem relevant to bakers. However, these changes shape …

Healthy Bread Tips

Learn to Bake With Dr Kimbell

Bread & IBS

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

An overview of Sourdough Bread and IBS

Bread & Health

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Learn some Affordable Healthy Bread-Making Tips

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Bread Classification: A Framework to determine if bread is healthy or not.


Bread & Nutrition

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Learn some Affordable Healthy Bread-Making Tips

29 November 2024
For over a decade, I’ve been advocating for the use of botanical flour blends to enhance the nutritional profile and flavour complexity of bread. These blends, developed in collaboration with Hodmedod’s British Wholefoods, offer diverse …

Supporting Producers

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Podcast: Farming under threat.

The Sourdough School

Get in touch for consultancy

Bread & Gut Health

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Does sourdough really support gut health?

open crumb sourdough

How can sourdough bread support our gut microbiome & immune health?


Discover how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Is white bread healthy?

sourdough loaf

What is Sourdough?

19 04 SOURDOUGH SCHOOL-76

What equipment do I need to make sourdough?

sliced sourdough on the table.

Is sourdough good for you? By Dr Kimbell


Buy the ingredients and kit to bake the healthiest bread in our shop

olive sourdough focaccia

Sourdough Focaccia Kit

Adam holding 16kg bag of botanical blend flour

Meadow Blend – 16 kg Bag

spun iron cloche

Spun Iron Cloche

Seeded sourdough loaf

Seeded Big Poops Loaf Recipe Box


Choose the best ingredients and flour for your health

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

Learn some Affordable Healthy Bread-Making Tips

Vanilla pods being held

Pure Vanilla – Guide & Advice

Learn how to bake the healthiest bread in the world

The Magic of Black Barley – In Conversation.

Sourdough & Khorasan

Khorasan Flour for Sourdough


20 01 SOURDOUGH SCHOOL BANNERS-24

Todays live for diploma students will be on 'How t Todays live for diploma students will be on 'How to engage your patient in the lifestyle changes of the BALM' with @vanessakimbell 

In their 6pm live session, we help keep our students on track with the syllabus and discuss the application of Baking As Lifestyle Medicine to the 6 pillars of Lifestyle medicine, applying the research papers, application of the Research, and how this ties into prescribing, along with guest lecturers, discussions and sharing knowledge.

#lifestylemedicine #health #functionalmedicine #nutrition #integrativemedicine #healthylifestyle #wellness #lifestyle #rcgp #dietitian #nutritionist #healthcareprofessional #holistichealth #healthyliving #plantbased #guthealth #naturopathicmedicine #selfcare #functionalnutrition  #naturopathicdoctor #foodasmedicine #foodismedicine #lifestylegoals #cpd #lifestylechange #mentalhealth #sourdough #sourdoughschool #bakeforhealth
BAKE, ANALYSE, EAT; RECALIBRATE & REPEAT. 📆 Th BAKE, ANALYSE, EAT; RECALIBRATE & REPEAT.

📆 The Sourdough School Clinic - Thursdays 8pm - for students of The Sourdough School 

✏️ In this weekly live session, we cover technical baking questions. Students can submit their Baking Record Sheets in advance of the session.

📋 We look at the details of our student's bakes - the specifics of the flour, timings and temperatures. Using our sourdough record sheets Vanessa will make suggestions on how they might modify, or recalibrate the next time they bake.

Follow the link in the bio to learn more about becoming a student at The Sourdough School 👆

#sourdough #sourdoughschool #bread #sourdoughlove #sourdoughlover #naturalleavened #leavening #levain #realbread #breadmaking #bakebread #makebread #makerealbread #learntobakebread #breadmakingclass #sourdoughstories #bakingforlove #bakingtherapy #sourdoughbaking
IBS AWARENESS MONTH Do you suffer from irritable IBS AWARENESS MONTH

Do you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? It can be tough to deal with the uncomfortable symptoms of stomach cramps, constipation, diarrhoea and bloating. But did you know that making dietary changes, such as incorporating sourdough bread into your diet, could help alleviate some of those symptoms?

Studies have shown that sourdough's long, slow fermentation process can reduce IBS symptoms. Plus, during #ibsawarenessmonth, we're exploring how adding different herbs and spices to your sourdough can further improve both the flavour and the digestion of your bread.

Let's talk about gut health, fermentation, and how sourdough can be a delicious and healthy addition to your diet. Join the conversation and share your experiences with IBS and sourdough.

#guthealth #healyourgut #healthygut #guthealing #guthealthmatters #letfoodbethymedicine #foodasmedicine #gutbrainconnection #nutrientdense #micronutrients #digestivehealth #nutritionfacts #microbiome #breadandguts #ibsawarenessmonth
THE SOURDOUGH SCHOOL – HAND CARVED WOODEN LAME THE SOURDOUGH SCHOOL – HAND CARVED WOODEN LAME

One of the biggest issues around using a plastic lame to score sourdough, of course, is that eventually the blade will become blunt and the lame could end up in landfill.  So several years ago I talked to my dear friend EJ about developing a lame with a replaceable blade. And he came up with this very beautiful hand carved wooden lame.

Very sadly EJ is no longer with us. Recently a friend of EJ’s who is also a wood turner and carver offered to make these again for us in remembrance of our dear friend.

Follow the link in the bio to our shop where you can find our full selection of wooden sourdough tools 👆

#sourdough #sourdoughschool #bread #sourdoughlove #sourdoughlover #naturalleavened #leavening #levain #realbread #breadmaking #bakebread #makebread #makerealbread #learntobakebread #breadmakingclass #sourdoughstories #bakingforlove #bakingtherapy #sourdoughbaking
The Baking As Lifestyle Medicine (BALM) Protocol The Baking As Lifestyle Medicine (BALM) Protocol

The current food system is broken at multiple levels, from the pesticides used in our soils to the emulsifiers and additives adulterating industrially-processed foods. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the bread we eat.  The figures reported by the UK Flour Millers say that bread is bought by a staggering “99.8% of British households” and that “the equivalent of nearly 11 million loaves are sold each day. Approximately 60-70% of the bread we eat is white and sandwiches are thought to account for 50% of overall bread consumption. Average bread purchases are the equivalent of 60.3 loaves per person per year.” 

Most bread sold is made by modern processing methods that strip heart-healthy whole grains of their nutrient contents, resulting in low-fibre bread with a high glycemic index. Over time, white processed bread can increase a person’s risk of insulin resistance alongside other lifestyle diseases.

We’re on a mission to revolutionise the bread making process at every level – from soil to slice. The rules governing this are laid out in our Baking As Lifestyle Medicine protocol. 

#lifestylemedicine #health #functionalmedicine #nutrition #integrativemedicine #healthylifestyle #wellness #lifestyle #rcgp #dietitian #nutritionist #healthcareprofessional #holistichealth #healthyliving #plantbased #guthealth #naturopathicmedicine #selfcare #functionalnutrition  #naturopathicdoctor #foodasmedicine #foodismedicine #lifestylegoals #cpd #lifestylechange #mentalhealth #sourdough #sourdoughschool #bakeforhealth
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Latest Posts

Tim Spector’s Zoe Bread

Learn some Affordable Healthy Bread-Making Tips

Tim Spector’s Recipes for Gut Health from His New Book Food for Life

Protected: An Invitation to Join Dr Kimbell on the Bread & Guts Podcast

Podcast: Farming under threat.

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