• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer

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.

WhatsApp
[email protected]
Follow on Instagram

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
The Sourdough School Course Information
Subscribe to our newsletter

.

  • Home
    • The School
    • What is Baking as Lifestyle Medicine?
    • Get in Touch
    • Evidence Based
  • Dr Kimbell
    • Personalised Bread Assessments
    • Books by Dr Kimbell
    • Podcast on Apple
    • Podcast on Spotify
    • Case Studies
  • Courses
    • Workshops
    • Baking Retreats
    • Online Diploma
    • Join The Club
  • Articles
    • Understanding Sourdough
    • Bread & Health
    • Bread & Nutrition
    • Bread & Gut Health
    • Bread Matters
  • Baking
    • Recipes
    • Bread Making Ingredients
    • Sourdough Ingredients
    • Sourdough Bread Kits
  • Shop & Resources
    • Sourdough Baking Equipment
    • Flours from Farmers Directory
    • Add Farmer to the Directory
    • Bread Health Calculator
    • The Glossary
    • Research papers
    • Sourdough Hydration Calculator
    • British Artisan Flour Mills by Region
    • Equipment advice pages
Home Bakers: Learn To Bake As Lifestyle Medicine

Direct Contact with Vanessa Kimbell

15 October 2019 by Dr Vanessa Kimbell

The Sourdough School operates on a traditional three-term academic year.

Please get in touch with Vanessa Via at The Sourdough School. Please note that The School is:

  1. Closed all day on Mondays.
  2. Closed for the entire month of August each year.
  3. Closed from the second week of December to the second week of January.
  4. Closed for three weeks over the Easter holiday.

Please note that our response to inquiries may take a few days due to our active teaching, baking, and filming schedules. We are a small family-run business, and we often respond to emails outside of traditional office hours.

For urgent matters, please text or call the emergency number + 44 (0) 7813 308 301 and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Your understanding and cooperation are greatly appreciated.

Contact Vanessa by Email

Are you on WhatsApp
Are you an existing student?
Sending

All reasonable care is taken when writing about health aspects of bread, but the information it contains is not intended to take the place of treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. You must seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about any medical condition. Any application of the ideas and information contained on this website is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

Learn more about…

Joining
The Sourdough
Club
Attending
Workshops &
Retreats
About The
Sourdough School
Certificate
Enroling on The
Sourdough School
Diploma

Never miss a post

Enter your email address


diversity blend flour

Sourdough Ingredients

Sourdough Baking Equipment

The Sourdough School book

Sourdough School Baking Books

Sourdough Bread Kits

Dr Vanessa Kimbell

About Dr Vanessa Kimbell

Dr. Vanessa Kimbell is a leading expert in nutrition and the digestibility of bread. Her doctorate focuses on Baking as Lifestyle Medicine and preventative health, specialising in personalising bread for gut health and genetics. She is the Course Director at The Sourdough School, a world-renowned centre of research and education in bread, the gut microbiome, and the impact of bread on health, based in Northamptonshire. She is currently writing her 6th book and is a best-selling international author.

More information about Vanessa can be found:
The Sourdough School team page: About Vanessa Kimbell

The Sourdough Club: thesourdoughclub.com

Instagram accounts: @SourdoughClub
@SourdoughSchool @vanessakimbell

Facebook: Vanessa Kimbell Baker

LinkedIn: Vanessa Kimbell

Previous Post:SOURDOUGH SCHOOL-132Why is fibre so important for the health of our microbes? 
Next Post:10 Sourdough tips for beginnersWeek 1 - Introduction & Orientation

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katherine Waldron

    18 January 2020 at 11:55 am

    I have just seen Vanessa a article I the Waitrose magazine and had to email. She is so right and PhD is brilliant. I have said for years that people have a problem with bread because most of our breads are not actually proved but chemically manufactured in about 10 minutes for more than 10
    Ingredients!
    My husbands sour dough bread can take 2 days to get from starter in the fridge to the actual loaf.
    I can eat loads of his home made breads but cannot even have a Waitrose sandwich without a knot of pain a few hours later – and so many people I know are the same.
    My husband is out bread maker so I am definitely going to get him into one of your courses.
    If you need any guinea pigs for your PhD…….
    Good luck and so great to hear about this research!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


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
Follow on Instagram

About

Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)7813308301

The Sourdough School Ltd
Registered in England & Wales: 08412236

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

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.

BANT Member
Lifecode GX

Subscribe

Enter your email address

Search


Terms & Conditions | Competition Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2009–2025 Vanessa Kimbell | Login
Registered in England and Wales: 08412236
Website by Callia Web