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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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Sourdough School Retreat 1 Week in person (August 2023) +1 Year Online Bake for Health Certificate
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Lifestyle
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Sourdough School Retreat 1 Week in person (August 2023) +1 Year Online Bake for Health Certificate

£3,999

Monday 7th   – Sunday 14th August 2023
7 days with Vanessa
Kimbell

It takes more than just a week to learn sourdough. It’s about both understanding and practice. Our courses are fully supported by our Sourdough Club online learning platform, and our books, with over 70 video tutorials, features, regular new recipes, articles & a Forum to include you in our baking community, helping you to continue your practice so that you will keep on learning.

Includes a pre-course 1 year syllabus, our Bake For Health Certificate starting in September 2022 RRP ÂŁ1499

+ a 7 day Retreat

***All Club Members, current and past Sourdough School students (online and in-person) are eligible for a ÂŁ1000 discount upon request, before the end of July 2022. Please email [email protected]

Fully Booked

Categories: Baking Retreats, Combined Online & In Person Sourdough courses
  • Description
  • What will we make? 
  • What will I learn?
  • What is included?
  • What is the teaching style?
  • What is not included

The retreat is about baking for the joy of it.  A retreat, to bake and laugh and de-stress, and before you come you join the 1 year Bake For Health Certificate starting 29th September 2022. So please do book your place on the Retreat before September 2022 to ensure you are able to start the ‘Bake for Health’ course on time.

We have a beautiful week planned of sourdough baking, wild swimming, making fruit compotes, cultured butter, fermented cakes and of course our classic sourdough boules.

You will immerse yourself in connecting to the Botanical Blend flour concept this week, and make your own blend.

We have a visit to a flour mill to find out more about how stone ground flour is still being milled today in an incredible historic mill, followed by a pizza evening.

We have yoga, and a life coach to plan how to use sourdough and the schedule to re-centre your priorities.

Places on this course are limited to just 5 people- if you are unable to attend please do request a copy of our prospectus to see if you are able to attend any other course options we have.

Please note: all visits and non-baking events within the course are subject to change depending on their availability. We reserve the right to change them to suitable alternatives as and if required. Thank you.

What will we make? 

What recipes will we make?

All recipes will be based on the recipes in the Sourdough School books.

  • Create a Botanical Blend flour
  • A sourdough fizz
  • Sourdough Pizza
  • 10 minute Focaccia
  • A sourdough Boule
  • A fermented cake and a probiotic accompaniment such as cultured butter
  • A symbiotic recipe such as a soup to eat with the bread
  • Vegetable or fruit probiotic pickles such as kimchi or sauerkraut
  • Fruit compote

What will I learn?

You will learn more than you even knew there was to learn, just by being here for the week.

  • Every step of making sourdough
  • Starter refreshment
  • Blending and milling flour
  • Timings
  • Familiarisation of the variables affecting fermentation
  • About fibre, protein & gluten in the flour
  • An overview of nutrition & digestibility of bread
  • Eating symbiotically for optimal gut health
  • Why diversity is key to gut health
  • About the gut microbiome and why the kind of bread you eat matters
  • Probiotics & prebiotics
  • How to make sourdough central to your lifestyle

What is included?

What is included:

  • An exclusive ceramic jar with breathable wooden lid & some of our sourdough starter to take home
  • A set of sourdough record cards
  • A personalised signed The Sourdough School book worth ÂŁ24.99
  • Membership to The Sourdough Club (if not already a member) and a place on our 2022 Bake for Health Certificate
  • A Botanical Blend flour that you will create and mill on your course
  • You can also book a wine tasting & tour of the vineyard (providing the proprietors are available)
  • All trips, food & drinks whilst at the school are provided, including lunches and supper at the windmill

What is the teaching style?

Teaching Style

All courses are run in the same style and it is really important that you understand that our teaching style is not that of a cookery school.   We teach using a participative demonstration style,  making sourdough, and working with one mixer, Vanessa will make larger batches of dough.  There will be ample opportunities to touch, taste, smell and feel the dough. It is important, however to understand that The School is a classroom, and the teaching style is about understanding the principles of sourdough rather than each of our students individually making bread.  The practical side of learning to shape is supported by the Sourdough Club video tutorials for when you get home. This teaching style enables us to still run courses by maintaining a safe learning environment for both students and the team at the school.  We ask that students are considerate of this approach and that you read and agreed to follow our COVID-19 guidelines before attending the school.

All of our information for attendees can be found here. Please read our Terms and Conditions before you book.

What is not included

You will need to budget for your:

  • Travel
  • Accommodation
  • Insurance
  • Food outside of teaching hours

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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.

đź“‹ 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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