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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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Home Bakers: Learn To Bake As Lifestyle Medicine

How to Apply for a Course & Other Questions

27 September 2020 by Dr Vanessa Kimbell
  • How to Apply for a Course & Other Questions
  • How to Apply for a Course & Other Questions
  • How to Apply for a Course & Other Questions

How do I apply?

  1. The first thing to do is request a course prospectus. We encourage you to take the time to read the prospectus and then you will need to click the course and click the enrol now.
  2. What happens next? When you enrol, we will take course payment and you will be asked to fill out an application form online
  3. Once payment is made and you have applied , the team will consider your application. When your application  has been received an email will be sent to you confirming your place is reserved on the course and you will be invited to chat with Vanessa about what you want to achieve and why. 
  4. What if Vanessa has any concerns? If Vanessa has any questions, she will be able to discuss this with you.  This is a big commitment and we and need to make sure that the course is going to match with your expectations. Once you have had a chat with Vanessa we will send an email confirming that you have been accepted and that your place is secure. 
  5. What if Vanessa advises that the course is not right for me?  Occasionally Vanessa will suggest that the course you have chosen is not the right path for what you want to achieve. Sometimes you will just need to transfer to another one of our courses, or if the course is simply not right for you we will refund you in full within 3 working days. 
  6. Any other questions? Just send us an email ([email protected]) and we’ll get back to you.
    •  Please read our full terms and conditions here before you book.  

Is the diploma suitable for beginners?

Although the diploma is suitable for beginners, you will get far more from the course if you have some sourdough making experience before enrolling, so you at least have an idea of what it means to bake sourdough. 

Will I learn to make bread on the Nutrition and Digestibility of bread Diploma?

Yes. The Diploma runs two Syllabuses simultaneously.  The Bake for Health Certificate and the Impact of Bread on the body and mind Syllabus. The topics are synchronised, so you bake and eat the theory. Part of our aim is to challenge you to think about bread differently. Not just how you bake it but how you eat it too.

Why Sourdough?

Sourdough is the oldest way of making bread and uses naturally occurring wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria and this transforms the bread on many levels.  The mechanisms by which fermentation change the impact of the bread is one of the key topics on the Diplomas. 

The process of baking sourdough is also sensuous.  It requires a thoughtful and a change of approach to your bread.  Baking is both artistic and scientific and what we want you to learn is how a combination of passion, patience, dedication and craftsmanship. becomes about connection. It is about using your hands, appreciating touch, smell, taste, and sight.

How does learning to bake make a difference? 

Whilst the courses are about wellness it is also about making sourdough work for you.  We find that getting you to bake is the best way to get you to motivate your patients.  Being authentic in your approach means that you can inspire change in your patient, client or customer because you can genuinely talk about how connecting to bread making impacts you and your family personally.

This is about far more than just being able to prescribe a lifestyle change to your patients, it is about empowering people to make a powerful directly change that affects both their physical and mental wellbeing by making and sharing bread.

Why is this course so different? 

So this is not just a one year course in Nutrition and Digestibility of Bread.  It is about becoming an activist. The course is designed to empower you to help others and use the knowledge you learn to create impactful and meaningful change.  So yes there is a diploma / certificate but the true magic starts as you finish your programme and you use your practitioners prescription. 

 Being part of something more

Once you are a sourdough school student we continue to support you sharing the knowledge with others long after the course has finished with your Sourdough club membership and your practitioners licence. 

How do I get the full details of the programme?

The full course details can be found in our prospectus please click here to request a prospectus.

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.

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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

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Previous Post:Starter in a jar how to fresh a new sourdough starterHow to make a sourdough Starter from scratch
Next Post:Learning to bake – an interview with Michel SuasMicheal Suas

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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