The Sourdough School Ltd

10/06/2026

CANCELATION

Hello everybody,

I’m very sorry, but I’m going to need to postpone the Sourdough Exchange Open House planned for 8th and 9th July.

As many of you know, from personal account that my father-in-law recently died. Because of the circumstances, we are still waiting to hear when the funeral will take place, and I can no longer hold these dates in the diary with so much uncertainty.

The good news is that I’m not cancelling the event, simply moving it to late September or early October.

As always, the Sourdough Exchange is a very relaxed gathering here for alumni and students rather than a course — pizza, bread, conversation, a chance to look around the School, catch up with fellow students, and spend some time together. There is no charge; it is simply something lovely that I enjoy hosting for our community.

My sincere apologies to anyone who was planning to come. Thank you for your understanding, and I’ll confirm the new dates as soon as I can.

To be notified please make sure you are subscribed to the newsletter and I will announce the new dates as soon as possible.
Love

Vanessa

Xx

31/05/2026

THIS GRAIN IS REMARKABLE

So I will tell you what it is not it is not Bread Wheat…

🌾 I am in Tuscany, it’s glorious, and I had to share this…. But I’m not going to tell you what it is yet. I wondered if you might guess which grain it is?

I will be back tomorrow to tell you in the comments what it is, why many people tolerate this grain better and interestingly how, for some people nutrigenetically, it can help them prevent lifestyle diseases better than other grains..

21/05/2026

WHAT WENT WRONG?

Well you followed the recipe and it didn’t turn out. i’ve been having to create breads that didn’t go well as photographs for my new Book Proven so I thought I’d share a few of the ones I haven’t used with you here on Instagram.

This is a gorgeous piece of bread but …, two specific things were marginally off.

What were they?

Comments below- I will revisit this post tomorrow and tell you what two things I modified for this bread.

Vanessa
###

20/05/2026

TO B1 or NOT TO B1 - that is the question

This morning a student texted me about Dr. Rick Pescatore’s post on thiamine (B1) deficiency & cancer

— Thiamine is often referred to the energy vitamin … so here’s why he’s right and also what we can do as bakers
rickpescatore shared his thoughts on two key studies:
* Japanese research showing ~25% of cancer outpatients had low thiamine levels.
* US data indicating nearly 50-55% of cancer inpatients were deficient.

👆🏻Thiamine is also one of the most heat-sensitive B vitamins, easily lost through refined foods, modern diets, stress, illness, and high-heat baking.

So as bakers we can actively protect and preserve more of it.
My recipes use Botanical Blend Flour (### or 0+/ + Meadow Blend No. 2):
* These diverse wholegrain blends from are naturally packed with B vitamins because they retain the bran and germ.
* Using my 10-Minute Sourdough technique — just 10 minutes hands-on with long, gentle fermentation.
* Bake at ~200°C until the internal temperature reaches 99°C.

Lower oven temperatures combined with sourdough fermentation help retain significantly more thiamine compared to hotter, faster bakes. Wholegrain diversity + slow fermentation also improves overall nutrient bioavailability.
Every loaf becomes your way to support energy, gut health, and resilience.

— this is exactly why I love teaching diversity bread. Who else wants to know more about bread & better nutrition?

Tag a friend or fellow baker below 👇
10MinuteSourdough RealBread NourishFromWithin SourdoughSchool GutHealthBread

30/04/2026

OUR MOROCCAN FLATBREAD
Simple automatic inexpensive and part of your baking routine
Now published.

Link above 👆🏻

30/04/2026

Sharing one of my favourite recipes. Moroccan flatbread https://www.sourdough.co.uk/master-recipe-sourdough-naan-bread/

22/04/2026

READY…

It’s not just about Making Bread, it’s about how you eat it.

05/04/2026

This newsletter is not just baking tips. It is a thinking space — bread as science, culture and quiet activism. are you in?

This newsletter is not just baking tips. It is a thinking space — bread as health science, culture and quiet activism.

30/03/2026

LETS TALK ABOUT GUT NOURISHMENT

Nourishing your gut is about three things. Fibre, diversity and fermentation. So how does diversity work? The incredible Meadow Blend Flour by supports microbial cross-feeding.
👉🏻One species breaks down a compound, another uses the by-products. This is where diversity becomes function. You are not feeding a single organism; you are supporting an entire network.

07/02/2026

THIS IS WHY WE PERSONALISED BREAD

Have you ever wondered what makes Vanessa’s approach so different?

In this clip, explains that cancer treatment doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy land inside a living system: immune function, gut lining, inflammation, microbial ecology. That internal environment changes how well people cope, how well they recover, and sometimes how well a treatment can even do its job.

INTUITIVE

Many years ago, she listened carefully to clinicians who attended her classes and began to really understand why nourishing bread is the foundation to health. When you understand bread properly, you start to see it differently. It can harm if it’s made badly but made well it becomes one of the most practical fibre delivery systems we have.

When the gut microbiome ferments fibre, it produces short-chain fatty acids like butyrate. These compounds help maintain the gut barrier, calm inflammatory signalling, and support immune regulation. But people do not ferment fibre in the same way.

Two people can eat the same bread and have completely different outcomes.

That is why we do not bake generic bread and hope for the best. We look at the individual. What is happening in their life. Their diet. How they respond to bread. How they feel when they eat it. What matters to them. Their context, their biology, their capacity.

From there, you start to see the real question: some bread places strain on the system, and some bread can support it. Most people are never given that choice.

Vanessa’s approach helps determine what a person can actually handle. Which fibres. Which plants. Which grains. What dose. What fermentation time. What format. Fermentation is used to change the food before it reaches the gut, so the gut has a chance to benefit rather than struggle.

That is personalisation.

Bread crafted to the lifestyle medicine needs of the person, not the product.

This is why we personalise bread.