Why Kamut Sourdough?

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I began baking homemade bread over 25 years ago.  Bread Machines were all the rage and many people were enthralled with the idea of having freshly baked bread right at home.  The idea of having a machine that mixed and kneaded the dough, proofed the dough, and baked the bread with a few touches of a button was enticing. 

I had one of those bread machines.

The aroma of freshly baked bread wafting down the hallway upon waking in the mornings was a delight.  With a bread machine, all I had to do was pour the ingredients in a certain order into the bread machine sometime before going to bed, and Presto, with the benefits of programming a timer, I had warm, soft bread waiting on me the next morning.  My husband and kids loved it.

Not too long after making bread this way, I attended a homeschool convention.  An incredible aroma was floating in the air.  Homemade cinnamon rolls were being made.  And not just any cinnamon rolls, cinnamon rolls from freshly ground wheat.  The samples were delicious. I was intrigued.

The next thing you know, I was grinding wheat and baking bread in a new way.  My family and I enjoyed homemade loaf bread, banana bread, blueberry muffins, and grilled pizza. One of my favorite dishes to take to gatherings was pizza rolls. Oh my, stuffed with yummy pizza toppings and gooey cheese, that was one of my favorites.

As a professional iridologist and naturopathic doctor, one thing I recommend to my clients is eliminating bread, pastries, cakes, and cheeses, especially if you have blue eyes, as blue-eyed people tend to have problems with their lymphatic system being congested when they eat bread and cheeses – especially bread from refined flours and most cheeses. 

But breads from flour that aren’t refined and especially breads from “ancient grains” such as Kamut berries are much healthier for us and don’t cause quite as much congestion as today’s breads.  Plus, sourdough bread, which is a fermented bread, has the gluten already broken down for us making the bread easier for us to digest and not as clogging to our lymph system.

It is rumored that Kamut was found in King Tut’s tomb in Egypt and that even thousands of years later, the grain still sprouted.  What isn’t a rumor is that the grains Triticum turgidum and Triticum turanicum are Khorasan wheat or Oriental wheat and these grains may have originated in Mesopotamia. 

If you are buying Kamut grain or Kamut flour, you are buying a trademarked name.  The grains that were supposedly found in King Tut’s tomb were supposed to have been mailed to a family in Montana by a young Air Force pilot.  It’s a great story, even if we aren’t sure that it is true.

Another thing you’re getting when you use Kamut as your flour is a wheat grain packed with nutrients.  Kamut has more protein than other wheat varieties.  It also has Vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, pantothenic acid, copper, and healthy fat.(1)

Some people who are allergic to traditional wheat or who are gluten intolerant can enjoy breads made from Kamut. Please be wise. Those with celiac disease are unable to consume any gluten at all! Be sure that your loved one is only sensitive to wheat or gluten before suggesting they try it. One of my employees was able to eat bread I make from fresh ground wheat when all other breads upset her stomach.

So why am I playing around with sourdough starter and sourdough bread made with Kamut if I’ve been making bread using instant yeast all these years?  Well, the first reason is, I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of making sourdough and how people made bread for thousands of years without packets of dried yeast.  The second reason is for health reasons.  Just as I began grinding grains for fresh flour so that all of the nutrients are still there and the oils aren’t removed so that the flour can be shelf-stable and sit on the grocery store shelf without going rancid, I also wanted to make sourdough bread because it is a fermented bread.

Sourdough bread, true sourdough bread, is made from flour and water mixed together that is then allowed to sit.  The starter captures the wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria in the air and colonizes them.  The yeast breakdown or “eat” the sugars found in the flour. According to The Pantry Mama, this produces CO2 which causes the bread to rise.  But more importantly, the bacteria in the starter break down the gluten. (2)  When the gluten is broken down prior to baking, it is much easier on our digestive systems.  Even sourdough bread made with white bread flour is easier on our digestive systems than other breads.

Since bread and pastries made with white flour may clog the lymphatic system, I am on a quest to see how well I can make sourdough bread using both an ancient grain and an ancient method.

Joyful journeys,

Beth

(1) Smith, S. (2012, September 12). Kamut: An Ancient Grain Making a Comeback. Retrieved June 4, 2023, from:  https://www.thekitchn.com/kamut-the-ancient-whole-grain-making-a-comback-176848

(2) Kate, The Pantry Mama. (2022, September 10). Long Fermented Sourdough Bread. Retrieved June 4, 2023, from: https://www.pantrymama.com/long-fermented-sourdough/bread

 Published June 4, 2023.