Olive & Rosemary Sourdough focaccia
I have been obsessed with sourdough bread for quite some time now, it’s just unbeatable when it comes to its taste, texture, and healthy nutritious value!! Sourdough bread has so many health benefits, more then I even realized and ever since I got my hands on my very own sourdough starter I have been making so many recipes with my starter that have become some of my favourites! That includes this delicious, fluffy and flavourful olive rosemary sourdough focaccia loaf! Before we get into the recipe, I’ll talk about the key components of why sourdough is so good for you, and what exactly a sourdough starter is! But lets just say, this olive rosemary sourdough focaccia is quite remarkable…. theres just so much flavour! Its light, airy, bubbly and you honestly won’t believe you made it!
Sourdough Starters & Sourdough Health Benefits
In order to make any sourdough loaf of bread, or any recipe that includes a sourdough starter you will need to have your own active sourdough starter! A sourdough starter is simply made up of flour and water that has fermented over time. This fermentation creates a living culture of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria. This yeast is what is used to make the bread rise. During the fermentation process the natural yeasts and bacteria that are already existing in our environments begin to feed on the mixture! This is why to keep your starter alive, you will want to feed it more flour and water! The sourdough starter acts as the yeast, that’s why sourdough bread or any sourdough recipe requires no added yeast like traditional bread making recipes! You can make your own starter (takes about a week), or you can take a little portion from someone you know or a local sourdough bakery might generously give you some of theirs! There are TONS of youtube videos out there on how to go about making your own starter! I was lucky enough to receive some sourdough starter from my favourite local sourdough bread & coffee shop so that’s what I have and use daily! Since sourdough naturally creates its own yeast-bacteria, it makes it incredibly good for you and your gut health….
Sourdough Health Benefits
EASY TO DIGEST
the living bacteria + yeast structure starts to break down and feed on the starches that are found in grains before it even reaches your stomach. This makes the digestion for our guts much easier with way less work. It allows us to absorb all those healthy bacteria’s right into out guts as well which is incredible for our guts microbiome.
NO PRESERVATIVES
since sourdough bread is made up of living bacteria and yeast, naturally it preserves itself. This means that when making it, or buying it from a local sourdough artisan the addition of hazardous preservatives or heavy oils to prolong shelf live are not necessary. Making it much healthier and cleaner when other breads out there.
ANCIENT ORIGINS
sourdough bread making is one of the longest types of bread making
