The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Poolish Health Benefits

banana's picture
banana

Poolish Health Benefits

  • I've heard that poolish and biga have some of the same health benefits of sourdough bread due to the long fermentation (low GI, easy to digest, less likely to spike blood pressure). I haven't found anything confirming this but if this is true but if it is then:
  1. How do the health benefits compare to sourdough bread? I understand that the benifits probably won't be as dramatic as sourdough but is it even close?
  2. Has there been any actuall scientific research done on this subject? Any articles or anything? I haven't been able to find anything on Google so if you have found anything it would be super helpful!

Thank you so much!

suave's picture
suave

The whole "health benefits" thing only exists to promote cockamamie diets, supplements, and superfooods du jour

Robyn's picture
Robyn

I do so love an ad that pushes vitamins for children... eat a freakin' apple! If you can't make it or grow it without laboratory assistance, it is not food, so don't eat it.

As for the benefits of a long wait poolish - I have just switched from making poolish in the morning and bread in the afternoon to making poolish one day and bread the next. The only difference I have noticed is that the bread tends to stay fresher for longer when I use the long wait method. This is because the moisture has longer to really penetrate the the flour grains so doesn't get cooked out so readily. Doesn't make it 'healthier' in any way. The poolish seems to deteriorate if I leave it for longer than one day, so no health benefits there either.

And sour dough makes both my husband and daughter feel unwell, so I can't see how it can in any way be healthier! 

banana's picture
banana

While it would be nice if poolish breads also had health benefits (I know some diabetics and people who have mild reactions to gluten), I definitely think that it is worth it for the enhanced flavor and better keeping qualities.

gerhard's picture
gerhard

often people confuse digestive issues from bread consumption (gas and stomach pains) with celiac disease or gluten  intolerance when in fact the enzymes that make wheat easily digestible in the human stomach haven’t been allowed sufficient time to do their thing. Commercial bakeries are pushing for faster times from flour to bread constantly which seems problematic for some people.  I don’t know what science there is to prove this but it does make sense to me that as speed in process is becoming more important more and more people are alleging more frequent gluten intolerance.

Robyn's picture
Robyn

It is the additives in the bread that are making people suffer from gas and stomach pains, not the enzymes in the gluten or flour. We have a few genuine celiacs in our family and the speed (slower) of the bread making does not make bread safe for them to eat. They have an inability to process the proteins in the flour and no amount of cooking time can change that.

gerhard's picture
gerhard

people with celiac disease I said there are people that confuse a gassy stomach with celiac or gluten intolerance.