The Library
Articles
Science-backed guides on sourdough, technique, equipment, and the craft — cross-referenced across five authoritative sources.
Latest
Science
Gluten Intolerance vs Celiac Disease: A Baker's Guide
Celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and wheat allergy are three different conditions with three different biologies — and three different kitchen protocols.
Science
How Gluten-Free Bread Works: Structure Without Gluten
How starches, binders, water, and mixing build gluten-free bread. Why some recipes make batters and others make shapeable doughs — and what holds the loaf up.
Science
Is Gluten-Free Healthier? What the Evidence Actually Shows
For celiac disease a gluten-free diet is essential. For everyone else the evidence is far weaker than the marketing — and going gluten-free before testing causes a real problem.
Science
Is Sourdough Gluten-Free? What Fermentation Does and Doesn't Do
Sourdough fermentation genuinely degrades gluten — and still leaves far too much for celiac disease. What the research shows, and why 'lower gluten' is not 'gluten-free.'
Science
Low-FODMAP Sourdough: What the Fermentation Research Shows
Fermentation can reduce wheat fructans — but not on a schedule you can set by the clock. What governs the result, why baker's yeast counts too, and why only tested products qualify.
Science
Sourdough Health Benefits: What Fermentation Actually Changes
Sourdough fermentation measurably changes bread — lower phytate, longer shelf life, partial gluten breakdown. Here is what the evidence supports, where it is uncertain, and where it stops.
Science
Does Sourdough Reduce Phytic Acid? What the Evidence Says
Long sourdough fermentation lowers phytic acid in bread studies, but evidence that people absorb more minerals remains limited and inconsistent.
Science
History of Sourdough: From Ancient Egypt to Modern Renaissance
The history of sourdough bread — from an 8,600-year-old fermented dough at Çatalhöyük and Egypt's Old Kingdom bakeries through Roman panis, French levain, San Francisco Gold Rush wild yeast, and the modern revival.
Science
Water for Bread Baking: Hardness, Minerals, and Why It Matters
How hardness, alkalinity, disinfectants, and temperature affect bread—and how to decide whether changing your baking water will help.
Science
Salt in Bread: What It Does to Gluten, Fermentation, and Flavor
How salt changes bread dough, why 2% is a common starting point, and how to adjust fermentation and calculate sodium when reducing it.
Science
Oven Spring: Why Bread Rises in the Oven
Why bread expands during baking, how steam and scoring help, and how to troubleshoot poor oven spring without relying on fixed clocks or crumb myths.
Science
What Butter Does to Bread Dough (and When to Add It)
Butter softens bread, adds flavor, and slows staling. Learn when a modest amount can join the initial mix and why rich doughs add pliable butter later.
Science
Bread Flour vs All-Purpose: What Actually Changes
How flour protein, gluten quality, and milling affect dough — plus practical ways to choose and substitute bread flour and all-purpose flour.
Science
Fermentation in Bread: The Complete Science
How yeast, bacteria, enzymes, temperature, and gas retention shape bread fermentation, with practical ways to judge dough readiness.
Science
How Gluten Works in Bread: Strength, Stretch, and Structure
How gluten really works in bread: glutenin for elasticity, gliadin for stretch, disulfide bonds, and why different flours make different loaves.
Science
Hydration in Bread: What the Percentage Means
Calculate bread hydration including starter flour and water, compare doughs accurately, and adjust for flour and handling without chasing a universal percentage.
Science
The Maillard Reaction in Bread: How to Get a Better Crust
How Maillard browning builds bread crust flavor, why fermentation can change the result, and how to balance steam, heat, and baking time.
Science
Sourdough Starter Science: What's Actually Alive
The bacteria and yeasts in sourdough, what feeding and geography can tell you, and how to judge starter readiness, flavor, and safe maintenance.
Science
Why Bread Goes Stale (It's Not Just Drying Out)
Starch retrogradation helps bread firm, while water movement and drying also matter. Learn when to freeze or refrigerate bread and what reheating can restore.