Not only is the actual wheat consumed today different, the process for making bread is also different. Today’s modern commercial bread making techniques make it possible for bread to be made in about an hour from mixing the ingredients to the finished baked product. The sourdough method for making bread allows time for the bread to ferment, which allows nutrients in the bran to be released and allows for gluten to be broken down thereby making it easier to digest.
Sourdough bread is made using naturally occurring bacteria and yeast that together work on the dough during the fermentation process to break down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars, proteins like gluten into amino acids and produce enzymes. Carbon dioxide released during this process allows the bread to rise. The effect of the sourdough process produces bread that is easier to digest, has a lower glycemic index, meaning it doesn’t cause as big of a spike in glucose levels, and a tastier more complex flavor.
Modern bread making techniques using modern wheat are having devastating effects on our gut. Leaky guts caused by the Western diet are increasingly more common. Sales of probiotics and gluten free food items are on the rise in an attempt to avoid the symptoms of modern wheat and modern bread. The sourdough bread making process utilizing whole grains seems like a better solution to the problem. In 2010 a team of scientists in Italy showed that the gluten content was much lower in breads that were made in the traditional sourdough style. The difference was so great that those who were sensitive to gluten were able to consume the bread with no outwardly ill effects. Presumably, this is the reason many gluten sensitive Americans say they are able to eat bread, pasta and pizza in Italy with no trouble.