Learning Objective
You will learn about the importance of diversity in your diet and discover how to incorporate diversity into your baking through using Botanical Blends.
A key component of the BALM protocol is diversity and so we created the Botanical blends both to support diversity in the gut, and diversity in the environment. The flour was used in our dietary intervention studies for BALM.
I appreciate that this is a seriously different way to look at flour, but in so many ways this is just common sense. We didn’t evolve eating a monoculture. The diets of early humans would have included a wide range of grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, berries, tubers and flowers. So, part of our teaching is to go back to the core of a healthy diet and apply that to baking. And that means starting with the definition of flour.
We’ve used our extensive research to select ingredients that could potentially help improve and maintain a healthy and diverse gut commu
nity and created Botanical Blend flour. It is delicious and supports the Systems change programme, and empowers baker to shift towards a holistic and sustainable way to bake bread and baked goods. The
Building in Environmental Activism into your bread whilst supporting systems change
The flour is part of the practical application of microbial equality. Understanding that the gut microbiome needs diversity was what lead to us redefine flour to create a new approach.
This approach has been described as a ” game-changer,” by Professor Tim Spector as we support regenerative farming through a partnership to mill the whole meadow and more with grains, wild herbs and flowers, fruits from the hedgerows and leaves from the trees with Hodmedods. There are many diverse grains in our Botanical Blends, and we teach our students and Sourdough Club members, not to bake just using just wheat, to mill the whole meadow, and even consider the roots. the flour also empowers our Sourdough club members, to bake in way that support the community through regenerative farming. As patients learn to bake with Botanical Blend flour, a key component of the BALM framework, as our members also contribute to sustainable agriculture and improved soil health though their every day baking.
“Vanessa’s work on sourdough and the gut microbiome is changing the way we think of food, health and baking.” Professor Tim Spector
A delicious way change the industrial food system.
As the creator and innovator behind Botanical Blend Flours and the Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM) Protocol, I have fundamentally shifted the paradigm of baking towards greater health and diversity. My groundbreaking research and development of Botanical Blend Flours have introduced a new era of nutritional and flavour diversity in bread, setting a benchmark for the industry. Despite the widespread adoption of these innovations by various companies without proper acknowledgment, it is crucial to recognise that these concepts originated from my pioneering efforts.
By making the Botanical Blend Flour and its underlying research openly accessible, I support the grassroots movement of artisanal bakers worldwide. This open-source approach not only fosters community collaboration and innovation but also ensures that my original, groundbreaking work remains credited to its rightful source. This strategy promotes both transparency and recognition, safeguarding the integrity of my pioneering research while empowering a broader spectrum of bakers to enhance the nutritional quality and diversity of their bread.
I hope you will adopt this approach to flour, because this is not just about challenging the the agricultural system, but changing the way you bake your bread to nourish your own digestive system. At the core of baking bread to nourish the gut microbiome is increasing fibre and increasing diversity.
- Each Botanical Blend has a diversity score that you can see on the pack.
- Each one has its own unique flavour profile and nutritional value.
- Most of the blends are interchangeable.
We would love it if you applied this knowledge to your own breads and bakes.
What if I live abroad and can’t buy Botanical Blend Flour?
If want to bake according to the BALM protocol but you can't access the flour here in the the UK do not despair!
We encourage people to connect locally and for home bakers to consider buying a mill. Of corse we appreciate that not everyone can afford mill, of course. Mills are not inexpensive, but if you are able to purchase one, they are a superb investment. If you are lucky enough to have people who buy you gifts for special occasions, I would encourage you to ask your friends and family to contribute towards one as a collaborative gift.
However we also teach people how make up a Botanical Blend without a mill – here's how.
What if someone does not want to use a Botanical Blend?
Just to be totally clear, you don't have to use a Botanical Blend. You can use a good-quality, shop-bought stoneground flour in place of any of the Botanical Blends used in our BALM recipes (with the exception of Blend No. 10, which is a bean flour and behaves differently).
We don't force people to bake with botanical blend flour. It might be that pole are just starting to bake, and making such a radical change is too much early on in their journey towards learning to bake sourdough. Don't worry – I am not going to turn up in your kitchen and tell you off for not wanting to use a Botanical Blend in your bread! However, learning to bake as lifestyle medicine is about reevaluating your approach to your bread. It's my belief that redefining flour is integral to the process of creating breads that nourish the gut microbiome, so I hope you will consider this approach.
Learning Outcome
You will understand why diversity is key to a healthy gut and have gained practical knowledge about how to use Botanical Blends in your baking.
