Leading the way in gut health, mental health and bread
Bakers, multinational corporations and healthcare professionals around the world rely on Vanessa’s expertise. Long before gut health became a mainstream concern, Vanessa identified the crucial role bread plays in the gut microbiome and mental well-being. She recognised that poorly made bread can harm the gut and negatively affect mental health, while well-made, nutritionally diverse bread can play a part in improving both. Her influence has revolutionised people’s understanding of bread as a fundamental component of good health.
“Vanessa’s work on sourdough and the gut microbiome is changing the way we think of food, health and baking.” — Professor Tim Spector
Vanessa’s mission is to make nourishing bread a reality for all. Through her books and other writings, Vanessa shares her knowledge and techniques and heads up the Sourdough School as a Social Enterprise that motivates change through a self-funding Systems Change Programme.
Instigator of Systems change in Bread
Vanessa’s work extends far beyond the Sourdough School classroom. Recognised as one of the world’s foremost authorities on bread, she has taught thousands of bakers globally, from Hollywood A-listers and politicians to royalty, alongside hundreds of bakers who have gone on to bake, teach and open their own successful bakeries. Her expertise draws on years of interdisciplinary research, connecting bread to gut health, nutrition and mental well-being. Vanessa has created a roadmap to improve bread with the BALM (Baking as Lifestyle Medicine) protocol, which is now being integrated into the NHS and health-focused baking practices worldwide.
Vanessa is working behind the scenes to transform industrial bread. Over the years, Vanessa has hosted dozens of industrial bread makers and millers at The Sourdough School, advising the bread-making industry on sourdough fermentation, grain diversity and gut health. She has guided and encouraged key sourdough manufacturers in the UK to use real fermentation, increase fibre and diversity to improve bread, and make sourdough affordable.
As a result, her influence can now be found on supermarket shelves in the UK, as industrial manufacturers now offer bread made with sourdough fermentation processes and more diverse grains, seeds and fibre in their breads. This shift reflects Vanessa’s vision of bread as a key to nourishment and health, backed by her pioneering research into the gut microbiome and nutritional psychiatry.

1983 Vanessa is asleep after working in the village bakery at age 11, 1990 Vanessa at age 18 reading after a shift during her apprenticeship. 2015 Vanessa with The master baker in Terrason who oversaw her work at the bakery in 1991. 2017 Vanessa with world-renowned bakers Richard Hart and Gabrielle Bonci & working in San Fransisco 2018 Teaching in 2023 at The Sourdough School