The Sourdough School

BALM – Proven as one of the healthiest approaches to bread in the world.

Based in the walled gardens of Dr. Vanessa Kimbell's beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire, UK, we tutor individuals and train bakers and healthcare professionals in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM). Personalising bread to your lifestyle, gut microbiome, and unique genetics for optimal health—tailoring fermentation, fibre, and diversity so that your daily bread becomes the foundation of your health.

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1:1 Nutrigenetics Personalised Bread Workshop
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50% wholegrain sourdough
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1:1 Nutrigenetics Personalised Bread Workshop

£2,499.00

Ideal for anyone wanting to optimise healthier health and overall wellness in the way they approach bread

Each workshop is meticulously designed to highlight the personalised nutritional benefits and enhanced digestibility of sourdough bread, tailored specifically to your genetic profile. Participants will craft a beautifully open-crumb sourdough porridge boule using ingredients and techniques informed by their individual Nutrient Core genetic test results. You’ll learn efficient methods for creating nutritious sourdough that aligns with your unique health needs. Every session is uniquely customised with seasonal, gut-nourishing ingredients selected to complement your genetic predispositions, allowing us to prepare wholesome lunches that enhance the baking experience. This approach ensures that each three-day workshop offers a distinctive, personalised, gut health-focused culinary journey.

Course Information: This course offers a unique approach to bread-making that aligns with your genetic profile and health needs

  • TYPE: Personalised In-person Workshop
  • LOCATION: The Sourdough School, Northampton, UK
  • TOTAL COST: £2,499
  • STRUCTURE: A pre-course 1-hour initial consultation with Dr Vanessa Kimbell + 3 days in person at The Sourdough School in Northamptonshire
  • FOCUS: Personalised Bread for Optimal Health
  • LEVEL: Suitable for anyone
  • HOURS: Wednesday & Thursday: 10 am – 6 pm; Friday: 10 am – 4 pm
  • RECIPES: tailored to the individual to optimise health
  •  Enrolment is via Waiting List Only

Choose Your Dates

This course will open for bookings in January. To enrol, please sign up for our email notifications to receive your invitation. In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to arrange a booking in advance. If this applies to you, please contact us directly, and we will do our best to assist.

Join The Waiting List

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This workshop is our most personalised approach allows you to develop an intuitive understanding of optimising bread according to your own specific health needs and to use bread as preventative health

Our course uniquely combines artisanal sourdough baking with personalised nutrition, leveraging your genetic insights to create bread tailored specifically to your health needs. Under the expert guidance of Dr Vanessa Kimbell, you’ll gain hands-on experience crafting exceptional, gut-friendly loaves that not only taste incredible but also support your overall well-being. By integrating cutting-edge Nutrient Core analysis with immersive baking techniques, this course transforms bread-making into a personalised wellness journey.

Elevate Your Baking with Health-Focused Sourdough Mastery

The Sourdough School offer an exceptional fusion of artisanal baking techniques and nutritional science, with a specialised focus on gut health and the digestibility of sourdough bread. This is a tailored approach to baking and nutrition, these workshops provide an unparalleled educational experience.

Hands-On Experience: Over three immersive days, craft personalised stunning open-crumb sourdough boule, including our signature Porridge Sourdough Boule—a diversity bread designed to optimise gut health.

Immersive Experience:  The workshop is 1:1 (although we can accommodate booking extra family members on request.)  Because this course is more than just learning recipes; it’s an immersive course where my job is to impart the sensory attributes of baking, including aroma, texture, and flavour. It is about a deep, intuitive understanding of your own health needs and a personalised approach to crafting exceptional sourdough bread. This workshop is an opportunity to engage with the art of baking on both a physical and emotional level and, transforming your approach to bread.

What You’ll Learn

We advocate baking as a form of preventative health. The curriculum is meticulously structured according to the BALM Protocol (Baking as Lifestyle Medicine), the gold standard in defining healthy bread used to produce the highest standards of nutritious, gut-friendly loaves that support overall well-being. As well as creating a botanical blend flour unique to you, tailoring your  fermentation methods, and your sourdough starter and the way you eat your bread to optimise health you will also learn advanced baking techniques that include:

    • Principles and Concepts: Acquire a profound, intuitive understanding of blending your own flour to optimally nourish according you your personal nourishment needs.
    • Add Diversity specifically that your body requires  – essential for producing exceptional personalised nourishing bread.
    • Mixing: Understand mixing dough to develop gluten strength and how this as a routine can impact your parasympathetic nervous system.
    • Bassinage: Learn the bassinage technique to improve dough hydration and structure.
    • Proofing: Recognise the signs of properly proofed dough to ensure optimal fermentation, higher levels of micronutrients and ease of digestion.
    • Shaping: Gain expertise in shaping dough for uniformity and aesthetic appeal, and as a mindful practice to support mental health.
    • Scoring: Discover the best techniques for scoring to open up the crumb structure and enhance the bread’s appearance.
  • Sourdough Starters: Deepen your knowledge of maintaining and revitalising sourdough starters for consistent optimal breakdown of gluten and ease of digestion and help lower inflammation.
  • Mindful Baking Practices: Integrate mindful baking techniques that elevate the sensory experience and improve the nutritional profile of your bread.
  • Sensory Engagement: Engage all your senses—touch, taste, smell, and sight—to deepen your sensory appreciation of the bread-making process.

Why Choose Our Personalised Sourdough Course?

Our course goes beyond anything that a traditional baking workshop offers by integrating cutting-edge nutritional science with hands-on sourdough techniques from Dr Kimbell’s many years of research and workmen with people to optimise health. By leveraging insights from the Lifecode Nutrient Core Reports, you’ll learn to craft bread that not only tastes exceptional but also specifically supports your overall well-being.

Course Highlights

  • A 45 minute pre course consultation
  • Hands-On Crafting: Over three immersive days, you’ll bake stunning open-crumb sourdough boules, including our signature Porridge Sourdough Boule. Each loaf is meticulously designed to optimise gut health and cater to your individual genetic needs.
  • Personalised Nutrition Integration: Receive a comprehensive Lifecode Gx DNA test kit and Nutrient Core Report. Understand how your genetics influence your baking and health, allowing you to tailor your bread recipes for maximum nutritional benefit.
  • Intuitive Baking Skills: Develop a deep, sensory understanding of baking. Master the aromas, textures, and flavours that make your bread truly exceptional.
  • Preventative Health Approach: Embrace baking as a form of lifestyle medicine. Our curriculum is structured around the BALM Protocol (Baking as Lifestyle Medicine), ensuring you produce nutritious, gut-friendly loaves that support long-term health.

 

Course Investment

Total Course Investment – £2499.00

This includes:

  • Lifecode Gx DNA Test Kit
  • Lifecode Gx Nutrient Core Report
  • Lifecode Gx Methylation Report 
  • 60-Minute Practitioner Appointment
  • Comprehensive Three-Day Baking Workshop
  • All Course Materials and Ingredients

Who Should Enrol?

This course is ideal for bakers passionate about health and wellness, who want to create bread that not only tastes exceptional but also supports their personal health goals through a scientifically tailored approach.

Due to Demand, Enrolment Is via Waiting List Only.

 

 

Timetable

Timetable for The 3 day workshop

Time Activity
10:00 am – 11:00 am Welcome: Introduction to the course, meet Dr. Vanessa Kimbell and fellow participants. Overview of the week’s schedule.
11:00 am – 11:15 am Tea and Coffee Break
11:15 am – 12:00 pm Overview of BALM (Baking as Lifestyle Medicine): Introduction to the BALM protocol, its principles, and the benefits of baking for gut health, mental health.
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Flatbreads Prep and Discussion: Learn how to prepare flatbreads while discussing the gut microbiome, the fermentation process, and its potential mental health benefits.
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Lunch: Enjoy the flatbreads prepared earlier with Labneh, accompanied by a discussion on the culinary and nutritional aspects.
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Meditation / Rest: Opportunity to relax, meditate, or spend time in the garden.
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Milling Botanical Blend Flour and Basics of Flour: Hands-on session on milling various grains and understanding their nutritional profiles and uses.
4:00 pm – 4:15 pm Break: Short break to refresh and prepare for the next session.
4:20 pm – 5:30 pm Sourdough Starter Theory and Maintenance: Detailed instruction on creating and maintaining a sourdough starter, understanding its life cycle, and troubleshooting common issues.
5:30 pm – 6:00 pm Mixing Pocket Breads and 50:50 Ambient Overnight Loaf: Practical session on mixing doughs for different types of bread, focusing on techniques for optimal fermentation and texture. Theory of fermentation.
Thursday – Theory of fermentation.
10:00 am – 10:30 am Bake Pocket Breads and 50:50 Ambient Overnight Loaf: Baking session to perfect the techniques learned, with tips on achieving the best results.
10:30 am – 11:00 am Mill Botanical Blend Flour for the Boules: Continue milling flour, focusing on consistency and quality for sourdough boules. Making Porridge – adding diversity.
11:00 am – 11:15 am Make Sourdough Boule: Hands-on dough preparation for sourdough boules, including kneading and initial fermentation.
11:15 am – 12:00 pm Tea and Coffee Break
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Mixing Dough and Bassinage (Increasing Hydration): Learn the technique of bassinage to increase dough hydration and improve bread quality.
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Add Salt and Begin Bulk Fermentation: Understand the role of salt in dough development and begin the bulk fermentation process.
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Lunch: Savour a nutritious Diversity Soup while discussing the role of diverse ingredients and probiotics in supporting gut health.
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Meditation, Reading, or Garden Time: Opportunity to relax, meditate, read, or enjoy the garden.
4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Pre-Shape: Learn the pre-shaping techniques essential for developing structure in your dough.
4:30 pm – 5:00 pm Final Shape: Master the final shaping of dough for optimal rise and crumb structure.
5:00 pm – 5:30 pm Bench Rest: Understand the importance of resting dough and the impact on the final bake.
5:30 pm – 6:00 pm Clear Down and Questions: Clean up and have an open Q&A session to clarify any doubts and reinforce learning.
Friday
10:00 am – 11:15 am Learning to Score Bread: Learn and practice scoring techniques to enhance the appearance and texture of your bread.
11:30 am – 12:30 pm Refreshing Starters to Take Home: Refresh your sourdough starters and prepare them for taking home, ensuring you can continue baking with confidence.
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Lunch: Enjoy a hearty Red Lentil Dal, discussing its nutritional benefits and how to incorporate such dishes into a balanced diet.
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Short Rest: Opportunity to relax, meditate, or enjoy the garden to recharge.
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm Afternoon Bake: Final baking session where you apply all learned techniques, baking various breads to perfection.
4:00 pm Leave with Freshly Baked Bread: Depart with your freshly baked bread, still warm, and a sense of accomplishment.

Course Hours

Plan Your Arrival:

The courses need 15 minutes to wrap up, so please book your taxi at about 15 minutes after the course ends.

  • Wednesday 10 am  – 6 pm
  • Thursday 10 am – 6 pm
  • Friday 10 am – 4 pm

Lunch

Sourdough Pasta

Lunch is personalised and we will check food preferences and habits.  The lunches are more than a meal—it’s the cornerstone of your personalisation and we will look at how you eat your bread as part of your workshop.

The lunches are designed to reinforce healthy eating principles and the holistic benefits of sourdough bread in the healthiest way possible, but also align with the findings in your nutrigenomics report.

Examples of Lunch are below:

  • Wednesday – Flat Breads with Labneh  
  • Thursday  – Diversity Soup
  • Friday  – Red Lentil Dal 

     During lunch we will focus on your lifestyle and  on enhancing fibre diversity. Each lunch includes a variety of pickles, salads, and other fermented foods, introducing multiple probiotics in the way we eat bread.  Central to our lunches is the concept of consuming 30 different plants, ensuring a rich diversity of nutrients.

    Our approach to lunch also emphasises blood sugar management. We practically demonstrate how to eat in a Mediterranean style, though we also celebrate Nordic, Japanese, and other global cuisines, making our meals diverse, delicious, and satisfying. This variety showcases the many ways people eat worldwide, incorporating different cultural elements.

    During lunch, we discuss not only how to bake bread but also how to eat it mindfully. We believe it is essential to understand bread holistically, viewing it as a social event. How you feel in the moment impacts your digestion, making it a crucial aspect of learning.

    Our lunches are symbiotic and we teach sequenced eating – this often includes red wine, or our own live probiotic drinks, cheese, and vinegar. Vinegar, in particular, helps slow down the rate of blood sugar absorption. Therefore, lunch is not merely a meal but an event. We expect students to fully participate, recognising that this shared experience is an integral part of their education. So, it is important to understand that lunch is not separate from the course.

    Lunch at Baking as Lifestyle Medicine is designed to be an enriching, educational, and enjoyable experience, reinforcing the principles of healthy eating and the holistic approach to bread and digestion.

What the Course Includes:

We create your bread with ingredients tailored specifically to you.

What the Course Includes:

  • Your Nutrigentics reports
  • All ingredients for baking
  • Lunches and refreshments
  • Samples of bread and other baked goods
  • Comprehensive teaching and hands-on baking sessions

What the Course Does Not Include:

  • The three Sourdough School books (required for course recipes)
  • Transport, except for scheduled retreat events (windmill visit, swimming, organic farm shop visit)
  • Accommodation
  • Baking equipment to take home

What to Bring:

  • The three Sourdough School books
  • Containers for taking home samples
  • An apron
  • Sensible shoes
  • Swimming costume (for retreat participants)

Nutrient Core Report: Personalised Insights into Genetics and Diet

Bread as Preventative health

What does the Nutrientcore Test Look at and how do you use this information to personalised Bread?

Understanding the intricate relationship between your genes, diet, and lifestyle is fundamental to creating a truly tailored approach to health and well-being through the BALM Protocol.  As a Nutrigenetics Practitioner, Dr Vanessa Kimbell uses the Nutrient Core Test alongside your personal history with bread and digestion to design bread that aligns with your genetic blueprint to optimise health.

The Nutrient Core Analysis

This genetic test examines how your gene variants influence:

  • Food Tolerance: Gluten (coeliac predisposition) and lactose intolerance.
  • Caffeine Metabolism: Sensitivity and processing ability.
  • Microbiome Diversity: Impacted by FUT2 variations.
  • Vitamin Needs: Vitamins A, B9 (folate), B12 (cobalamin), C, D, and K.
  • Blood Pressure Regulation: Sodium-potassium balance and salt sensitivity.
  • Detoxification: Glutathione activity.
  • Metabolism: Blood sugar control (insulin), appetite regulation (leptin).
  • Inflammatory Response: Systemic and infection-specific inflammation.
  • Circadian Rhythm: Predispositions to early bird or night owl tendencies.

Key Genes Analysed and Their Role in Bread Personalisation

When I look at your results these are some of the key thing I will consider:

  1. Food Response sometimes gluten intolerance is mistaken for other issues, particularly dairy so looking a this gene helps rule that out as a possibility and helps me to avoid potential aggravating ingredients in out baking, and eating bread. 
    • Genes: HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1 (gluten intolerance), LCT (lactose intolerance).
    • Personalisation: Adjust fermentation processes to pre-digest gluten and modify dairy-based enrichments based on lactose intolerance.
  2. Microbiome Diversity is key to gut health and analysing this gene helps me to see how to support your gut and how we can do some of the work for. you  by predigesting fibre. This also helps me to determine the kinds of microbes I want to cultivate in your starter and how much breakdown I want your bread to have. 
    • Gene: FUT2.
    • Personalisation: Incorporate fibre-rich flours and diverse grains to nurture beneficial bacteria and support systemic health.
  3. Vitamin Needs –  understanding these genes hello me to create a bespoke botanical blend flour, and to optimise the nutritional requirements to optimise methylation. 
    • Genes: BCO1, MTHFR, FUT2, TCN2, SLC23A1, COL1A1, GC, VDR, VKORC1.
    • Personalisation: Enhance bioavailability of vitamins through ingredient selection and fermentation techniques.
  4. Blood Pressure Regulation, hello me to look at how we use salt or salt alternative in your bread. 
    • Genes: ACE, AGT.
    • Personalisation: Create low-sodium formulations with potassium-rich ingredients to support cardiovascular health.
  5. Detoxification this works on multiple levels, including balance of fibre and micronutrients and the way you eat your bread.
    • Gene: GSTM1.
    • Personalisation: Use sulphur-rich ingredients like garlic to enhance glutathione activity.
  6. Metabolism determines the timing of your bread, and the levels of fermentation and the sequenced eating pattterms 
    • Genes: FADS1/2, FTO, TCF7L2, PGC1A, LEPR.
    • Personalisation: Include low-GI flours and resistant starches to stabilize blood glucose levels and promote satiety.
  7. Inflammation this helps me to determine the polyphenols, choice of grains, and levels of breakdown needed I your bread.
    • Genes: TNF, IFNG.
    • Personalisation: Incorporate anti-inflammatory ingredients such as polyphenol-rich grains and spices.
  8. Circadian Rhythm, looking at timing and hormones and how bread impacts your sleep.  We also look at micronutrients including optimising key nutrient combinations with evidence of improving the metabolites and neurotransmitters produced by your gut and key ingredients that support optimal sleep and stress management. 
    • Genes: CLOCK, PER1.
    • Personalisation: Align bread timing and consumption strategies with your genetic predispositions for optimal energy and metabolism.

Who should consider this course

This course focuses on bread, health, and baking as Lifestyle Medicine.
While you don’t need to have a pre-existing health condition to benefit from the course, our focus on gut health and preventative health means then we often support individuals with some of the following concerns:

Digestive Health Concerns

  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
  • Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
  • Food intolerances (e.g., gluten sensitivity, lactose intolerance)
  • Coeliac disease (in collaboration with a healthcare professional)

Hormonal Health and Balance

  • Menopause-related changes
  • Male hormonal health and androgens
  • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Mental Health Support Through Nutrition

  • Anxiety and depression (as part of a multidisciplinary approach)
  • ADHD and its connection to diet and gut health

Autoimmune and Inflammatory Conditions

  • Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or hypothyroidism
  • Rheumatoid arthritis (in collaboration with healthcare practitioners)

Personalised Nutrition and Nutrigenetics

  • MTHFR or COMT gene mutations
  • Tailored dietary approaches based on genetic insights

Metabolic Health and Blood Sugar Balance

  • Blood sugar regulation
  • Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes (as part of a multidisciplinary approach)

Bread-Related Concerns and Transitioning Diets

  • Bread sensitivity and digestibility challenges
  • Exploring sourdough or low-gluten diets

General Wellbeing and Bread’s Role in Health

  • Individuals or healthcare professionals seeking evidence-based advice on bread’s nutritional impact

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