The Sourdough Club

Baking as Lifestyle Medicine

Our small club is run from The Sourdough School and is the alternative way to learn if you cannot attend a course in person. Learn from Dr Vanessa Kimbell how to make the healthiest bread in the world and improve digestion, boost your mood, and connect with a supportive community that’s passionate about baking for better health.
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Membership ON SALE  - Reduced joining fee from £299 On sale for £99
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Membership ON SALE – Reduced joining fee from £299 On sale for £99

£9.99 / month after an initial 1 month period for £99.00 including joining fee

46 in stock

Community Membership is the backbone of our initiative. Your membership altruistically funds the programme, ensuring its grassroots foundation remains robust.

 

      • ENROLMENT FEE SALE: £299 On sale for £99 or until memberships are out of stock.
      • ENDS 3rd January 2025 
      • MONTHLY SUPPORT FEE: £15.99 On sale £9.99
      • REMARKABLE BECAUSE: You get a 12 week fast track guided course to learn how to bake for health.
      • EXTRA RECIPES: access to over a decade of recipes and know how, and regular weekly live interactive bake for health sessions with Dr Kimbell.
      • LENGTH OF MEMBERSHIP: 12 weeks but you can stay a member for an unlimited length of time.
      • BAKING LEVEL: Beginner.
      • STYLE OF LEARNING:  Self guided syllabus & live weekly sessions.
      • BAKING TUTORIALS: 100+ baking tutorials
      • LESSONS: Understand sourdough starters
      • NUTRITION: Know your ingredients
      • RECIPES: Not just bread, but eating and sharing recipes
      • FOCUS: Baking as Lifestyle Medicine
      • SUPPORT: Feedback and guidance in our live weekly sessions
      • TEAM: Supported by Our Sourdough School Team
The online version of attending the Sourdough School

46 in stock

Categories: Featured Products Club, Memberships
  • Description
  • Memberships Benefits
  • What will learn?
  • Is this for me?
  • Do you do a personalised Bread Course?
  • Is there any 1:1 support?
  • Bake 2, Give 1
  • Will I learn to make sourdough ?
  • What are tasks?
  • Do I get to talk to Dr Kimbell Directly?
  • How your memberships helps others
  • Be part of the change
  • Club Members words
  • Why we like you to join the members forum

Bake For Health – Community Membership 

“This isn’t just technical baking excellence. This is excellent in every way possible – because you are helping Dr Vanessa’s lifelong mission to optimise our staple food for social equality.”  – Dr Annie Elliot.

When you become a community Member, you’re not just learning to bake healthier bread- you’re nurturing a culture of learning, sharing, and empowerment that benefits all members, including yourself.


Memberships Benefits

Membership Benefits

    • Gain access to the libraries, including our classic sourdough recipes,
    • with new recipes added regularly.
    • Weekly (Term time) Live members Q & A sessions with Vanessa
    • Slow it down with our retarded recipes
    • Learn to bake Sweet Sourdough
    • Learn to make amazingly easy and delicious  pizzas
    • Get access to symbiotic eating recipes designed to nourish your gut.
    • Read in greater detail the research behind each recipe and how they will nourish your gut microbiome.
    • Learn how to use and mill your own flour
    • Proper help and support when things don’t go right
    • Enjoy in-depth features on grains such as spelt, rye and other heritage grains.
    • Get access to a comprehensive glossary.
    • Interact with other members in our friendly forum with over 700 + members active.
    • Live how to use Bread as Therapy sessions
    • Live Q & A sessions with our in-House Nutritionist & Our in House GP
    • Attend live webinars with Vanessa and guests.
    • Share your bakes and get reposted on the club Instagram account.
    • Enjoy Club discounts.
    • Take part in our heath discussions
    • We share news, exclusive competitions and give-aways.
    • Gain access to exclusive articles by Vanessa Kimbell on sourdough and gut health.
    • Do more than just bake .. with our baking and lifestyle medicine tasks.
    • Be inspired with our Baking magazine with tips, offers, articles and more.
    • All out work is evidence based and you can read the studies with a plain English explanation of what the science means here in the research library

What will learn?

You will learn about baking as lifestyle medicine, so how to bake to reduce your risk of illness and to bake in way that supports the environment.

Yes you will learn to make sourdough and every stage of making sourdough, including:

• how to create and refresh a starter

• how to blend and mill flour

• how to mix, knead, shape, prove, score and bake your bread

• how to eat symbiotically for optimal gut health

Some of the bakes you will discover include:

• a 10-minute sourdough tin loaf

• a 10-minute sourdough cake

• a retarded sourdough boule

You will also learn about:

• the variables affecting fermentation

• the fibre, protein and gluten present in flour

• the nutrition and digestibility of bread

• probiotics and prebiotics (including how to make your own cultured butter, kimchi, sauerkraut and pickles)

• the gut microbiome and why the kind of bread you eat matters

• why diversity is key to gut health

In short, you will learn about sourdough and how to bake to nourish your microbiome, but the Community Membership is much more than a course: it is a lifestyle prescription. This is a unique and innovative voyage into the world of sourdough and gut microbiome, and it will show you how to change your own diet and lifestyle for the better.

Is this for me?

Is this the best way for me to learn?

It really depends on what kind of person you are and what interests you. If you are a food activist, or you want to take control of your health and wellness, or you care about someone in your families wellness then this is for you.  If you love baking amazing bread and you want to understand bread, and how you coax out the beautiful crumb structure that Vanessa gets in her bread then yes.  This is also for you.  We are exceptionally good at teaching you have to make bread and how to eat it  … but with purpose beyond beyond holes. The advantage of joining today is that you do not have to wait to start learning. The disadvantage is that the Community Membership is entirely self-guided, so while it is less expensive, it does not include the research level features, tasks, events and tutorials you get as part of our guided courses. The Community Membership option is often chosen by intermediate bakers who want the flexibility of a rolling monthly membership. It is important to note that you are committed to staying for a minimum of three months before you can cancel your subscription.

Should I join?

If you are a total beginner and have never baked sourdough before, then I would strongly suggest that rather than joining with a Community Membership, you do one of our short prescription courses first. Don’t be surprised by this suggestion! My motivation is not money, but sharing knowledge and making real change, and if you’re brand new to baking, you would be far better off starting with the lower cost option of a mini course, or even by baking from my 10-Minute Sourdough book, which is brilliant for beginners. You can also try out our basic recipes for free here. Then, once you know the basics and are sure that you like baking, you can come back and join. I suggest you sign up for a Community Membership only if you can agree with the following statements:

  • I have baked sourdough before.
  • I am self-motivated and can commit to baking.
  • I am interested in more than just big holes – I want to understand sourdough.
  • Healthy bread is something I am very interested in learning more about.
  • I want to learn about other ways to use sourdough, such as pasta, flat breads, pastries, cakes and buns.
  • I like to know about how to eat bread to support gut health, including probiotics and probiotic recipes.

If you would like to join, please enroll – I will be delighted to find you in our Club members forum. If not, then please consider taking a guided course – they are amazing.   Vanessa Kimbell  The Sourdough School 

Do you do a personalised Bread Course?

If you would like to learn how to personalise bread. See https://thesourdoughschool.com/courses/

You can also join the mailing list or  make a membership request here.

Is there any 1:1 support?

Bake for Health welcome

Yes! We provide support in a number of ways. 

  • 3 x  live sessions a week! our baker, nutritionist, in house GP, Lifestyle coach and our councillor.

• The Sourdough Club forum is an active online forum with hundreds of members that is manned by one of our team daily. It’s a lovely place to get advice and feedback. 

• You will be invited to attend live online clinics. 

• You will be able to leave comments on lecture pages, which we will respond to. 

• If you get stuck with anything, you can reach out and Vanessa will get in touch. 

Bake 2, Give 1

Part of our baking protocol is that we ask all our members to bake two loaves and give one away.  So almost all of our recipes are made to follow this principle.  Baking is about sharing bread and we encourage people to use it as a way to connect with one another. As a bonus, baking two loaves gives you extra baking practice!

Will I learn to make sourdough ?

sourdough clubAs a member, you will most definitely learn to make extraordinary sourdough bread.

  • Have access to the community library and lessons with our step-by-step tutorials and video masterclasses.
  • Be able to discus your bakes in our live clinics on Thursday evenings.
  • Be the first to know of any courses run at the Sourdough School and receive preferential rates and booking opportunities.
  • Gain a deep understanding and insight into sourdough in your own time from core knowledge video tutorials covering topics such as the roles of gluten, salt, water and flour. You’ll also learn how to add inclusions, what bakers’ percentages are and how to troubleshoot.
  • Have access to a huge archive of recipes, including our classic sourdough recipes and symbiotic eating recipes.
  • Be able to read in greater detail the research behind each recipe and how it nourishes your gut microbiome.
  • Enjoy in-depth features on grains such as spelt, rye and other heritage grains.
  • Have access to a comprehensive glossary.
  • Be inspired by regular new recipes.
  • Interact with other members in our forum.
  • Have access to our library of live webinars with Vanessa and guests.
  • Share your bakes and get reposted on the Club Instagram account.
  • Get Club discounts.
  • Take part in exclusive competition and give-aways
  • Have access to exclusive articles by Vanessa Kimbell on sourdough and gut health.
  • Receive our e-magazine with tips, offers, articles and more.

What are tasks?

 

Do I get to talk to Dr Kimbell Directly?

Yes you talk to Dr Kimbell regularly in the live sessions, but we also run a live session at 4pm (London time).  This is a live open session.  If you want to ask Vanessa about the membership, you can email [email protected] to be invited.

How your memberships helps others

Bread, Health, and Social Justice: Community Membership is the backbone of our initiative. Your membership altruistically funds the programme, ensuring its grassroots foundation remains robust.

Your membership in the Sourdough Club isn’t just about learning Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM); it’s about being part of a global movement transforming lives through the power of bread. At the heart of the BALM Club is a vision: that good bread is a medium for promoting health, nurturing the environment, and furthering social justice. This vision, championed by Dr Vanessa Kimbell, isn’t about lofty ideals but tangible, on-the-ground change.

Tangible Change

You will see our students opening bakeries inside hospitals run by the patients and see projects such as the local skate park, where Vanessa has set up a learning hub for 16-21 year olds to learn to bake and get work experience. Vanessa is beyond her exceptional baking ability has a deep commitment to social justice, with a specific focus on bread’s nutritional aspects, the gut microbiome, and its impact on mental health, and regenerative farming.

More than Bread.

This isn’t just about learning the craft of sourdough or even about baking as a lifestyle medicine. It’s about joining hands with a community of activists, bakers, and thinkers committed to transforming the world—one loaf at a time. 

Be part of the change

It it is time to change the system.

Your membership isn’t just about learning to make bread. You will be part of the change.

The Sourdough School is a social enterprise and has been dedicated to researching, developing and sharing knowledge about how changes can be made in the world of bread-making and baking in order to support health and wellness for over a decade. We also take this one step further by teaching and empowering people to implement these changes and challenge the system on both a personal and social level. We do this through our Systems Change Programme, which is informed by our values.

This approach underpins everything we do in the club.

Club Members words

Yes we can tell you how great it is to be a member. .. but then wouldn’t it be better to hear it from members?

“I’d like to take a moment to appreciate “The Sourdough Club” and share my feelings regarding the delightful journey I’m currently experiencing. A gift of membership for any of us would be divine, I have been exceptionally blessed with mine! My life has become invigorating and I sparkle each day because “The Sourdough Club” has offered me the ability to shine, to grow, blossom, and flourish! Yes, I could be one of the ingredients of Vanessa’s Botanical Blends! A flower waiting patiently to enhance a little flavour into someone’s day, to remind ourselves of all that is great with the world instead of being disappointed and dismayed by all that troubles us. To be honest, if your heart is with sourdough, this club will present you with an opportunity to learn, challenge yourself and embrace the knowledge provided online. Vanessa offers recorded video guidance for us all to watch, participate in and the option to share conversations online with like-minded members. I do all of these things and more; I’ve watched webinars and I post my bakes via the member’s “Sourdough Club” group. Goodness, am I beginning to sound like an advertisement?! If I were, I’d implore you to join and actually yes I guess I am. I would love those of you reading these reviews to be inspired, to be invigorated and enthusiastic about what we have to say. The truth, for me, is that “The Sourdough Club” has changed my life for the better.

Through my membership, I’m learning to bake wholesome nourishing sourdough bread, cakes, puddings, sweet and savoury treats. I’m also being stimulated and this in turn has improved my mental health. I want to learn more, I want to embrace the opportunity, I want to succeed and I can because “The  Sourdough Club” has enabled me to do so.

 “It’s given me my happiness back and it’s reminded me of what’s important to me. If you have the slightest interest in baking, in sourdough, if you’re interested in our microbiome, in diversity, in the environment, then it’s all here in “The Sourdough Club”.

Depending on how you’d like to personally develop, I feel that membership of “The Sourdough Club” will give you the confidence to achieve so much more than just the ultimate bake.I am now in my eighth month of membership and gosh how those months have flown by!You my friend are at the beginning of a fabulous journey, don’t be shy, come join us! You’ll feel welcomed and supported from day one. If you choose to take this step, to commit, you may surprise yourself and in time, become a sourdough mentorwho wants to help others. You may enjoy a new hobby or even make new friends. There are no limitations to your potential. I haven’t reached mine yet, but in the meantime, “Happy Baking!””D. K. 

Why we like you to join the members forum

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