The Sourdough Club

Prescribing Baking as Lifestyle Medicine

Change your bread, change your life. Discover how sourdough helps make bread more nutritious and why it is easier to digest, as you learn to bake eat and share extraordinary bread to support both mental and physical health.
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Unlimited Membership Subscription

£4.99 / month after an initial 1 month period for £599.00 including joining fee

 

 

“Equal access to nutritious, affordable food is essential for social justice and the health of our communities.” – Mark Hyman, MD

 

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The Sourdough Club was rated 5* by the Telegraph. It is part of the Sourdough School. We can tell you how wonderful our courses and memberships are, of course, but you can read our member reviews.

This Sourdough Club Membership is now in its 11th year, this unique approach to learning uses baking sourdough as lifestyle medicine.  This is preventative health, but not as you know it. This is about learning as part of a community.  We have a clear purpose, great bread and baking done right. We teach you to bake, eat and share bread for improving health, reducing environmental damage, and challenging the dynamics of inequalities in the food system.

Our approach is about a systems change.  Not only will you learn to make sourdough and nourish your gut microbiome, you will also learn how to make changes to your own diet and lifestyle for better health whilst supporting others.  All the recipes and our approach to baking are delicious and evidence based and has been researched, tested and developed as part of the The Bread Protocol that is central to Vanessa Kimbell’s Doctorate in Nutrition and Digestibility for Bread.

Membership gives you access to recipes, videos and core knowledge tutorials, as well as support from our live clinics and baking Forum.  You bake according to your abilities and in your own time, to suit your lifestyle, and you join our baking community.

Memberships Benefits

Membership Benefits

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 

Next Guided Course

If you would prefer a guided course and a certificate, then you can join an interactive guided course. 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!

We disrupt the system with your subscription fees ...

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?

In the live sessions I sometimes set you tasks.

Can I talk to Vanessa Directly?

Yes you talk to Vanessa Live every week in the 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 then you can email bookings@sourdough.co.uk to be sent an invitation.

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. 

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