Fermentation Support Forum

Sourdough bread, as baked, is said to be low in phytic acid.

However, unlike the sourdough starter, the fresh flour hasn't undergone a process of of phytic acid reduction.

Perhaps, I'm missing something, for example, the bacteria in the starter might rapidly "digest" the phytic acids in the newly added fresh flour during proofing despite the added salt.

Can anyone please highlight the levels of phytic acid in baked sourdough breads and kindly explain how any reduction occurs.

One thing to note is that the rise-time on sourdough is way, way longer than on modern yeast bread. So any biological has triple or more time to occur. The acidic environment of the sourdough allows phytase (I'm sketchy on the mechanics involved) to form, which is what neutralizes phytates.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf001255z
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 0503000722

I'm no expert -- I eat sourdough whenever I can, because it tastes better. If it happens to improve my health, that's great too.