We want to end this year with a special post. After more than 12 publications where the elaboration of Healthy Bread with Sourdough has been defended, where different points of view have been shared, always with the support of scientific arguments and paraphrasing great and renowned scientists. Richemont defends and supports bread making with Sourdough as a commitment made to defend Healthy Bread and the consumer. For this reason, we wanted to end this year with this interview with such a special and beloved character as Karl De Smedt.  

In previous articles we have discussed and explained the subject of the microbiota and its function in our organism. You can read more about it here. Today we want to go deeper into this topic with a summary of a new scientific publication that proves that cultured sourdough bread is a healthy, necessary and beneficial food for the body. We want to contribute with this publication to deny once and for all that sourdough bread is a fattening food or that it should be replaced by other carbohydrates. If you want to know why? We invite you to continue reading.  

In a previous blog article we have already explained the meaning of the acronym FODMAPs (Fermentable, Oligo, Di, Monosaccharides and Polyols), whose excessive consumption has relevant negative health effects, such as irritable bowel syndrome. If you have not read it, we will be happy to link to the page here. This month we return with more interesting information on this topic.  

We like to share with a summary of the scientific article "High resolution proteomics reveals differences in spelt and wheat flour proteome that represent targets for wheat sensitivity research" published by Muhammad Afzal, Jens Pfannstiel, Julia Zimmermann, Stephan C. Bischoff, Tobias Würschum, C. Friedrich H. Longin on the website www.nature.com/scientificreports. In the study the proteins of spelt are compared with those of wheat flour to understand why one creates more allergic reactions or intolerances than the other.  

 Thank you, Mr. Fries, for taking the time to answer our questions during these difficult times and to tell us about the Richemont Expertise Centre. We are aware that the technical school was closed in the spring due to the Covid-19 and that it only reopened since June. Perhaps for this reason now is a good timing to talk about the technical college and its future now!

Charles Darwin already said "it is not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one that best responds to change."

The current situation opens a complicated scenario, especially for the self-employed and small companies. For many it also becomes an opportunity to reorient their business, thus adapting to the new reality that our society currently lives. 

  The University of Hohenheim in Germany has issued a press release stating that there is still hope for patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

We have discussed healthy bread in previous posts on this blog. We talked about the importance of making bread with cultivated sourdough also previously in other posts. We even wanted to believe in the health benefits of fermented foods such as sourdough cultures.

Obviously, all three are foodstuff or drinks and part of any aperitif, lunch or dinner. But what else do they have in common? Have you ever heard of fermented foods? Yes, wine, beer and bread, like cheese or yogurt are fermented foods. In recent years other more exotic foods such as kefir, tempeh, sauerkraut, miso or kombucha tea have been added to this list, popular among the recent food trends or followers of macrobiotic diets.

1. Thank you very much for taking the time to share your knowledge with our readers Mr. Pastor. You have been President of the Richemont International Club for several years and before that you were President of the Richemont Spain Club for many years. How did the relationship with the Richemont School of Lucerne come about?

I first heard about Richemont School when my son completed a bakery apprenticeship in Germany. I learned then that this school in Lucerne is probably the most advanced and best equipped training centre in Europe.

I contacted Richemont School, travelled to Lucerne and met with Mr. Walter Bösch, who was then the Director of Richemont and visited the facilities to learn more about the services and educational programmes. Following that visit, an interest on both sides arose in establishing a closer relationship with the possibility of starting a Richemont School in Spain at some point. I had been in the world of food and bakery for more than 20 years; I had also worked for Belgian and German multinationals in Spain and in Germany and knew the level of available training, both outside and inside our country.

Welcome to the Richemont Blog. This Blog was born with the purpose of clarifying elementary concepts about bakery and pastry, to transmit and disseminate knowledge based on studies conducted both at the Richemont Fachschule in Lucerne, and local data and knowledge provided by the different Richemont Clubs distributed throughout Europe and South America. The objective is to talk about elaboration processes, about the ingredients and other topics of interest that may arise. We are open to topic proposals by the presidents of the different Richemont Clubs, the Club members and the students of the Richemont Craft School.

We know that bread has suffered a series of false myths in recent times. It has lost its reputation and its importance as a highly nutritious food. We have read for years that bread is fattening, that it is responsible for many of today's food intolerances or that bread contains excess salt etc. Until it is no longer seen as food, but a mere side dish in a meal. 

We are faced with the situation that sales and bread production numbers continue to fall throughout Europe since 2010.