In our previous post, we saw how changes in both cultivation and milling have transformed wheat, resulting in a product bred for the needs of agribusiness, food processors and mass retailers, often at the expense of diversity, nutrition and flavor.

Even as wheat’s multicultural origins were blended away on North America’s vast monocultural plains, the pursuit of consistency and new efficiencies also began to change the way bread was baked. And that, says author Todd Oppenheimer, is a contributing factor in the rise of a range of gluten-related sensitivities, digestive problems and even autoimmune disease.

We’ve asked: What changed wheat? Now we wonder: What changed yeast?

For thousands of years, writes Oppenheimer, “humans have eaten wheat and the handful of other grains that contain gluten with relative ease. After World War II, however, digestive complaints worldwide began to climb. In the past 50 years, the rate of people testing positive for celiac disease just in the United States has risen more than 400 percent. . . . There are indications that a good portion of today’s gluten sensitivities come from two big changes in the past half century: first, in how we grow and process wheat; and second, in how we turn its flour into dough. . . .

“Flour and water cannot become bread without some kind of rising agent. Until commercial yeast was invented, over a century ago, the only such agent available was a natural ‘starter,’ which remains the engine of sourdough bread to this day. Despite its mystique, a starter is nothing more than flour and water that has been left to sit for days, and fed intermittently with more of both. Over time, the bacteria and yeasts that naturally exist in this environment — on the grain primarily, but also in the air, in the water, and on the baker’s hands — grow and multiply, creating hyperactive live cultures. These microorganisms are what makes dough ferment, similar to the way milk ferments to become yogurt.

“Over the past decade, several studies have found that some people with gluten issues can tolerate intensely fermented wheat. . . . One, published in 2007 in the peer-reviewed Applied and Environmental Microbiology, found that when wheat bread was thoroughly fermented, it reduced gluten levels from roughly 75,000 parts per million to 12 — a level that technically qualifies as gluten-free. How is this even possible?

“According to the literature, fermentation’s trick with sourdough lies in its native bacteria and yeasts. As these microbes feed on grain’s proteins and starches, they break down gluten into more digestible elements. They also gorge on the grain’s sugars, turning them into compounds that our stomachs absorb more slowly than the sugars in standard bread. ‘There is a transformation that happens with fermentation,’ Peter Reinhart, the dean of American bread writers, told me. ‘It’s kind of a way of processing food without the heat.’ As all these microbes munch away . . . they leave behind gases and more bacteria — the main elements of sourdough bread’s complex flavors. . . . The result is a fecundity of enzymes, amino acids, and more than 200 flavor compounds.

“Commercial bread cannot begin to duplicate this messy barnyard. Instead of being fertilized by a riot of voracious bugs, it is prepared with only one strain of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Because of its vigor, Saccharomyces was targeted (by the great Louis Pasteur) and ultimately commercialized into powdered form. This left the yeast artificially isolated from its mates — grain’s natural yeasts and bacteria. Jilted and lonely, Saccharomyces gobbles the dough’s microflora, rushing the fermentation process. Thus its bread’s relative flavorlessness — and the agent’s nickname: ‘instant yeast.’ Bakers tolerate the yeast’s drawbacks because it affords a recipe that is idiotproof, and because it seriously speeds production.”

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Many consumers have a sense that today’s pervasive food-industrial complex has changed the way food used to be, the way we can still sometimes remember it.

Yet long memories are not enough to track the slowest of these tectonic shifts. Wheat’s journey from life-giving ancient grain to monoculture commodity is one prime example.

Increased sensitivity to wheat among the general population is an important clue that something has been lost along the way. Writing in Whole Living Daily, author Todd Oppenheimer explores what has gone wrong with wheat, and why:

“High-yield wheat varieties made their global debut in 1961, when the American agronomist Norman Borlaug created a rugged new variety that benefited from heavy applications of fertilizers. It also produced a field uncommonly thick with wheat berries. . . .

“A bigger, hungrier world also required more industrialized methods of production. Farmers obliged by supplying commodities tough enough to endure handling by machinery and transcontinental shipping. Having survived drought and disease, wheat now had to withstand the beating that flour would get in industrial dough-mixers — and still emerge as the puffy loaves then beginning to adorn grocery-store shelves.

“The primary answer to these demands was more plant muscle, which meant stronger glutens. As genetic variety in the world’s wheat fields slowly narrowed to fulfill these goals, we were left with yet another instance of monoculture — in this case, one that is literally gut-wrenching. . . .

“So far, the medical world has only been able to pinpoint what is toxic to celiacs — namely, some of the protein compounds in modern wheat’s gluten. But that’s been enough to get people theorizing that it may be something similar bothering nonceliacs. . . .

“Since no one is certain what that something is, experts now are digging into every possible corner of the wheat story. The first is basic nutrition. [Cynthia Harriman, director of Food and Nutrition Strategies for the Whole Grains Council] told me that although wheat in North America goes through 50 different quality assessments — to analyze factors such as yield and baking performance — ‘none are related to nutrition.’ And studies have found that as farmers further pump up growth with fertilizers, nutrients tend to decline. ‘When yield goes up, you see micronutrients like iron, zinc, and selenium go down,’ [Danish plant pathologist Anders Borgen] told me. What grows in their place? ‘Starch and glutens,’ he said.

“A 2009 study out of Norway, published in the Journal of Agricultural Chemistry, identified similar changes under industrial agriculture. It found that many wheat proteins were significantly transformed by the nitrogen and sulfur in chemical fertilizers. (Modern wheat is built for chemical treatment and irrigation, but when it’s farmed under ‘unsupplemented,’ organic conditions, its performance falls — roughly matching a few preindustrial varieties.)

“The modern assault on wheat extends to the industrial flour mill. Traditional stone mills grind the kernels of grain, then sift out varying amounts of bran to create different grades of white flour — products sometimes called ‘semi-refined’ flour. This allows the flour to retain the wheat’s germ, which houses so many of its nutrients. While some small European mills still operate this way, all but a few North American mills have taken a different course. Because growers in the United States have increasingly adopted harder wheats, millers now tend to smash the grain with steel hammers or rollers. Then, to create white flour (still the market leader), they toss the bran and germ into separate piles, leaving only the starchy center for the consumer.

“Today, when a whole-wheat order comes into a roller mill, the staff simply puts the bran and germ back into the white flour and ships it off.”

More in our next post.

It’s not wheat, not grass, just a versatile plant related to rhubarb that offers consumers a wholesome gluten-free ingredient, and farmers a short-season crop that thrives in low-nutrient soil.

Because it grows so quickly, buckwheat is an ideal second crop for a field. It’s also an effective cover crop that naturally and safely enriches soil on veganic farms. Among its many surprises, buckwheat can be used to make a honey that’s high in antioxidants. Researchers worldwide have documented some of buckwheat’s other great benefits:

According to the Canadian Grain Commission: “The protein content in buckwheat flour is significantly higher than in rice, wheat, millet, sorghum and maize. Buckwheat proteins are well-balanced and rich in lysine and buckwheat flour has one of the highest amino acid scores among plant sources. Nutritional studies have shown that buckwheat proteins have the highest cholesterol lowering properties among the plant proteins. . . .  Buckwheat contains many flavonoid compounds, mainly in the hull, known for their effectiveness in reducing the blood cholesterol, keeping capillaries and arteries strong and flexible, and assisting in prevention of high blood pressure. While flaxseed is the highest source of plant lignans, buckwheat also contains a considerable amount and provides the third highest amount among many cereals.”

A study published in the Czech Journal of Food Science discovered: “Buckwheat flour may alleviate diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. A number of nutraceutical compounds exist in buckwheat grains [which are] a rich source of starch, proteins, antioxidants, and dietary fibre as well as trace elements. The amino acid composition of buckwheat proteins is well-balanced and of a high biological value. Buckwheat grains are an important source of microelements such as Zn, Cu, Mn, Se and macroelements: K, Na, Ca, Mg. The highest concentrations are in the hulls. Buckwheat grains and hull consist of some components with healing properties and biological activity, i.e.: flavonoids (primarily in the hull) and flavons, phenolic acids, condensed tannins, phytosterols, and fagopyrins.”

Researchers in India, writing in the International Food Research Journal, found similar benefits: “Buckwheat grains contain numerous nutraceutical compounds and they are rich in vitamins, especially those of the B group. The buckwheat flour is superior to the wheat flour because of its higher lysine, iron, copper and magnesium content. The significant contents of rutin, catechins and other polyphenols as well as their potential antioxidant activity are also of great significance. These functional components of buckwheat have health benefits like reducing high blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, controlling blood sugar and preventing cancer risk.”

And Danish researchers have chronicled the beauty — and vanity — of buckwheat. (Or at least one famous Danish storyteller.) Hans Christian Andersen wrote: “But there was also a field of buckwheat, and this field was exactly opposite to the old Willow-tree. The Buckwheat did not bend at all like the rest of the grain, but stood up proudly and stiffly. ‘I’m as rich as any corn-ear,’ said he. ‘Moreover, I’m very much handsomer: my flowers are beautiful as the blossoms of the apple-tree: it’s quite a delight to look upon me and mine. Do you know anything more splendid than we are, you old Willow-tree?’”

“For centuries, farmers have been selecting plant varieties for better quality and yield, however continual selection for yield over other traits can lead to the loss of beneficial nutritional qualities,” notes the Ploughshare Institute for Sustainable Culture, which has begun extensive field trials of heirloom wheat varieties.

“Wheat that has been bred for higher gluten content allows large, industrial baking operations to produce more bread per day per oven because the higher gluten content will cause the bread to rise more quickly. However, some dietitians and nutritionists believe that longer rise times as well as fermentation (sourdough) and pre-sprouting can develop more flavor and enzymatic activity which aids digestion and assimilation. Many older varieties of wheat require this slower artisan process in order to produce quality bread.”

On fields in Texas, Ploughshare researchers are comparing ancient varieties to determine which are best suited for the soil and climate, and have the potential for widespread cultivation within the region. According to the organization, test grains include:

“Einkorn — a very rare and ancient wheat that was cultivated in Switzerland, Spain and the eastern Caucasus several hundred years ago. Analysis shows that it is more nutritious than modern wheat.

“Emmer — another heirloom from ancient times. Emmer was found in some of the earliest farming areas in Turkey and Greece. It is one of the parents of modern wheat.

“Pacific Bluestem — one of the most popular wheats in California and the Northwest over 150 years ago. A flavorful wheat that is reputed to be the wheat used to make the famous San Francisco sourdough bread.

“Japhet — is a British heritage variety known as ‘Red Marvel’ in England over 100 years ago. Also known in France where it was used to make the famous French artisan breads.

“Mirabella — is from ancient Italy and can grow up to 84 inches tall.

“Milagre — a landrace wheat from Portugal grown in pre-industrial times.

“Globe — an unusual wheat from pre-industrial colonial India. The kernels are small and round.

“Sin El Pheel — another landrace wheat from ancient Iraq with very large kernels.

“Mauri — from ancient Afghanistan. This wheat was know as Cone and Rivet in England and was widely grown in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries.

“Red Fife — came to Canada from Scotland in the mid-1800’s and became the foundation wheat for the large Minneapolis flour industry.

“Turkey Red — originally from Turkey and was grown extensively in the Ukraine prior to 1850. When the Mennonite people had to flee Russia due to persecution, they brought this wheat with them to the U.S., sometimes sewing the seed in the hems of their children’s garments. Turkey Red became the foundation of most American wheats and is a major reason that Kansas became known as the ‘bread basket of America.’”

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