Hey Lolly’s is on a bread making crusade to blow your mind. Well, we really just want to lay the truth out there and educate. So let’s start with the lesson:

1. White Bread = Whole Wheat Bread

Confused? So were we when we found this out 5 years ago. Store bought whole wheat flours and breads are stripped of practically all of the wheat germ. This may not seem like a big deal; after all,” whole wheat flour” still has the bran. Wrong, it’s a big deal. The wheat germ is the spinach of your salad, the yolk of the egg, the Babe Ruth of baseball. Without the fresh wheat germ, it’s almost like eating cake with a bit of fiber thrown in.

The germ contains many of the vitamins and minerals you need, increases the protein, changes the absorption of gluten, and creates a healthy environment in your digestive track. So why is this highly beneficial germ taken out of all “whole wheat” commercial breads and flours? The answer is preservation. Wheat germ quickly goes rancid after the flour has been milled. It is like leaving a glass of milk on the counter. The true, unadulterated freshly milled flour should be used within two days to retain the nutrients and prevent any hint of rancidity.

2. Yogurt vs. Milk?

Sourdough bread vs. commercially yeasted bread is like comparing yogurt to milk. Just google “is sourdough bread healthy” and you will find a plethora of information touting true sourdough as the healthiest form of bread you can eat. In a nutshell, true sourdough with no commercial yeast at all is made from a long fermentation with the natural leavening and lactic acid (like yogurt). This creates a wide range of health benefits from breaking down gluten, activating the enzymes, to being full of probiotics. Our breads contain only real food ingredients with a long 16+ hours of fermentation, as opposed to a 2 hour process with additives and preservatives like most breads.

By going old-school, we at Hey Lolly offer something you can’t get anywhere else in North Texas: a naturally-leavened rustic loaf made from freshly milled whole grains. It’s locally made, nutritious, and incredible all rolled-into-one.

Alrighty class, that’s the end of Lesson 1. If you would like to learn more, go read Lesson 2; it’s got more scientific goodness for those of you who like that kind of thing.