Proven: This podcast will change the way you think about bread

Podcast Intro Spotlight Meet the voices joining us in this episode: Jo Feakes — a trusted, fully qualified Nutritional Therapist based in the UK, with over a decade of clinical knowledge. Jo empowers clients with real food, personalised science, and a warm, practical approach to health.   David Wright, The Breaducator — a third-generation baker, academic, and author of Breaking Bread: How Baking Shaped Our World. His words remind us that bread is never just bread—it carries values, history, and the power to define what we stand for. Mike Key, known for Eating Your Environment, who’s lived—and eaten—radically by traversing Iceland on a traditional Inuit diet. His experience brings a profound, environmental lens to how we nourish our bodies. Our Proven Bread Students, shining human stories in this journey:   Lucy, whose life changed at a dinner table simply by tasting bread with soul — she felt unquenchable desire to learn to make it with intention. Jenny, who gifted us with rose-petal vinegar, and shared how her own hands and heart became part of the bread’s living story. These voices frame a conversation that isn’t just about food—it’s about health, story, activism, and connection.

Twice during this podcast, I had to fight quite an emotional response — which really surprised me. - You can also watch this Podcast in the Sourdough School here and find the links to the book to buy We’ve all become a little numb, haven’t we? The news cycle grinds on — summits, politicians, empty words. But this conversation is something else entirely. This podcast is about bakers and bread — and what it’s like to bake in a war zone. To make sourdough in a city being bombed. To feed people when there’s nothing. Felicity Spector brings stories from Ukraine that are so raw, so real, they stop you in your tracks. Her book, Bread and War, is written with prose that transports you: to bakeries under siege, to soldiers eating syrniki in flak jackets, to mothers and sons separated, to families baking against the odds. It’s humbling. It’s human. It’s filled with quiet courage. And it reminds us that bread — real bread — has no borders. I have Russian students. I have Ukrainian students. I teach people from 84 countries around the world. Bread has no boundaries. We need peace. We need to put the weapons down and bake together. I don’t believe bakers make war. I believe politicians sell weapons and grab land. Forgive my non-partisan stance, but I won’t take sides. I will say that Felicity is possibly one of the most inspiring journalists I’ve had the privilege to interview. This episode is one I urge you to listen to. And please — buy the book. Bread and War is as close as you’ll get to the truth of Ukraine without being there yourself.

How we can use Nutrigenetics to Personalise Bread Nutrigenetics is the study of how an individual's genetic makeup influences their response to nutrients and dietary intake. It investigates how genetic variations affect nutrient metabolism, dietary requirements, and the risk of developing certain diseases. In essence, nutrigenetics explores the intricate interplay between genes and nutrition Emma Beswick, the founder of Lifecode GX and Dr Vanessa Kimbell have an in depth discussion on bread and Nutrigenetics and how this can can help determine which types and amounts of fibre are best suited for an individual's digestive system, potentially reducing bloating and improving gut health. We touch on how understanding individual responses to carbohydrates can inform the choice of grains and bread types, potentially aiding in managing blood sugar and energy levels. We chat too about genetic variations and some examples of how this can affect nutrient absorption, so tailoring bread to an individual's needs can ensure optimal intake of essential vitamins and minerals. Vanessa share some of the things she uses the Lifecode GX for in the way she approaches Bread in the way she designs loaves using Botanical Blend flour to address specific health needs, such as supporting mental well-being through folate intake or managing inflammation We explore moreIndividuals with polymorphisms in the MTHFR gene may benefit from increased folate intake, which can be enhanced through sourdough fermentation or the inclusion of folate-rich ingredients. Bread isn’t just food—it’s functional nourishment, and every ingredient in each blend of flour and the way you ferment your bread has a purpose. 

Episode Title: Professor Tim Spector Chats with Dr Vanessa Kimbell about Bread, Health, and Social Justice Episode Description: In this thought-provoking episode, Dr Vanessa Kimbell and Tim are hiding out in the basement of Daunt books chatting just before Tim's book launch.  Tim and Vanessa have known each other many years and Tim bakes his Sourdough as a lifestyle Medicine approach to Bread.  Tim is the world's leading microbiome scientist and in this episode Vanessa asks him about his thought on the role of bread in our health, our culture, and our future. Vanessa and Tim have dived into Bread many times inclusion on the Zoe Podcast on Bread.  Tim share more on real impact of bread on blood sugar, the gut microbiome, and social equity. Professor Spector reflects on his personal experience baking BALM bread at home – drawing on Spanish influences and his own journey with baking as lifestyle medicine – while also offering a clear-eyed look at the reality of our current food system. Topics include: How Tim’s blood sugar responds to different kinds of bread – and why fibre, fermentation and ingredients matter deeply The health benefits of rye and diversity in the diet over a lifetime Bread as both a major source of fibre – and an overlooked contributor to chronic illness when ultra-processed Vanessa’s bold proposal for legislation to protect public health from mass-produced, ultra-processed bread A playful exchange around utopian ideals and corporate responsibility, including Tim’s suggestion of adding health warnings to industrial loaves Highlighted is the enormous disparity in bread pricing – and what that says about health inequality How easy and empowering it can be to bake your own bread, and why BALM offers a practical, evidence-based path to nourishment This is a generous and encouraging conversation between two of the most influential voices in bread, gut health and nutrition.  Tim offers both critique and hope explaining to listeners that you can bake at home - even as busy as his is ( Vanessa dedicated the 10 minute Sourdough School book to Tim from a previous humorous exchange form man-years earlier) , bread can be medicine, community, and justice in every slice. Whether you're a healthcare professional, baker, policymaker or someone simply trying to eat better, this episode will leave you informed, inspired, and ready to see bread in a whole new light. Here is a recipe for Tim Spectors Zoe Bread.  

🎙️ New Podcast Episode: Botanical Blend Flour with Josiah Meldrum, Co-founder of Hodmedod’s In this episode, I’m joined by Josiah Meldrum, co-founder of Hodmedod’s, to talk about something very close to both our hearts: Botanical Blend flour. This flour is unlike anything found in the average bakery. It’s milled from a diverse, carefully selected blend of British-grown grains, seeds, pulses, and botanicals — designed not only to nourish the gut and support mental and physical health, but also to regenerate the soil and the food system from the ground up. Josiah and I explore: How Botanical Blend flour is a living expression of diversity — in farming, in nutrition, and in culture. Why growing for health means growing with purpose — using British grains, beans, and plants that work in harmony with nature. The relationship between soil biodiversity and human microbiome health — and why it matters that your bread starts in the field. The collaboration between farmers, millers, and bakers that makes this flour possible — a system of shared values and long-term thinking. This flour isn’t just an ingredient. It’s an intervention. Botanical Blend is a foundation of the BALM Protocol and a practical answer to some of the most urgent health, environmental, and social issues of our time. 🎧 Listen now for a behind-the-scenes conversation about how and why this flour was created — and why it’s a quiet but radical step toward systemic change. There are many conversations about bread out there. This one is about flour that makes a difference.

The Sourdough School Podcast - With Farmer Roger Saul Discussing UK Food Security with Dr Vanessa Kimbell and MP Stuart Andrew Here’s a warm, thoughtful, and insightful introduction for your podcast episode featuring Farmer Roger Saul and MP Stuart Andrew: 🌾 Podcast Episode: UK Food Security & Inheritance Tax — With Farmer Roger Saul We’re delighted to bring you a deeply important conversation on The Sourdough School Podcast, featuring organic farmer Roger Saul—co‑founder of Sharpham Park and former Mulberry entrepreneur—and MP Stuart Andrew, joined by Dr Vanessa Kimbell. 🎙️ This episode unpacks two intertwined crises facing our food system: 1. Food Security in the UK Roger Saul and Stuart Andrew discuss how our dependence on imports and fragile food supply chains put us at serious risk. Over 40 % of our food is imported, and with threats ranging from extreme weather to geopolitical instability, the UK must rebuild its resilience from the ground up  2. Inheritance Tax on Farms From April 2026, inheritance tax relief on farms above £1 million will be limited to 20 %. This “tractor tax” has sparked widespread protest—tractors through Whitehall, farmers in Westminster, even warnings of risking food security  The NFU and farming leaders warn that wafer‑thin margins could vanish, farms could be forced to sell, and our rural food infrastructure eroded. This podcast takes us beyond headlines. We explore: How farming families inherit not just land—but stewardship of vital food systems. Why removing relief threatens investment in regenerative agriculture. What meaningful policy and public commitment look like for secure, sustainable food futures. This is a vital listen for anyone who cares about where our bread comes from—not just in the supermarket, but from field to flour to table. If you value food sovereignty, rural livelihood, and regenerative farming, this episode offers clarity, context, and conviction. 🎧 Listen now to The Sourdough School Podcast, and join us in understanding why protecting our farmers—through thoughtful tax policy and support—is central to our collective wellbeing.