John Turner introduced our guest speaker Dr Dai Suter. Dr Suter has an honours degree in chemistry and bio chemistry and worked in the milling and baking industry for 40 years.
Dr Suter spoke about coeliac disease and cereal intolerances and the benefits of spelt, an ancient wheat some 6,000-7,000 years old.
Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disease which affects 1-2% of the population. Non-coeliac gluten intolerance affects 6% of the population, irritable bowel syndrome about 15% and wheat allergies about 2.5%. Symptoms of intolerance are hard to diagnose and can include fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, migraines and IBS.
Canada grows the best bread making wheat in the world which used to be imported by the UK but was very expensive due to its long fermentation process (approximately 18 hours). In the 1960s a type of wheat was produced in the UK which required far less fermentation time for the dough and there was a major shift in the baking process. This shift also saw a marked increase in coeliac disease and gluten intolerance. Dr Suter spoke of the various reasons for this and the difference the use of ancient grains can make in reducing symptoms. Apart from spelt, other ancient grains are einkorn, emmer and khorasan. Breads baked from these grains are extremely nutritious and far more flavoursome.
Dr Suter said there are about 40 artisan bakers in Australia, including Berkelo Bakery at Brookvale and Mosman, where artisan breads are baked from the ancient grains.
Over dinner we had a spelt sourdough bread brought by Dr Suter and it certainly had far more flavor than our usual fare.
John Garrett thanked Dai for his very informative talk and for telling us about the significance of spelt and other grains in the baking process with regards to our health.
New sergeant for the month, Fay Petrou, extracted funds from those present for various misdemeanors – perceived or otherwise.
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