SOURJOE Nutrition Label Discussion

Understanding the Reported Nutrition Data

As mentioned in Aaron's last post ("WELCOME TO SOURJOE"), the SOURJOE App considers Nutrition reporting as a necessary function. In this blog post, I (Joe) will explain the reasoning behind the Nutrition feature. I'll also describe the limitations of the feature so our fellow Home Bakers know how to use the data.

So, when I was initiated into the sourdough obsession by my son Aaron, I quickly turned to my trusted Excel spreadsheet program to create a Bakers Log. After thinking about the baking process, I realized that the spreadsheet could do so much more. To make a long story eternal, I grew the features of my Excel workbook to include Starter Recipes, Leaven Recipes, Bread Recipes, Timeline Tracking, Recipe Water Temperature Calculations, Bread Nerd Facts and finally - Nutrition Data. Most of these Excel features including the Nutrition calculations were incorporated into the SOURJOE App.

SOURJOE App Nutrition Report

The Image to the right is the Nutrition report for the SOURJOE recipe 'Country White Sourdough' which Aaron used in the 'Welcome to SOURJOE' post. There are several items to take note of when reading this report:

Aaron really needs to charge his phone!
The 'Per x Unit' column shows the total Nutrition for the number of loaves (or 'units') the User chose at the start of the Bake. We have reconsidered this and have on our 'To-Do' list to show Nutrition data for 'Per Serving' and 'Per One Unit' as opposed to the total number of units baked. The reason we called it 'Units' is that we intend to include many non-bread (but sourdough related) Recipes in the near future).
The 'Per Serving Amount' value is set by the User in the App 'Settings'. Our intent is to make this value a parameter which is entered by the User for each bake. In this way, the User can have a more accurate estimation of per-slice Nutrition values. We chose 55 grams as the standard for now, but some recipes will be heavier per slice, others lighter.
The 'Amount' in the 'Per Unit' column is 85% of the weight of the actual total recipe weight value. This is done because bread sheds a lot of weight through moisture loss during baking. We have taken an average of 75% to 85% Hydration recipes and found that a 15% reduction of weight is a good estimate of weight loss during the baking process. Another 'To-Do' on our list is to give the User the ability to input the final Bake Weight so the Nutrition statement will be more accurate.

You will notice that the sum of weight of all the Ingredients for the 'Country White Sourdough' adds up to 962 grams (the boxed values in the Ingredients picture to the left); the Nutrition Label states that one Unit (loaf) is 817.7 grams.

Doing the math: 962 * 0.85 = 817.7

5. The Nutrition values shown in the Nutrition report are a good estimate of the actual Nutrition values for that recipe. These values are derived by adding up the values from each individual Ingredient in proportion to the amount of that Ingredient used.

It should be noted that the SOURJOE Nutrition label is a good first estimate of Nutrition values, but should not be used for dietary or medical planning purposes. As stated in our 'Legal' and 'Terms and Conditions' sections, Users should consult with medical professionals to help create a dietary plan.

What's Next in Nutrition Reporting?

Our TO-DO list is long and never ceases to grow day to day. That is the life of an App developer. Here is a short list of future features we intend to add to the Nutrition reporting portion of the SOURJOE App (fingers crossed!):

On Nutrition report (label) show per-slice and per-loaf values only.
Allow User to enter per-slice weight for each Recipe.
Include "% of DV" (% of Daily recommended Value) in Nutrition.
Allow User to enter post-bake weight for each Bake. Interesting Sidenote: Once the bread loaf is removed from the oven, it continues to lose (water) weight for hours. This is why bakers are told to not cut their loaf for several hours after being removed from the oven.
Add a feature to print Nutrition Labels complete with name of Bread Recipe, Baker Name and associated Logo (the Logo would be a new feature in the Settings section).
Eventually, we will connect our App to a Nutritional Database service - but for now, we will continue using the labels of common Ingredients and the USDA Nutritional Database online.

HAPPY BAKING!

In the meantime, sign up for our FREE 14-day trial and try it out for yourself!