I was trying to answer someone’s question about this phenomenon and ended up brainstorming and reading research to the point that I decided to make an FAQ. I’d love to hear more ideas or any input you have.
When someone asks you why can they can digest European bread better recommend them to buy an organic heritage wheat and make homemade sourdough with it. See if they report having an easier time digesting it. I bet at home they buy any old supermarket mass produced bread (plenty of those in Europe too) but when on vacation they seek out fancier restaurants which will serve a healthier style bread.
At Home: Sits in front of a computer all day eating burgers, hot dogs, french fries and copious amounts. “Oh, my stomach aches and I can’t digest”.
On Vacation in Europe: Less stressed, walking a lot more then… “How about we eat eat out in that fancy restaurant”? “Oh, my, I really digest European bread more easily”.
Before any other consideration, how do they know that it’s really bread and not food in general? You don’t eat bread by itself. And how do we know that it’s not a simple perception based on positive prejudice or wishful thinking?
Do you know that a lot of people who claim to be gluten intolerant have never sought medical verification?
Don’t get me wrong. I know for a fact that traveling and changing eating habits can improve overall health and even cure allergies, but I always try to take things one step at a time in a rational way.
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Has a double burger with extra cheese, pickles and/or hot chillies and a big dollop of mayonnaise with a side of onion rings and then gets indigestion. Must be the bread.
Eats out in Europe and has a lovely appetizer, soup, an expertly cooked steak with vegetables and there’s a few slices of a baguette in a basket on side. Feels fine. Must be a far better bread.
Agreed! there’s far too many variables at play here.
Being gluten intolerant is the latest fad to be part of a tribe or an expression of Munchausen syndrome (Factitious disorder imposed on self), as it was 20 years ago with peanut allergy.
With all my sympathy for those who truly suffer from them.
I recently listened to a podcast about food allergies that was super interesting.
Elimination diets are very difficult and so many extra substances are part of processed foods that it’s easy to misassign blame for your reaction. I think there’s a mix of people assessing their response scientifically and people jumping on a social trend.
I can’t for the life of me eat fried dough from a fair (it’s so good, I’ve tried so many times 
), but I’m fine with deep fried other things. What’s that all about?!
Undercooked starch. There isn’t a single living being I know of that can digest starch.
Pair it with oil that has been frying all day, and you have the perfect toxic, poisonous, heavy, indigestible combination.
Interesting theory! I’m fine with not-sourdough pancakes though 
Also fast food old oil that has cooked potatoes and chicken lol
It’s not a theory, unless there are other bad ingredients in the dough. Sometimes they put fried oil in the dough instead of fresh fat. But then they don’t taste good.
It means that your body has a harder time dealing with undercooked starches than it does with polymerized fats.
I can give you a recipe and baking directions for a pizza that will make you sick, no matter how good the flour you use.
Being sensitive to unhealthy foods is a good thing in the short and long term.
Here are excerpts from an article on the LiveStrong website about how starch is digested. I condensed it for a quick read. See the link to the article with citations is at the end. In a nutshell, starch digestion starts in the mouth, stops in the stomach, then completes in the small intestine.
I hope this is helpful:
… starch is simply a long chain of sugar molecules linked together, also known as a polysaccharide.
With a polysaccharide, long-chain structure, starch is classified as a complex carbohydrate — the healthier, more filling type you want to get plenty of in your diet … It can be found in foods like whole wheat, oats, corn and beans — and, of course, potatoes and rice.
As you chew, your salivary glands also activate, stimulating the production of saliva.
… saliva contains an enzyme called salivary amylase … This enzyme starts to break apart starches into smaller, more simple carbohydrates …
… the stomach does work to physically mix and churn the food.
… the pancreas releases its own digestive enzymes to help break down starch … This enzyme enters the small intestine through the pancreatic duct and gets to work on deconstructing starch into smaller chains and individual molecules.
The majority of starch digestion takes place in the small intestine, thanks to the activity of the enzymes in the pancreas and small intestine …
… glucose and galactose that result from starch digestion get distributed to the body’s cells via two transport proteins, SGLT1 and GLUT2. Once in the cells, glucose and galactose can be used for energy.
Fructose, on the other hand, is transported via the proteins GLUT2 and GLUT5 … It gets stored in the liver as a backup source of energy. And thus completes the body’s process of digesting starch — until your next meal.
It’s clear that I was talking about raw or insufficiently cooked starch, and it’s clear that the site is referring to cooked starch.
No living being I know of can digest starch that has not been at least partially transformed by some chemical, biochemical or fisical process, not even yeast.
This is cool info. It reminded me of an alcohol made in Peru where the first step is people chewing starchy roots to get the enzymatic breakdown started and then spitting them out before the stuff is fermented.
Actually, when I looked it up, I saw there is a particular Japanese sake made this way too.
It’s like having a canary in the coal mine digestive system 
As mentioned, the bread consumed in Europe might be made from heritage wheat varieties that have different characteristics compared to the wheat commonly used in other regions. Heritage wheat varieties often contain lower levels of gluten and different protein compositions, which can affect how they are digested. In Europe, bread is often made using traditional baking methods that involve longer fermentation periods. This extended fermentation process breaks down gluten and phytic acid, making the bread easier to digest for some individuals who may have sensitivities to these components. European bread may also be made with higher quality and purer ingredients, including organic flour and natural sourdough starters. This can result in bread that is less processed and contains fewer additives, which some people find easier to digest.