I love artisan sourdough. I was able to tolerate Einkorn over all others until I developed Hashimoto’s and needed to go completely grain free. I have done keto, paleo, whole30 and even full carnivore to heal my gut when my health has dipped to its lowest. But I miss bread terribly. I have a couple keto sourdough recipes I have used, one that is an almond keto sourdough and the other a coconut keto sourdough, but I have developed sensitivities to both those flours at differing levels so I have begun to rotate cassava in more. These are very obviously “carb ups” but it is not difficult for me to slip back into ketosis afterward as long as I haven’t triggered inflammation. Food rotation is key for me to keep from developing new sensitivities… so it was time to find a new way to sourdough. At first I tried this based on my previous recipes but the loaf was drier and denser than I wished, so I tried incorporating Japanese Sweet Potatoes (white insides, purple skins), as they have a particularly tolerable resistant starch and retain their stiffness better than others. I also find I can tolerate quite a bit more than other sweet potatoes. You can sub the tigernut flour for cassava if you aren’t concerned about carbs, but I like the sweetness it brings and I find my body likes this combo.
Cassava Sourdough (Paleo, AIP, Keto Cycling)
Brenna May
I love artisan sourdough. I was able to tolerate Einkorn over all others until I developed Hashimoto’s and needed to go completely grain free. I have done keto, paleo, whole30 and even full carnivore to heal my gut when my health has dipped to its lowest. But I miss bread terribly. I have a couple keto sourdough recipes I have used, one that is an almond keto sourdough and the other a coconut keto sourdough, but I have developed sensitivities to both those flours at differing levels so I have begun to rotate cassava in more. These are very obviously “carb ups” but it is not difficult for me to slip back into ketosis afterward as long as I haven’t triggered inflammation. Food rotation is key for me to keep from developing new sensitivities… so it was time to find a new way to sourdough. At first I tried this based on my previous recipes but the loaf was drier and denser than I wished, so I tried incorporating Japanese Sweet Potatoes (white insides, purple skins), as they have a particularly tolerable resistant starch and retain their stiffness better than others. I also find I can tolerate quite a bit more than other sweet potatoes. You can sub the tigernut flour for cassava if you aren’t concerned about carbs, but I like the sweetness it brings and I find my body likes this combo.
Course American, Side Dish
Cuisine aip, paleo, Vegan
- 1 cup filtered or well water I keep the sweet potato water for this
- 1 tsp maple syrup or raw honey
- 1 tsp dry active yeast
- 2 tbsp psyllium husk
- 1/2 cup cassava sourdough starter
- 2/3-3/4 cup Japanese Purple Sweet Potato mashed (purple skins, white inside)
- 2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp pink salt
- 1 tsp baking soda optional, but adds rise
- 3/4 cup Otto’s Cassava Flour
- 3/4 cup arrowroot
- 1 cup Tigernut flour
Peel & dice the Japanese or white sweet potato and put in a small saucepan. Cover with water and simmer for 15 minutes until soft (if you can easily press a fork into it and break it it is done)
Drain the sweet potato through a sieve, reserving the water for later. Mash the sweet potato in the saucepan and set both aside to cool.
In a small bowl, add 1/4 cup of the water, sprinkle with yeast and add maple syrup or honey. Set aside for 10 minutes for the yeast to activate and consume all the sugars.
In a large bowl, add the cassava flour, arrowroot, tigernut flour, salt and baking soda and mix together.
Add the olive oil, work it into the flour and then make a well in the center to start adding the wet ingredients.
Add the mashed Japanese sweet potato and the cassava sourdough starter to the center and gently fold together without mixing in too much of the flour.
In the small bowl, add the rest of the water, the apple cider vinegar and the psyllium husk and whisk. Let set for 2 minutes.
Add apple cider vinegar/yeast/psyllium husk mixture into the well and begin to stir into the sweet potato & cassava sourdough starter until it looks like a foamy sponge.
Begin folding the flour into the sponge until it is biscuit consistency. Then press together, knead it gently and form it into a boulé or baguette shape to rise.
Oil a bowl and set in the boulé to sourdough for 12-24 hours.
Alternatively, I like to roll a couple tea towels into a 6x9 pan and lay the third towel inset into it, dust it with arrowroot flour and lay the dough in the middle to rise in a sort of baguette shape. Then I dust the top with arrowroot again and fold the tea towel over the top to rise/ferment for 12-24 hours.
The next day, preheat a cast iron pan or pizza stone in the oven to 450°F
Transfer the boulé or baguette to the oven, score the top with a knife and close the door.
Turn the oven down to 375°F and bake for 45 minutes to an hour (depending on your oven)
At 45 minutes, if the loaf has browned, check the bottom by tapping. If it sounds hollow then it is done, if not, put it in for another 10-15 minutes.
Let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.
*Paleo and keto loaves are often best toasted or grilled as they can taste a wee bit damp.
Keyword arrowroot, cassava, keto cycling, sourdough, tigernut, vegan
