Sourdough? - has anyone made it keto?

(Steve) #1

Has anyone tried making sourdough with almond flour yet? (considering how expensive this stuff is, thought it best to see if it’s worth the experiment or not).

Planning on basing my experiment on:

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #2

Almonds are lower carb than cashews, so probably won’t provide enough food for the bacteria to make a culture go as effectively and produce as much of a rise as a traditional sour dough. I’m looking at her crumb and it’s tight… not as much rise or oven spring. No split top. No need to crease.

I might try this as my starter just bit the dust, but I’m skeptical as all get out.

(Steve) #3

Well, I just kicked off my starter. I added a bit more water than she had (likely another 50-70ml) - the dough is super-thick - like cookie dough.

I’m also on the high side for probiotics - my capsules are 25B each - so my batch got the first one and about 80% of the second one. :slight_smile: That can only be good, right?

Thinking it’ll take on the longer side, so planning on leaving more than 24 hours.

I’ve never made sourdough before - how would I know if the starter is ready?

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #4

With a traditional starter, it would pass a float test.

http://www.virtuousbread.com/bread-and-conversation/how-do-i-know-when-my-sourdough-is-ready-for-baking/

I dunno that almond flour starter is ever gonna float, but I wouldn’t have thought of making an almond flour starter.

Edited to add: no. No float test. It should just taste sour. And almonds will take longer than cashews to get there due to the carb count. The author used cashews for the very reasons I don’t eat cashews.

There is a lot of information in the comments section of the recipe.

I would use my Joule to maintain the temp. I did that for a bread that came out wonderfully.

(Diane) #5

I’d love to hear how this turns out.

#6

If you could pull this off, I’d be a happy girl. I’ve been dying for a sourdough like keto replacement. Fathead rolls work in a pinch as do some of the mug bread recipes, but I wont like, the convenience and taste of a sandwich on sourdough is something I miss from my former WOE.

(Steve) #7

How did you use your sous vide for that? (I have an Anova) Did you have the bowl float in your vessel?

Edit: I’m doing what they recommended thus far - using the oven light to make the interior warm enough. Just put an oven thermometer inside to check what the temp is, to make sure it’s optimum.

I have a Cambro 4.5 gallon polycarbonate container (with lid) that I use for sous vide. I could lower the water level and put it in there…I wonder if I left the lid on if the environment wouldn’t be too moist though…

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #8

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I took some of my starter, put it in one of my small cambros, floated it in a large cambro, and then had to tape it down to keep it from bobbing. This was for a “warm spot levain” but at a lower temp than he wants for the dough.

(Steve) #9

Yeah, I think I’m going to have to transfer it - the oven’s only around 101F - the info on the recipe site says it should be at least 105F, but no more than 110F. Definitely smelling the probiotics though…so maybe they’re already working.

I’ll get my water bath setup.

(Steve) #10

Ok, transferred. I’ll check it tomorrow morning and see if there’s any action going on. Set the temp for 107F.

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(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #11

yeah, based on the reading and the picture, no need to hold that down… I didn’t think it’d turn into a real levain. No big deal, as long as it gets that flavor…

(Steve) #12

Hmm. It’s been 24 hours since I mixed it together (be 24 for in the sous vide in another 5) - would have expected it to look considerably different. Pictures I’ve seen of wheat-based sourdough starters on sites are all bubbly and goopy (and, yes, this is almond flour / ground almonds, so should be different due to the heaviness / denseness of the material), but I’d still expect to see some difference in the material - it doesn’t really look any different.

(I’ll wait until at least noon to taste the dough for sourness).

Let me know what you think. :slight_smile: Thanks!!

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #13

Comments on the recipe led me to believe that it will not get bubbly. Taste it for sourness.

#15

I read something somewhere that suggested a little sugar to help the yeast because they will eat it and it wont remain? Thoughts?

(Steve) #16

Hmm. Not sure if it would work the same way for probiotics or not.

In any case - I think we have success!! (the 25hours+ in the sous vide bath seemed to do the trick) Just had a taste and it’s bitter as all hell!! :smiley:

Continuing on with the recipe. I’ll post results at the end. :slight_smile:

(Steve) #17

Ok, this first attempt (while not complete yet - just put the loaf back in) hasn’t been the most successful. :frowning:
I should have likely made this loaf first so I would have had the experience baking with almond flour:


The temp in the cashew sourdough recipe for the majority of the bake was 325F - pretty sure this is too low for Almond Flour (based on that other recipe). So at the end of 60 minutes at 325 and another 20 at 375, the loaf is still not done (too moist inside).
It’s also a little crumbly and it didn’t rise much, so I think if we pulled the number of eggs and baking powder from the other recipe, it would produce a much better result.
I didn’t double the recipe to fill my bread pan as recommended as I didn’t want to gamble that much Almond Flour. :slight_smile:
Next attempt will be more successful I’m sure. (at least we know that probiotics can create a starter with almond flour - I’d say with a double batch, I might increase the number up to about 80B?

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(Steve) #18

@LeCheffre - if you do go to make this, I’d likely check the bitterness of the dough at the 12 hour mark. Thinking this is too sour - and you wouldn’t want to have to offset that by adding some Erythritol or Stevia to the dough.

I also think I didn’t have enough moisture in the dough in the first place. When I took it out of the sous vide bath, it had congealed almost into a solid - kinda like play doh in terms of consistency. I then added more water (from the sous vide bath) - I figure this is better both because the chlorine normally in tap water would be greatly reduced from the cook as well as the water being warmer, it’s going to help with probiotic growth until the dough is baked. (mind you at that point, it’s the acids that they secrete that are the cause of the bitterness, so likely a non issue). More important when you’re doing the starter I think that the water is chlorine free.

I likely added at least 3/4 cup - getting the dough to a much more consistent level (like a paste or like hummus) rather than cookie dough. Then I went to beat my egg whites and when I came back to the dough, it was much more light and fluffy (gases released by the cultures I’m guessing).

They say nut loaves are better the next day, so we’ll see.
Completed loaf weighed 533 grams (19.7g per 1g Carbs - almost a 20:1) - so the couple slices I had would have come to about 3g of carbs.

#19

How’s the taste?

(Steve) #20

It’s actually too bitter right now. They say nut breads are better the next day. Maybe I’ll have to try toasting a slice - see if that makes it taste better. :slight_smile:

Considering how much almond flour went into it, I have to make it useful. :slight_smile:

Maybe french toast? :wink: