After successfully creating both ancient grain and gluten free sourdough starters, I began to consider the request of a grain free starter. Now, it didn’t make sense to me to sourdough a starch like tapioca or cassava as the purpose of fermenting grains is to neutralize phytates. However, as I looked through my baking cupboard, I noticed a number of bags of almond flour, and that got me thinking.
Since nuts also contain phytates, I would typically soak, sprout, dehydrate, then grind them. Such a process! But, what if I did that soaking on the backend? Well, I just had to try it.
Over the course of the next 4 days, I created an almond flour culture. Much to my surprise and delight, the culture acted just like my other sourdough cultures. It doubled in size and bubbled just as a grain dough.
From that culture (can I really call it a dough? I’m not sure), I made a delicious loaf of bread; completely grain and dairy free, as well as these Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies. Unlike their gluten flour counterparts, these grain free snickerdoodles are soft and chewy and not too sugary.
Fluffy Almond Flour Starter
Grain Free, Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies
ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar + 1 TB (reserved)
- 1 chia egg ( 1 TB water + 1 tsp ground chia)
- 300g almond flour starter (100% hydration)
- 5 TB coconut flour
- 1 1/2 TB cinnamon + 1 TB (reserved)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
instructions:
How to cook Grain Free, Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Cream together butter and sugar
- Add chia egg
- Sift together coconut flour, cinnamon (except reserved 1 TB), and salt
- Stir dry ingredients into almond starter
- Stir almond mixture and butter mixture together
- On 2, parchment lined cookie sheets, scoop out batter using an ice cream scoop
- Sprinkle reserved sugar and cinnamon over the tops
- Bake for 25 min per pan or until cookies are golden around the edges
- Allow to cool before removing from pan