Cassava flour is, in my opinion, the best substitute for gluten containing flours. I use this in my yuca crackers, my burger patties, my salmon patties, and my hidden liver burgers as well as dusting my yuca flatbread dough when pressing it into the pan. I haven’t yet experimented with using this flour to make buns or sweets but … you never know.
Save by making cassava flour
Making my own cassava flour costs me less than 1/3 of the price of Otto’s flour.
This takes a bit of time in the soaking and dehydrating parts of the process but, other than that, it is quite easy and not very time consuming.
- peel the yuca root and cut it into chunks
- soak for 24 hours, then drain
- process in a food processor
- dehydrate
- another whirl in the food processor or a Vitamix and voila .. you have cassava flour
Soaking is necessary
Warning: there is conflicting advice out there about safely preparing yuca for eating . I think that it is best to err on the side of caution so I would recommend preparing yuca for cooking by peeling, cutting in chunks and soaking in water for 24 hours. It then needs to be drained (I also rinse one last time and then drain again to make sure that most of the cyanide like components are eliminated). Dehydrating at 145 degrees F will eliminate any remaining unwanted chemicals. Remember that this is not the only food with cyanide like components … apples contain similar chemicals … who knew!
This recipe features on the Phoenix Helix Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable: week #120.
Food to Heal Ourselves
Yields 1
AIP cassava flour works well as a gluten flour substitute but, best of all, it saves you money.
60 minPrep Time
6 hrCook Time
7 hrTotal Time
Ingredients
buy whatever quantity of yuca root works for you.
Four pounds of yuca root makes approximately 1 pound of flour.
Method
Peel and chop the root into chunks.
Put the chunks in a large bowl and cover with water.
Let the yuca soak for 24 hours. Drain and rinse once during the soaking and again at the end.
Put some of the raw chunks of yuca into your food processor and, using the S-shaped blade, process until the chunks resemble coleslaw. Repeat until all the chunks are processed.
Spread the bits of yuca root onto Teflon sheets in a dehydrator.
Dehydrate at 145 degrees for 6- 12 hours or until the bits are completely dried out.
Put the dehydrated bits into a food processor fitted with the S-shaped blade and process until you have cassava flour.
Store in a cool dry place.
Notes
Make sure that your equipment is dry when you go to process the dehydrated yuca.
Leave me a comment if you make this flour or any other AIP/Paleo compliant flours .. I’d love to know whether or not you are as pleased with the results as I am.
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