This Homemade SCD GAPS Diet Yogurt is fermented for 24 hours, making it virtually lactose free and easier to digest. Enjoy with fresh fruit and honey for breakfast for an afternoon snack.
Have you heard of the SCD or GAPS Diet? SCD stands for Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I first came across this diet when my youngest son was suffering from gastrointestinal issues four years ago. Our nutritionist suggested we give the SCD a try. At the time, the diet seemed far too restrictive for my son, so instead of trying it, I went down the road of an elimination diet where I removed over twenty foods that he tested allergic or intolerant to. Fortunately, the elimination diet did the trick; otherwise, we were going to try the GAPS or Specific Carbohydrate Diet next.
The SCD is often recommended for people with intestinal health issues and other illnesses such as Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Diverticulitis, Celiac Disease, Autism, and Cystic Fibrosis. The GAPS diet (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) is often suggested for people with autism, ADHD/ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, schizophrenia, depression, eating disorders, manic depression or bipolar disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Although there are some differences in the foods you can eat on each diet, they are both gut-healing diets.
Recently, the GAPS Diet and SCD have crossed my radar screen again. We have dairy intolerances of some sort in our family. I don’t know whether it’s the lactose or casein in dairy products that’s bothersome; a few family members think it’s the lactose, and the other half think it’s the casein. So, when I finally decided to look into the SCD in more depth, SCD or GAPS Diet yogurt popped up as one of the first foods to introduce into the diet. SCD or GAPS Diet yogurt is not the same as store-bought yogurt, nor is it the same as regular homemade yogurt. SCD or GAPS Diet yogurt is fermented yogurt that is virtually lactose-free and easier to digest. The yogurt is allowed to ferment for 24 hours, at which point, the lactose is “eaten up.”
The trick is to maintain the temperature of the yogurt at a steady 105-115 degrees fahrenheit for at least 24 hours. There are a few ways to achieve this. You can buy a yogurt maker. You can use your oven pilot light. You can sous vide it. Or you can use a food dehydrator like I did. The food dehydrator can be set at 105 degrees and left overnight, as can the sous vide circulator.
I used organic grass-fed whole milk and plain yogurt containing the cultures Lactobacillus bulgaricus, L. acidophilus and S. thermophilus (The SCD says to avoid yogurts with bifidus). You can also use a yogurt starter containing the recommended cultures.
This yogurt can be served with fruit and honey for breakfast, or added to smoothies and dips. It would also make a wonderful base for ice cream.
Note: The GAPS Diet and SCD are not the same diet; there are some differences, but this yogurt works for both diets.
SCD Diet Yogurt Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon grass-fed organic whole milk
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt containing Lactobacillus bulgaricus L. acidophilus and S. thermophilus
Instructions
- Heat milk in a large pot until it reaches a simmer, about 180 degrees fahrenheit.
- Let cool to room temperature (I let it cool down to 80 degrees).
- Remove 1 cup of cooled milk to a bowl and stir in yogurt until blended. Stir into pot and mix until blended. Divide milk among mason jars.
- Place in dehydrator and set to 105 degrees fahrenheit. Leave undisturbed for 24 hours. Remove and set in refrigerator until ready to eat.
- Eat within 2 weeks.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Breaking The Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall
Sources:
Gut and Psychology Syndrome, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD
Breaking The Vicious Cycle, Elaine Gottschall
I love making my own yogurt! It is so easy to make, but I need to try it with whole milk, not 2 percent! I’m sure it would taste 100x better 🙂
Yogurt is so easy to make – lately I’ve been reading about whole milk being less processed – it is a lot creamier than most yogurts.
I haven’t made my own yoghurt in a long while…time to start a batch!
I know this is an old post, but was hoping someone could help. We are starting GAPS on quite a tight budget. I was able to get organic milk in my area, but can’t find raw, or unpasteurized, or non-homogenized (I was told that scalding the milk first would help produce a similar product, but I am still actively searching for the real stuff). The other issue is I have none of the above options for keeping the heat high and stable. Would room-temperature for longer work, or would that be dangerous?
How do you not have the yogurt skin on top?
Everytime I make yogurt, I have a thick layer of creamy skin on top that I usually use in food (since it melt, but is gross to eat cold)
When I’ve made yogurt on the stovetop, I do get skin on top and remove it after the milk has cooled down a bit. I did not get it skin on top when I used the dehydrator.