This Gluten Free Sourdough Bread Recipe is a great base bread for beginners. It turns out golden, crusty, and slightly chewy on the outside while soft and tender on the inside.
This recipe does not call for a preferment, yielding bread in less than a 24-hour period whereas preferment's can take up to 2 days until you can taste the finished product. Since the purpose of a preferment is to allow a portion of the dough to further ferment over a period of hours (the longer the ferment, the more sour), I recommend using a slightly more mature starter in this recipe, at least 1-2 months old. If your starter is young and you don't mind milder bread, then by all means go for it!
You will need a gluten free sourdough starter to make bread, and preferably from a superfine brown rice flour or sorghum flour starter. If you don't have a gluten-free sourdough starter, you will first need to make one and can find out how with my guide on How to Make a Gluten Free Sourdough Starter. The bread photographed is from a 100% brown rice starter.
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Tips for Making the Best Gluten Free Sourdough Bread:
- I recommend making this gluten free sourdough bread recipe as is until you get a handle for it, then you can play around with any mix-in's such as raisins, seeds, herbs and spices, etc. You can also experiment around with the different flours and ratios for different textures and crumbs, but I recommend keeping the total flours to 200g and total starches 140g.
- I recommend using a slightly more mature starter for this recipe, at least 1-2 months old. This will ensure the bread has a nice developed flavor and a great rise.
- One golden rule: Your sourdough bread can only be as good as your starter. Your starter needs to be active and bubbly to give the bread a good rise and an airy crumb. If your starter isn't rising much or getting very good bubbles, you might want to give it a few more days. I'd also recommend adding in 1 teaspoon of honey to get it extra happy.
- Score the bread ¼-1/2-inch deep to ensure enough space for the steam to escape and for the pattern to make it onto the finished product. I also recommend dusting the top with brown rice flour just before baking for the pattern to stand out better.
- If you've mixed up your dough and for some reason your starter isn't active enough to rise the bread and you're worried about how it will turn out, you can salvage it by placing the dough in a bread or loaf pan instead. The tall, narrow pan will encourage it to bake upwards instead of forming a flat disc.
- Join my Facebook group, Gluten Free Sourdough Baking Recipes and Advice, to post photos, share recipes, and get advice in live time. We're currently at 7,000 members and growing!
How do I feed my starter/get it prepped for making gluten free sourdough bread?
I recommend giving your starter at least two big feeds before baking to ensure it's active and bubbly. Note: You will need to feed the starter more (in grams) than usual so there is enough to bake with and have starter leftover to keep it going.
For example: I keep a 300g starter (100g starter + 100g flour + 100g water) in the refrigerator. I like to take the starter out of the fridge in the morning or evening the day before I'm going to bake and let it warm up a few hours. Then, I discard less than usual (take it down to 150g or 200g instead of my normal 100g), then feed it equal parts flour and water. Repeat the next morning; discard back down to 150g or 200g and feed equal parts flour and water. You will mix up the sourdough bread dough in 3 or 4 hours, or when it's bubbly and at peak rise.
If you keep a small starter (say 50g, and it weighs 150g with flour and water); I don't recommend discarding any in the 2 feedings or so before baking bread. Simply feed it flour and water equal to how much it weighs (in this case, 150g) to bulk it up to have enough starter to bake with and have some leftover. The only reason we discard in the first place is so that we don't have to maintain a huge starter. In this case, we're purposefully bulking it up so it's okay to not discard.
If baking more than one loaf of bread, I recommend feeding the starter between 200-250g to have plenty of starter leftover.
In all cases, after baking gluten free sourdough bread you can return the starter to your desired amount of grams for maintenance purposes.
Ingredients
- Active gluten-free sourdough starter (preferably brown rice - sorghum may need added hydration. I have not tested others.)
- Whole psyllium husk + room temperature water. *Important: Use "whole psyllium husk", not powder. This ingredient is a must for this recipe as it is the main binder, acting a whole lot like gluten.
- Sorghum flour. A mild-flavored flour packed with nutrients.
- Oat flour. *Be sure to use certified gluten free oat flour. If you cannot tolerate oats, you can swap this flour with equal parts brown rice flour. This ingredient gives the bread a slightly chewy texture as well as adds fiber and nutrients.
- Superfine brown rice flour. This flour adds a little heartiness to the bread's structure/bite, as well as add nutrients.
- Tapioca starch. *Sometimes labeled as tapioca flour - it's the same thing.
- Potato starch, *NOT potato flour*. I love using potato starch because it makes the crumb of the bread tender and provides structure.
- Maple syrup, or honey. This makes the natural yeasts in your starter really happy, encouraging a good rise.
- Olive oil. This helps make the bread crumb softer, potentially preventing gumminess. It also adds nice depth in flavor.
- Salt, or sea salt. This ingredient is a must to bring out all of the wonderful flavors of everything in the bread. Your bread would taste very bland without it.
Recommended Equipment
- 7-inch boule banneton basket or proofing bowl or an 8-inch batard (oval) banneton basket or proofing bowl
- Dutch oven safe at high temperatures (400-500F), or a high heat safe ceramic dish with a lid. I recommend using a dutch oven no bigger than 1-2 inches than the size of your sourdough boule (in my case, 7-inch banneton bowl and 8.5-inch dutch oven). This is to encourage the loaf to rise tall in height, not wide and flat. I also recommend not too tall of a dutch oven in order to keep the convection and steam close to the top of the bread as it cooks. My dutch oven is 6 inches tall.
- A lame to score the top of the bread, optional. You can also use a sharp knife.
- Kitchen scale for accuracy.
- A wire cooling rack to allow the bread to cool completely. This prevents a soggy, hard bottom.
- A silicone bread sling can make transferring the boule to and from the Dutch Oven super easy.
- A sourdough starter temperature control device is super convenient for guaranteeing your starter is kept at a steady temperature so that it rises timely for whipping up some bread dough.
- Don't want to make a starter from scratch? This Sourdough Starter Culture packet gives you a head start with a dehydrated gluten-free sourdough starter culture and directions to follow to maintain it for years to come. I love this website because there's also cheesemaking, yogurt, kombucha, and fermented vegetable kits. (Use the code WONDERS15X on Cultures For Health's website to get 15% off!) The GF starter is also available for purchase on Amazon here.
Gluten Free Sourdough Bread Baking Schedule
Below is a guide as to when and how to prepare the starter and the dough. If you keep your starter out at room temperature and it's a really active starter, you could technically make and bake the bread in one day, after a single feeding. The first feeding the evening before is mainly to get refrigerated starters active again, or to bulk up small starters.
Day One (Evening before Baking)
- Remove your gluten-free starter from the fridge, if applicable. Feed a larger amount than normal. For one loaf, I recommend 150g starter to 150g flour and 150g room temperature water. Note: To bulk up the starter, you may need to discard less than normal. If you keep a small starter, see above How do I feed my starter/get it prepped for baking bread section. Leave out at room temperature overnight.
Day Two (Baking Day)
- In the morning, discard and feed the starter again (repeat same gram ratios as last night). Place it in a slightly warm place and allow it to reach peak rise, between 2 to 4 hours.
- Once the starter is at peak rise, mix up the ingredients for the bread dough, shape the boule and place into a banneton bowl, and allow to rise for another 3 to 5 hours.
- An hour before baking, preheat the oven with the dutch oven in it.
- Bake the bread, around 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes.
- Allow the bread to cool for at-least 6 hours, but preferably overnight. This allows the inside of the bread to soften. Loaves cut into too soon will dry out and become tough.
- Enjoy!
How to Make Gluten Free Sourdough Bread:
Follow above baking schedule. Continue with the following once your starter has reached peak rise;
- To a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, add slightly warm filtered water (78-85 degrees), whole psyllium husk, maple syrup, and olive oil. Whisk until well combined. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to "gel up". Note: Be sure to use filtered water. I like to let the filtered water from my fridge sit out while the starter is rising, then test the temperature with a meat thermometer. If not warm enough, you can heat in microwave in 5 or 10 second intervals.
- Sift the dry ingredients over a medium-sized mixing bowl; sorghum flour, oat flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch. Add in the salt, then stir until completely combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet, then add in 265g of the active sourdough starter. Mix with a spoon, by hand, or electric mixer until a dough forms, then mix another 30 seconds more. The dough should feel sticky yet easily workable and smooth. If the dough is too dry and not coming together, add in an additional 1-2 tablespoon of water.
- Dust a 7-inch banneton basket or proofing bowl with a little brown rice flour to prevent sticking. Form the dough into a classic ball or "boule" shape, smoothing any imperfect spots. Place smooth side down in the proofing basket (when the basket is flipped over, the bottom becomes the top of the loaf.)
- Place a damp tea towel over top of the basket and set aside. Allow to rise between 3 to 5 hours. Once the boule has risen between ½ to 1 inch, it's ready to bake.
- An hour before the boule has reached peak rise, preheat the oven to 425 F with the dutch oven in it. Tip: Position the racks so that the Dutch oven will be centered in the oven.
- Once the boule is ready and the Dutch oven is preheated, carefully remove it from the oven. Flip the boule onto a piece of parchment paper, then score a pattern into it with a lame about ¼ to ½-inch deep. Dust the top of the bread with a little bit of brown rice flour (this helps the pattern to stand out once baked.) Carefully pick up the parchment paper and place the boule into the Dutch oven. Add 2 to 3 ice cubes on the side of the Dutch oven behind the parchment paper (not touching the bread), then cover with the lid.
- Bake for 40 minutes covered, then bake an additional 20-40 minutes uncovered. The crust should be golden brown, hard to the touch, and sound hollow when tapped. The internal temperature of the bread should be about 210 F. If you want a softer crust, only cook 20 minutes uncovered, for a harder crust bake the full 40 minutes uncovered.
- Remove from oven and carefully pick up the parchment paper, setting the boule on a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool at-least 6 hours, but preferably overnight. The crumb will soften as it cools - cutting into the bread too soon will make it dry out.
- Enjoy!
How to Shape Gluten Free Sourdough Bread:
I will have a full post coming soon on how to shape gluten free sourdough bread. For now, I hope the above photos and steps help you.
*Only shape and knead gluten free sourdough bread immediately after mixing up the dough and before any rising. Do not knead or shape the dough after rising - you want to handle it as little as possible to prevent collapsing the delicate structure inside. No gluten = less structure and very fragile.
- After mixing up the ingredients and kneading the dough, flatten it into a flat disc. It should feel similar to making a pizza crust, except leave it thick - 8 inches across. Place the disc on an oiled surface.
- Fold one side of the disc to the center. (Hamburger style)
- Fold the other side of the disc to the center and over top of the first fold. (Still hamburger style)
- Roll up the length of the folded dough, giving it a little tuck into itself once you've reached the end of the roll. (Hotdog style)
- You should now have a ball of dough. Roll it back and forth in all directions on the counter a few times to close up the seams.
- Continue with the proofing instructions and rest of the recipe.
How to Store Gluten Free Sourdough Bread:
Keep bread covered in an airtight container and at room temperature when not in use. This bread will stay fresh for 3 to 4 days.
You can slice and freeze this bread to keep on hand. Simply thaw it on the counter before use, then heat it up in the toaster or oven.
Scoring Patterns
You can find all sorts of bread scoring pattern charts online to get you inspired. They range in complexity from super beginner friendly to skilled artisan. I chose a classic crescent-shaped slice with V slits beside it. Don't get overwhelmed - even if your cuts are messy, they always turn out great on the finished product.
Uses for Gluten Free Sourdough Bread:
Use this bread any way you would use wheat-full sourdough! For testing purposes, I ate it plain (non toasted) with butter. The bread came out with the classic slight tangyness and the crumb was soft and tender while the crust was chewy. I really loved how the ratio of flours produced a tighter crumb without huge air pockets because it makes this bread great for sandwiches and/or slathering with jams, butter, nutella, etc.
- Toast this bread for any kind of hot sandwich - BLT, turkey club, grilled cheese, chicken salad, etc. Or, serve non-toasted for cold sandwiches.
- Use 3 to 4 day old+ slices to make French toast or French toast casseroles
- Serve as a side with hot homemade soup. I'm totally thinking Broccoli Cheddar.
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Gluten Free Sourdough Bread Recipe | Dutch Oven Method
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Equipment
- Dutch oven or ceramic pot with a lid no wider than 1-2 inches more than your sourdough boule (Ex: If using a 7-inch banneton, aim for 8.5 - 9 inch wide Dutch oven. I also recommend a 6-8 inch height.)
Ingredients
To a 150g Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter (preferably brown rice or sorghum):
- 150 g filtered room temperature water
- 150 g superfine brown rice flour
- 1 teaspoon honey
For the Sourdough Bread:
- 330 g slightly warm filtered water (between 78-85 degrees)
- 20 g whole psyllium husk not powder
- 20 g olive oil
- 20 g pure maple syrup or honey
- 8 g apple cider vinegar
- 80 g potato starch
- 80 g oat flour
- 80 g sorghum flour
- 60 g tapioca starch
- 40 g superfine brown rice flour
- 1 - 1 ½ teaspoon (6-12g) sea salt use the lower amount of salt when adding in add-ins such as olives, sun dried tomatoes,
- 265 g active brown rice sourdough starter
Instructions
For the Gluten Free Sourdough Starter:
- The evening before baking; remove your starter from the fridge, if applicable. Discard down to 150g, then feed 150g brown rice flour and room temp filtered water. Note: To bulk up the starter, you may need to discard less than normal. If you keep a small starter, you may need to skip discarding completely and/or give an extra feeding. Leave starter out at room temperature overnight.
- In the morning, repeat discarding and feeding the starter with the same gram ratios as last night. Place it in a slightly warm place and allow it to reach peak rise, between 2 to 4 hours.
For the Gluten Free Sourdough Bread:
- (Begin once the starter is at peak rise) To a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, add slightly warm filtered water (78-85 degrees), whole psyllium husk, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil. Whisk until well combined. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to "gel up". Note: Be sure to use filtered water. I like to let the filtered water from my fridge sit out while the starter is rising, then test the temperature with a meat thermometer. If not warm enough, you can heat in microwave in 5 or 10 second intervals.
- Sift the dry ingredients over a medium-sized mixing bowl; sorghum flour, oat flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch. Add in the salt, then stir until completely combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet, then add in 265g of the active sourdough starter. Mix with a spoon, by hand, or electric mixer until a dough forms, then mix another 30 seconds more. The dough should feel sticky yet easily workable and smooth. If the dough is too dry and not coming together, add in an additional 1-2 tablespoon of water.
- Dust a 7-inch banneton basket or proofing bowl with a little brown rice flour to prevent sticking. Form the dough into a classic ball or "boule" shape, smoothing any imperfect spots. Place smooth side down in the proofing basket (when the basket is flipped over, the bottom becomes the top of the loaf.) Place a damp tea towel over top of the basket and set aside. Allow to rise between 3 to 5 hours. Once the boule has risen between ½ to 1 inch, it's ready to bake.
- An hour before the boule has reached peak rise, preheat the oven to 425 F with the dutch oven in it. Tip: Position the racks so that the Dutch oven will be centered in the oven.
- Once the boule is ready and the Dutch oven is preheated, carefully remove it from the oven. Flip the boule onto a piece of parchment paper, then score a pattern into it with a lame about ¼ to ½-inch deep. Dust the top of the bread with a little bit of brown rice flour (this helps the pattern to stand out once baked.) Carefully pick up the parchment paper and place the boule into the Dutch oven. Add 2 to 3 ice cubes on the side of the Dutch oven behind the parchment paper (not touching the bread), then cover with the lid.
- Bake for 40 minutes covered, then an additional 20-40 minutes uncovered. The crust should be golden brown, hard to the touch, and sound hollow when tapped. The internal temperature of the bread should be about 210 F. If you want a softer crust, only cook 20 minutes uncovered, for a harder crust bake the full 40 minutes uncovered.
- Remove from oven and carefully pick up the parchment paper, setting the boule on a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool at-least 6 hours, but preferably overnight. The crumb will soften as it cools - cutting into the bread too soon will make it dry out.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Example Baking Schedule:
Below is a guide as to when and how to prepare the starter and the dough. If you keep your starter out at room temperature and it's a really active starter, you could technically make and bake the bread in one day, after a single feeding. The first feeding the evening before is mainly to get refrigerated starters active again, or to bulk up small starters.(Day One)
- Remove your gluten-free starter from the fridge, if applicable. Feed a larger amount than normal. For one loaf, I recommend 150g starter to 150g flour and 150g room temperature water. Note: To bulk up the starter, you may need to discard less than normal. If you keep a small starter, see above How do I feed my starter/get it prepped for baking bread section. Leave out at room temperature overnight.
(Day Two)
- In the morning, discard and feed the starter again (repeat same gram ratios as last night). Place it in a slightly warm place and allow it to reach peak rise, between 2 to 4 hours.
- Once the starter is at peak rise, mix up the ingredients for the bread dough, shape the boule and place into a banneton bowl, and allow to rise for another 3 to 5 hours.
- An hour before baking, preheat the oven with the dutch oven in it.
- Bake the bread, around 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes.
- Allow the bread to cool for at-least 6 hours, but preferably overnight. This allows the inside of the bread to soften. Loaves cut into too soon will dry out and become tough.
- Enjoy!
Storage Instructions:
Keep bread covered in an airtight container and at room temperature when not in use. This bread will stay fresh for 3 to 4 days. You can slice and freeze this bread to keep on hand. Simply thaw it on the counter before use, then heat it up in the toaster or oven.Notes:
-
- I recommend making this recipe as is until you get a handle for it, then you can play around with any mix-in's such as raisins, seeds, herbs and spices, etc. You can also experiment around with the different flours and ratios for different textures and crumbs, but I recommend keeping the total flours to 200g and total starches 140g.
-
- This recipe does not require a preferment, yielding bread in less than a 24-hour period whereas preferment's can take up to 2 days until you can taste the finished product. Since the purpose of a preferment is to allow a portion of the dough to further ferment over a period of hours (the longer the ferment, the more sour), I recommend using a slightly more mature starter in this recipe, at least 1-2 months old.
-
- One golden rule: Your bread can only be as good as your starter. Your starter needs to be active and bubbly to give the bread a good rise and an airy crumb. If your starter isn't rising much or getting very good bubbles, you might want to give it a few more days.
-
- If you've mixed up your dough and for some reason your starter isn't active enough to rise the bread and you're worried about how it will turn out, you can salvage it by placing the dough in a bread or loaf pan instead. The tall, narrow pan will encourage it to bake upwards instead of forming a flat disc.
- *(01/15/2024 update - I increased the salt from ½ teaspoon to 1 - 1 ½ tsp, or 6 to 10g.) Many readers loved the bread with the lower amount of salt (me included) but I received a few suggestions to increase the salt. (Keep in mind; the more aged the sourdough starter, the more robust the flavor.) Use the lower amount of salt when adding in salty add-ins such as olives, everything bagel seasoning, etc. (As a general rule of thumb, I would add between ¼ cup to 1 cup of add-ins. I have not played around with flavor combinations much yet, but I will be in the coming weeks.)
Liana
This is by far my favourite GF sourdough bread! i keep tagging you in my facebook posts 🙂 Question: I fed my GF starter 3 days ago, it doubled, i put in fridge. Can i take out and use it tonight or do i have to do another feeding?
madison
Awh, I'm so happy to hear this, Liana! So glad you're enjoying the bread. I recommend feeding the starter again before preparing the recipe and using at peak rise, that way you will be guaranteed a good rise.
Kristy
This bread is absolutely perfect!! I’ve made several GF sourdough breads using different recipes & this is by far our favorite!! Thank you so much!!!
Erica
Great recipe! But I wonder if 1/2tsp for an entire loaf is correct?
My bread tastes unsalted, and not in a good way. I normally put in 10-12g for a loaf that size
Also, do you have any tips on how to look for being overproofed? My top collapsed in from the crust, which usually indicates it's overproofed, but I definitely couldn't tell when I put it in
Thank you so much
madison
Hi Erica, I'm so glad you love the bread! I and many readers thought the bread was perfect at 1/2 tsp of salt (it might depend a little on age and sourness of the starter) but a few have mentioned wanting a little more salt. I added a note with an option to increase it up to 10g, but I recommend keeping low if adding in salty additions like everything bagel seasoning, olives, etc. As for when to tell when its ready, the dough should rise about 1/2-inch to 1-inch within 3 to 5 hours (may be less if in a warm or humid environment) and have a slightly domed look to it. It should feel soft and airy and spring back when poked. I hope that helps!