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Learn how to make a gluten free sourdough starter from scratch and bake delicious gluten free sourdough bread in just 5-7 days!
Because of high demand, we have created this tutorial for those that have wheat sensitivities, gluten intolerance or celiac disease to be able to make your own gluten free sourdough bread.
And don't worry about bland, dry, crumbly bread. The gluten free sourdough bread recipe that we have developed makes the most soft, sliceable and delicious gluten free bread!
The process is very simple so let's get started!
What you'll need
The ingredients needed to make this gluten free sourdough starter are:
brown rice flour
water
We choose to use brown rice flour because it is inexpensive and readily available, but you can use any gluten free flour of your choice.
You will need measuring cups, a glass jar with a loose fitting lid and a rubber band to mark the level of starter in the jar.
How to make a gluten free sourdough starter
Day 1: Add ½ cup brown rice flour and ¼ cup of water to a clean jar. Stir, cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 2: Stir the starter, cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature for another 24 hours.
Day 3: Add ½ cup brown rice flour and ¼ cup of water to the jar. Stir, cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
The photos below were taken on day 3 before the starter was fed. You can see lots of bubbles on the sides of the jar with very little bubbles on the surface of the starter.
Day 4-7: Discard half of the starter from the previous day and add ½ cup brown rice flour and ¼ cup of water to the jar. Stir, cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Use a rubber band to mark the level of the starter right after it is fed.
You should expect to see bubbles on the sides of the jar, but little to none on top of the starter.
The starter is ready to use for baking when it rises by 25-30% in the jar after a feeding. Depending on the temperature, this could take anywhere from 6-12 hours. Warmer temperatures will cause the starter to grow faster.
Tips for success
TIP 1: Sourdough starters grow best at room temperature. Somewhere around 70°F is great. If it's colder than that in your kitchen, your progress will be slower. Be patient, I promise that it will take hold if you trust the process.
TIP 2: You don't need to purchase special rice flour to feed your starter IF you have a high speed blender or a grain mill. I used my high speed blender to make flour from brown rice to get my gluten free starter going. Just blend until it is as fine as possible!
TIP 3: Cover the jar loosely. I lay the lid on the jar without securing it. The starter needs to be able to "breathe" so don't screw a lid on too tightly. You can also use a piece of thick fabric with a rubber band to secure it in place.
TIP 4: Pick morning OR night to feed your starter to make it easy to remember.
TIP 5: Save the discarded starter in a separate jar in the fridge. When there is enough, you can make gluten free sourdough discard crackers! (recipe coming soon)
How to maintain a gluten free sourdough starter
Keep the gluten free sourdough starter stored in the fridge until you are ready to bake. The night before you plan to mix your dough, remove it from the fridge and feed it the amount needed to make your gluten free sourdough recipe with. Once a week, discard half of the starter and refresh with ½ cup gluten free flour and ¼ cup water and place back into the fridge until you are ready to bake.
How to make Gluten Free Sourdough Starter
Learn how to make a gluten free sourdough starter from scratch and bake delicious gluten free sourdough bread in just 5-7 days!
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4.94 from 16 votes
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Prep Time: 5 minutesminutes
Author: Amy Duska
INGREDIENTS
6cupsbrown rice flour
water
INSTRUCTIONS
Day 1: Add ½ cup brown rice flour and ¼ cup of water to a clean jar. Stir, cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 2:Stir the starter, cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature for another 24 hours.
Day 3:Add ½ cup brown rice flour and ¼ cup of water to the jar. Stir, cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 4-7:Discard half of the starter from the previous day and add ½ cup brown rice flour and ¼ cup of water to the jar. Stir, cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Use a rubber band to mark the level of the starter right after it is fed. The starter is ready to use for baking when it rises by 25-30% in the jar after a feeding. Depending on the temperature, this could take anywhere from 6-12 hours. Warmer temperatures will cause the starter to grow faster.
NOTES
How to maintain going forward: Keep the gluten free sourdough starter stored in the fridge until you are ready to bake. The night before you plan to mix your dough, remove it from the fridge and feed it the amount needed to make your gluten free sourdough recipe with. Once a week, discard half of the starter and refresh with ½ cup gluten free flour and ¼ cup water and place back into the fridge until you are ready to bake.
Discarded sourdough starter can be kept in a separate container in the fridge and used to make gluten free sourdough discard recipes.
Once your starter is reliably doubling, switch to feeding it a 50:50 blend of brown rice flour and Breadtopia gluten free bread flour. This made my starter thrive. I typically keep about 75 grams of starter going so I have enough to create what I need for my gluten free bread recipe.
I feed my starter with brown rice flour, but you can use sorghum, millet, or most other wholegrain flours for your starter. I would not recommend using a premade gluten-free flour blend, or a starch. Wholegrains work best because they give your starter a lot to feed on.
While the natural bacteria may make it easier to digest, and the fermentation process decreases the amount of gluten, it still does not reach 20ppm (parts per million) or less of gluten, which is how the United States defines gluten-free foods.
If you plan on baking gluten free sourdough often, just keep your starter on the counter and feed it at least once a day. If you don't plan on baking as often, you can store your starter in the refrigerator and feed it once a week.
Alternate adding a whole grain gluten free flour like quinoa, teff, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, brown rice … in place of gfJules Flour. The protein and wild yeasts more likely to be present in these flours may help to re-energize the starter.
Combine 1 cup of gluten-free flour blend with 1 ¼ cups water and stir well until all the clumps are out. Cover with a kitchen towel, and leave untouched overnight (preferably 18 to 24 hours). On the second day, discard half of the starter. Add another 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water.
Dense loaf- you may need to use more liquid, gluten free dough is usually wetter than regular wheat flour dough resembling a thick brownie batter. How much liquid is enough in a recipe ultimately depends not on formulas but in observation. You may need more or less liquid than the recipe specifies.
The way sourdough is made breaks down the fructans as well as the gluten. So even though sourdough is not completely free from gluten or fructans, it is easier to digest. This is because it has lower levels of gluten and fructans.
Does sourdough have less gluten than regular bread? Yes sourdough does have less gluten than regular yeasted bread. Sourdough goes through a long fermentation period whereby the lactobacteria in your starter start to break down the gluten in the flour. This results in a lower gluten level in your baked bread.
Although Ezekiel bread is technically flourless, it is not a gluten-free product. Those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance shouldn't eat it. There are other flourless breads that do not contain gluten.
The best bread to reduce gut inflammation is bread made from whole grains. Refined grains, such as the grains found in white bread and white pasta, are known to increase inflammation across the whole body. Sourdough bread and rye bread are both good options for an anti-inflammatory diet.
Sourdough bread may be easier to digest than white bread for some people. According to some studies, sourdough bread acts as a prebiotic, which means that the fiber in the bread helps feed the “good” bacteria in your intestines. These bacteria are important for maintaining a stable, healthy digestive system.
Once established, you can store your starter in the refrigerator. Regular Feeding Instructions: if your starter is at room temperature, you will want to feed it every day so it doesn't get too hungry.
Most commonly, the issue here has to do with temperature (which is very important). If your sourdough starter is kept at a low temp, even 70°F (21°C), it will slow fermentation activity and appear to be sluggish, taking longer to rise and progress through the typical signs of fermentation. The solution: keep it warm.
A sourdough starter (the wild yeast and bacteria in it) needs food and water and protection. Like any living entity, without that it goes into a sort of hybernation from dehydration, or it dies from contamination (like mold or foreign bacteria) or extreme hunger.
What Flour Should I Be Feeding My Sourdough Starter With? You can feed your sourdough starter with any flour you like, as long as it provides the starches the wild yeast in your sourdough starter need to convert to Co2 to rise your dough. The flour you choose should always be unbleached flour.
Most commonly, the issue here has to do with temperature (which is very important). If your sourdough starter is kept at a low temp, even 70°F (21°C), it will slow fermentation activity and appear to be sluggish, taking longer to rise and progress through the typical signs of fermentation. The solution: keep it warm.
If you have an established sourdough starter you can use any flour of your choosing! Honestly, I've even used bleached flour on the rare occasion if I'm in a pinch and don't have unbleached flour in our pantry.
The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour.
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