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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!
Rate this recipe!
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.
Feed starter with GF flour and water every 4 hours by using one of the following methods: If using a scale to measure ingredients, combine equal amounts by weight of starter, water, and GF flour. For instance, 50 grams of starter, 50 grams of water, 50 grams of GF flour.
Sometime between days 5 and 10, you'll notice that within several hours after feeding the starter will have grown in size to between 2 1/4 and 2 3/4 cups. At this point it's ready to use in your recipe.
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.
You will know it's ready if it has lots of bubbles, and doubles in size after a few hours when fed. Unfortunately, gluten free starter doesn't pass the float test like a regular wheat active starter would. So determining if it is ready will be based on appearance and if it is bubbly and doubling in size.
The most common feeding ratio is 1:1:1 (sourdough starter: flour: water). This is also known as a 100% hydration starter. For example, let's say you have 40 g of sourdough starter in a jar. To feed it, you'll add 40 g of flour + 40 g of water.
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. You will continue with the 100% hydration feedings.
Put in the fridge for a couple of days. Long-Fermentation Rise in Fridge: For the longer fermentation process to eliminate 97% of gluten, keep your floured bowl or proofing basket in the fridge for 48-72 hours.
*Whole grain gluten free flour options include brown rice flour, millet flour, sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, and teff flour to name a few. **See the sourdough starter recipe post for more details about how to work with the starter and get it going.
First, if you're not taking good care of your sourdough starter, it might start to smell off. Skipping regular feedings, letting it get dirty, or using tap water with chlorine can all make it stink.
Traditional bread bakers would do a bulk rise of their bread dough and then a second rise in the tin. Without gluten to manage the activity of the yeast and to add structure, doing that first bulk rise may cause your loaf to be dense (more so for gf/vegan bread).
Even a healthy sourdough starter can grow mold if you keep it at high humidity. Also, any heat above 140˚F will most likely kill the wild yeast in your starter which will happen in a hot oven. If you keep your sourdough starter in the oven with the light on, be sure to take it out before your turn on the oven.
In sourdough bread, the concentration of gluten is decreased by about 97% … Eating sourdough can be a safe and healthy way to consume grains for nearly everyone, even 80% of those diagnosed with celiac disease as evidenced by the Italian study.”*
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.
Feed the starter 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) water and a scant 1 cup (4 ounces, 113g) all-purpose flour twice a day, discarding all but 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) of the starter before each feeding. It should soon become healthy, bubbly, and active.
Premature discarding and overfeeding will weaken your starter and elongate the process. Don't discard and re-feed a weak starter before it shows increasing bubble activity or height from the previous feeding. If you don't see more bubbles or a faster rise each day, skip a feeding, and give it more time.
So If you're using 50 grams of starter, add 50 grams of water and 50 grams of flour. If you want to feed a sourdough starter by volume, the ratio of starter to flower to water is 1:1:1.75. So you would use 1/2 a cup of starter to 1/2 a cup of water to just under a cup of flour.
Leaving it out on the counter, it will need to be fed equal parts water and flour every 12-24 hours. Warmer homes or frequent baking will require more frequent feeding (around every 12 hours), while colder homes every 24 hours. Storing your sourdough starter in the fridge will require feeding around once a week.
Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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