How to Make Gluten Free Sourdough Bread with Recipe (2024)

How to Make Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread with Recipe

Today I share with you my recipe to make your own gluten-free sourdough bread.

“Is sourdough actually gluten free?” Traditionally made sourdough is not gluten free.

Although traditionally fermented sourdough bread

is easier to digest because of the gut-friendly bacteria, yeasts, and enzymes, it often still contains gluten. Making it unsafe if you or a loved one has Celiac Disease.

That’s where our story starts. When my second oldest daughter was 2, I knew something wasn’t right. My aunt has Celiac Disease and I had heard her experiences as a child. The descriptions sounded just like R. After a false negative, it was another 3 years before I got a doctor to listen to my mama gut that something was wrong. We did lots of tests and the diagnosis came back as positive this time, as did the biopsy results.

I had been making sourdough bread before this but stopped after this. The transition to strictly gluten-free was already going to be tough, without the delicious smell of home-baked bread wafting through the air.

Thankfully a friend shared some starter and this recipe a few years ago. So fresh-baked bread can still happen in our home!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Where to Get Gluten Free Sourdough Starter

Obviously having a gluten-free starter is the key ingredient, but it isn’t always easy to come by. Cultures for Health Gluten Free Sourdough Starter has one for a decent price on Amazon. You will need to first activate it with rice flour and then slowly transition it to King Arthur measure for measure. (I cover how to do this in my post about how to activate a gluten-free sourdough starter)

For brown rice flour I use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Brown Rice Flour. They also have a none organic version, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Brown Rice Flour.

There are also some sellers on Etsy that you could order some gluten-free sourdough starter from.

If you do order it online, it will most likely come dehydrated. It will probably arrive with their directions of how to activate it.

But if you need some extra help or want to see how I have rehydrated mine, you may find this post helpful: How to activate a gluten free sourdough starter.

Another way to get some starter is by starting one yourself. Lisa from Farmhouse on Boone has a tutorial of starting one here.

I have had a few friends try to make their own from various recipes, and I will just warn you that it can be tricky. You have to follow the steps carefully and be patient.

Equipment Suggested to Create GF Sourdough Bread at Home

• Digital scale: This one is really a must for GF baking as ingredients can vary so much. But if not possible, I will include a version of the recipe that uses standard measuring sizes.
• Glass or ceramic bowl: I use the biggest one from this set. Metal can negatively react with the dough causing it to not rise well.
• BannetonBasket: Optional but recommended in the long term. I have a kit like this.
• Dutch Oven: Personally I think a dutch oven gives the best crust. I have used a regular loaf pan and had good results. But the crust can get fairly tough without a cover to help trap the steam.
• Dough Scraper: plastic is best, once again because of the chance of reacting with the dough. This comes in handy when scraping the counter or your hands when kneading the dough. It will get sticky. One is included in the Banneton Basket kit.
• Digital Thermometer: With gluten-free baking, always bake the recipe until it has come to an internal temperature of 210 degrees Fahrenheit. (98.9 degrees Celsius.) This is the digital thermometer I have.

Gluten Free Sourdough Bread Recipe

Ingredients

460 g King Arthur’s GF Measure for Measure flour or 3 3/4 cups

20 g psyllium husk or 2 Tablespoons + 2 tsp

9 g sea salt or 1 Tablespoon

Mix the dry ingredients listed above, together

90 g recently feed gluten-free sourdough starteror a little less than 1/3 cup (See note about timing below.)

500 grams purified wateror 20 oz Start with 500 grams and work up to 575 grams if needed.

Directions

1. Mix together with a wooden spoon till it is loosely combined. (Any utensil that is not metal will do)

2. Turn the mixture out onto a GF floured surface and knead/ work into a ball for at least 3 minutes.

3. Set in a banneton basket or medium-sized glass bowl overnight.* Covered with a light towel.

The Next Day:

4. In the morning, it should have expanded/ risen some. It doesn’t double in size like traditional gluten-based bread but should have some spring to it.

5. If using a dutch oven: Turn out dough onto a piece of parchment paper and shape it into a ball. Let it rise for an hour.*

6. 30 minutes into the rise time, place the dutch oven into the oven and turn it on to 450 degrees to preheat.

(Alternatively if using a loaf pan, butter the bottom of a loaf pan and turn the dough out into the pan. Let it rise for an hour.* You will not be placing the pan in the oven to preheat.

7. When the oven is preheated and the dough has risen, carefully score or cut a design into the top of the loaf. (Just into the top crust, do not cut deep into the loaf.)

8. If using a dutch oven: Carefully remove the hot dutch oven to a heat-protected workspace. Remove the lid, (watch out for steam), and carefully place both the loaf and parchment paper inside of the dutch oven. Put the lid back on and the dutch oven into the oven.

(Alternatively, if using a loaf pan, place the pan into the oven. No additional steps are necessary. Bake for 1 hour.)

9. If using a dutch oven: bake for 50 minutes covered, then carefully remove the lid for the last 10 minutes of baking time. Bake for 1 hour total.

10. Let bread rest in pan/ dutch oven for 10 minutes and then remove loaf to a cooling rack.

11. Let it completely cool before cutting into it to let the “crumb” set. But I also won’t blame you if you can’t help it. Enjoy!

Tips for a Successful Loaf of Gluten Free Sourdough Bread

I have had the best results using King Arthur’s gluten-free Measure for Measure flour mix. It is widely available and has a good price per ounce on Amazon.

Only use purified water. I am on city water (tap water) that has chlorine added, so we have a Berkey water filtration system. Before we had that though, I would buy gallons of purified water at the grocery store. Chlorine kills microbes. (Another reason to not drink it.)

Proof your dough in a medium-sized bowl. If it is too small, it will overflow. Too large and it will fall flat. I feel like I’m writing the story of Goldilocks, but the medium size is just right for this recipe.

Invest in a kitchen scale. Gf baking works best with a scale and your results will be more consistent if you use one.

Psyllium husk gives this gluten-free sourdough some chew but also helps it be vegan friendly. I get mine here. You want the whole husk, not psyllium husk powder.

Bake for the full amount of time. The internal temperature should be at least 210 degrees Fahrenheit.

Let the bread cool COMPLETELY before slicing it. I know this is going to take some willpower. I’ll admit, I’m not always successful in temptation. But keeping all the inner heat inside to slowly cool down will give you the best results and a happy “crumb”. (A term referring to the inside texture.)

It will be slightly gummy or squishy because of the nature of GF flours as well as the psyllium husk.

I like it best toasted.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope this recipe is helpful to you! If you ever need some quick gluten-free dairy-free snack ideas, I wrote a post about our favorite 100 snack ideas from the grocery store. You can check out the 100 gluten-free dairy-free snack ideas here.

Notes about Timing

I plan to bake my loaf of bread first thing in the morning. But in order to do that, some steps need to occur ahead of time and it looks like this.

Usually, the night before I plan on baking, I feed my Gluten-Free sourdough starter around dinner time. (6 pm for me.)

Then around 9 pm, I mix the dough together, following directions 1-3.

In the morning I move on to the rest of the steps 4-10 so that by lunchtime it has had time to cool and we can eat it.

The learning process can take some getting used to but it is worth it for me to incorporate this into our home. I love to nourish my family in this way!

Trouble Shooting

The texture will be sticky when mixing it. It’s just the nature of GF flours and adding the Psyllium husk adds to that. But there are some things to try if you find it is not at all workable.

Make sure to be using King Arthur’s Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour

Things to try:

What if it is too sticky:

• Add a little more GF flour at a time till it gets manageable.

• A digital scale is highly recommended. If using dry measurement cups and liquid measurement glasses, ingredients may need to be adjusted for the right consistency.

• When using a digital scale, make sure you are measuring in grams.

If it is too hard: Your oven may be too hot.

• Every oven is different. Try decreasing the temperature to 425 degrees, but don’t adjust the bake time too much. This could result in an unbaked center.

If it is soupy:

• Adjust the amount of water. Next time have the full amount of water ready, but add a little at a time while you stir the ingredients together. You want the consistency to be evenly moist without too much liquid.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Make Gluten Free Sourdough Bread

What types of flour are in King Arthur Gluten Free Flour? (Measure for Measure)

The ingredients in the Measure for Measure Gluten Free flour from King Arthur: White rice flour, whole grain brown rice flour, whole sorghum flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, cellulose, xanthan gum, vitamin, and mineral blend.

Some different flours that are called for in other gluten-free baking applications that are not used in this gluten free sourdough recipe are oat flour and buckwheat flour. I haven’t had as much success with other flour blends but am always experimenting.

Why isn’t my gluten-free bread rising?

Because a sourdough starter is from capturing wild yeast, the fermentation process can widely vary. First off, make sure you have an active starter by feeding it a few hours before mixing up this gluten-free sourdough bread recipe. After you mix it (step 3) and place it in a banneton-proofing basket or medium-sized glass bowl, make sure to leave it in a warm place to allow the dough to rise at room temperature for the bulk fermentation process.

If your home is cold in the winter months, try placing it on top of your refrigerator or on the countertop above your dishwasher if you run it overnight.

Do I need a stand mixer to make this gluten free sourdough bread recipe?

No, I just use a wooden spoon and my hands to mix the dough till combined.

More Gluten Free Sourdough Recipes

Once you start making gluten free sourdough bread, you probably will want other ways to use your gluten-free sourdough discard or starter.

This Gluten Free Sourdough Skillet One Pot Healthy Meal with Starter Discard is one of our go to weeknight meals!

And you can always check out my entire Gluten Free sourdough category too.