The key to unlocking all the flavor and nutrition of Sourdough in your gluten free baking. A little bit of patience can lead to a delicious and unique gluten free sourdough starter.
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And that pleasure is not limited to only the craft of wheated sourdough baking. It is entirely possible to bake a gluten free, whole grain, tasty sourdough loaf and once more enjoy the smell and taste of real fresh-baked bread.
This gluten-free sourdough has a golden crust, a soft and tangy center, and the hearty flavor of whole grain flours. It is not a pale imitation of sandwich bread, and it is not built from a long list of starches and fillers. This is a rustic homemade loaf, made with a gluten-free sourdough starter, and naturally fermented overnight.
Like most gluten-free bread recipes, it works a little differently than traditional wheat sourdough. Before you begin, it helps to understand what sourdough can (and cannot) do without gluten, and how this recipe builds structure back into the dough.
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(1) In a large bowl or stand mixer, whisk together the brown rice flour, sorghum flour, teff flour, ground flaxseed (or chia seed) flour, and chickpea (or almond) flour. Add the sourdough starter and work it through the flour mixture until evenly distributed. The texture should resemble coarse sand.
(2) Add the baking powder and salt, then stir until fully incorporated.
(3) Warm 2 cups of the water. In a separate bowl (or your measuring cup), combine the warm water with the psyllium husks and let sit for about 3 minutes, or until the mixture thickens into a gel.
(4) Pour the psyllium gel into the flour mixture and stir until incorporated.
(5) Add the remaining 2 cups of water and continue stirring until a loose, wet dough forms. The dough will seem slightly too wet and sticky at this stage, but that is a good thing. It will firm up overnight as the flours fully hydrate.
(6) Sprinkle the top of the dough with a little extra brown rice flour, then cover the bowl with a damp towel. Set it in a warm place to ferment for approximately 8 hours, or overnight.
(7) Once the dough has fermented, preheat the oven to 400°F. Shape and score the dough, then place it in a cast iron bread pan or Dutch oven. Dust the top with a little more brown rice flour.
(8) Bake for 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the score lines no longer look raw.
(9) Let the loaf rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with butter or your favorite spread.
Bread is traditionally built around the properties of wheat. Gluten gives wheat dough its stretch, strength, and ability to trap air as it rises — which is why so many bread recipes talk about "developing the gluten." In gluten-free bread, we have to build that structure another way.
This recipe uses a combination of whole grain flours, protein-rich ingredients, and binders like psyllium husk and ground flaxseed to create a dough that can hold together, ferment overnight, and bake into a delicious loaf. Each ingredient has a job to do, and understanding those jobs makes gluten-free sourdough much easier to work with.
Gluten Free Sourdough Brown Bread
I like to use a combination of brown rice, sorghum, and teff flour in my bread. The brown rice flour provides moisture as it absorbs water, and helps to bind the other flours together. The sorghum flour is a hearty flour similar in nutritional value to whole wheat that provides just a hint of sweetness. And the teff flour is likewise a very hearty wholemeal flour that gives the bread a beautiful brown color and tastes just a little bit caramelly.
While I very much enjoy this specific combination of flours, most of them can be substituted for other wholemeal gluten free flours and the recipe will still work. For instance, you could use buckwheat instead of the sorghum or teff. Or you could use sweet white rice flour for a lighter and more moist texture. This portion of the recipe is very flexible.
If you are curious, you can read more about the properties of brown rice flour and sorghum flour in my gluten free baking guides.
This recipe relies upon a combination of psyllium husk and flaxseed or chia seed to bind the other ingredients together and hold moisture. In the absence of gluten, binders are incredibly important. Many recipes call for xantham gum, guar gum, or a flour mix that includes one of the two for this reason. I am not a fan of either gum - while not "unnatural" ingredients, they do not seem particularly food-like either. Psyllium husk - which as its name suggests, is the seed husks of a plant native to the Mediterranean and India - provides a great alternative. When allowed given adequate water, psyllium husk forms an elastic gel which mimics the stretchiness gluten usually imparts to dough. Bread dough made with psyllium husk can, with care, be shaped like wheated dough, and avoids the crumbly dry texture often associated with gluten free breads.
I use the whole psyllium husks in my baking, and the measurement given reflects that. You can also buy psyllium husk powder. If you do decide to use psyllium husk powder instead, then you only need to use 4 tablespoons on this recipe.
Flaxseed meal and chia seed flour both play a supporting role to the psyllium husk in this recipe, and the choice between them is entirely dependent on personal preference. I have used both to good effect. The little seeds provide fat, protein, and like psyllium husk, create a gel when exposed to water. This gel improves the texture of the dough.
I usually mix up the dough, and let the bread rise overnight in the oven with a damp cloth over it. By morning, it is doubled in size. The ~8ish hours of fermentation time gives it a nice sour flavor.
Unfortunately, I have not mastered the art of just using the natural rise of the sourdough starter, and so this recipe also calls for baking powder and baking soda.
I make bread every few days, so bulk gluten-free flours, a good stand mixer, and cast iron baking pans are staples of my kitchen. Here are some great tools and supplies for starting your own sourdough baking journey.
Yes!
No!
Sourdough bread is often touted as being good for you. There are even some suggestions that it is easier for people with gluten sensitivity to digest. This is because the good yeasts and bacteria in the sourdough starter ferment the sourdough as it rises, making the bread easier to digest in general.
But is sourdough bread naturally gluten free? No, no it is not. Sourdough bread is usually made with wheat, and wheat contains gluten. If you have coeliac disease or a serious gluten intolerance, then you should not eat wheated sourdough. Or at least, I would not recommend it.
But you can bypass the whole question, and make gluten free sourdough bread.
Good gluten free bread has to be made at home. Yes, you can find gluten free products at the grocery store. In fact, the gluten free aisle at the grocery store is full of bread products that taste like cardboard. Bagels, sandwich bread, hamburger and hotdog buns - they are all passable if you toast them, or cover them with butter. But they add nothing to a meal. Most of the premade gluten free options taste like cardboard. And if you look at the ingredient list, you will see that they are made of starch, and chemicals. Not really the "healthy" option, despite the reputation of the gluten free diet as healthy(ish).
The reality is that bread is a food designed around the properties of wheat. And the very thing we are trying to avoid in a gluten free diet - the gluten - is the property that makes bread work. It holds the dough together, and lets it stretch and rise. You will see and hear lots of mentions of "developing the gluten" in bread recipes or baking shows. None of that applies to gluten free bread. Or at least, it does not apply in the same way.
The key to unlocking all the flavor and nutrition of Sourdough in your gluten free baking. A little bit of patience can lead to a delicious and unique gluten free sourdough starter.
Soft, flexible, and delicious flatbread. Easy to mix up, great way to use up sourdough discard. Use it in wraps, or for dipping!
Fluffy biscuits, with great texture, and a hint of sourness from the sourdough. A great go-to biscuit for any meal!
