Sourdough is all the craze right now! Everywhere you look there is someone making something with sourdough. But what happens when your gluten free? Not to worry…. let’s make a gluten free sourdough starter!
This recipe has been a process…. a couple years worth of a process.
You see, when I decided I wanted to jump on the sourdough train I figured I would fail a couple times but then it would all come together and just happen. I would make the perfect gluten free sourdough bread and all my dreams would come true.
Wrong.
I failed miserably. It wasn’t that I just couldn’t get a good sourdough bread. I couldn’t even figure out how to keep a gluten free sour dough starter alive!
That’s when my gf sourdough journey began…. luckily I am a patient, yet very determined person. So I set out to make a GOOD gluten free sour dough bread that was great in texture and taste.
It may have taken me years to do it, but I am so excited to share it now!
Why was making a gluten free sourdough bread so important?
I often get asked, “why was it so important to make a gluten free sourdough bread when you already have a good gluten free basic yeast bread?” And that’s a good question!
You see, when I was 5 years old I was diagnosed with celiac disease. This is different then a gluten intolerance or a gluten sensitivity. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that effects your small intestines. The reaction to a gluten protein actually kills the villi on your small intestines. When those villi are damaged, they cannot properly absorb nutrients for your body.
For over 30 years I have eaten gluten free. It has been such a huge part of my life that I don’t mind it much. However, sometimes there is just a small part of me that gets stubborn with my restrictions.
It’s not the fact that I missed sourdough bread so much that I just needed to make a good loaf. In fact, I’m not sure I have ever had a slice of sour dough bread in my life before making my own. But it’s the fact that I CANT have it.
Sometimes I just want to eat what other people are eating. Even if it has to be a little different.
But that is not the only reason, although I will admit it was a big reason why I started.
The other reason is, the more I learned about our foods the more I realized that sourdough is SO incredibly healthy for you, even gluten free sour dough.
Fermented foods do wonders to your digestive tract. When you are making a sour dough bread, you are using a wild yeast. Which means you are using a fermentation process to get an active starter that will naturally make your bread rise and be airy.
The more natural or raw your ingredient is, the better! Now I am not saying active dry yeast is bad for you. Not at all! What I am saying is sourdough, or anything fermented for that matter, is so good for you that you would be wise to get it into your diet!
Let’s talk gluten-free flour.
Most gluten free starters are made with either solely brown rice flour or an all purpose flour. I have tried both and neither worked well for me.
What I have found, just like in all gluten-free bread, is that the type of flour you use matters tremendously! The reason that an all purpose flour doesn’t work is because a gluten free all purpose flour is made up of many different flours. It usually has some form of rice flour, some starches, xanthan gum, and sometimes other gluten free grain flour.
This means that not all gluten free all purpose flour blends are the same, which will then give you a different product.
Making gluten free bread is truly a science. You have to have the right flours and weighed in the right amounts to get the best results.
For my gluten-free starter I use a combination of flour. I use half brown rice flour and half sorghum flour. I buy both of these on Azure Standard in bulk.
Some other flours I have tried are buckwheat flour and oat flour. Both gave a more grainy texture in the bread and I wasn’t pleased with it.
Do I need special equipment to make a gluten free sourdough starter?
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualified purchases at no additional cost to you.
To make a successful gluten free sourdough starter you will need to purchase a basic kitchen scale. This doesn’t have to be fancy, just one that you can measure out your leaven, water, and flours with. This is essential to getting a good product.
I bought a very inexpensive digital scale on Amazon years ago, since it is also important to measure by weight for my everyday gluten free bread recipe. Any kitchen scale will do as long as it measures in grams.
You will also need a glass jar, a wooden spoon (or something to stir with), and a lid with ring so that it is air tight.
Now that you have your equipment and your flours, let’s make a starter!
What’s my feeding schedule going to look like?
Before we get started, let’s talk about your feeding schedule for your gf starter.
To get started, you kind of have to baby your starter. This means that you can’t miss any feedings and you can’t stick it in the fridge. At least not for these first five to seven days. So make sure you start this starter during a week that you have the time to baby it a little.
Right now you are trying to get the fermentation process started and this takes lots of care and work up front. I promise you, once you have it going and active, it isn’t so crucial to baby it.
These first five to seven days you are going to take your room temperature starter, discard, and feed it. Make sure it is in a warm area to help it really take off. If your kitchen is cold, since we are going into the colder months, you can set your starter by a wood stove, heater vent, or even in your oven with the light on. These are all good options to give your gluten free sour dough starter a good jump start to become active!
Day 1:
Let’s get your gluten free sourdough starter started!
Place your clean jar on your scale and make sure your scale is set to grams.
- Measure out 65g of brown rice flour in your jar. Tare your scale so you are back to zero.
- Measure out 65g of sorghum flour in your jar. Tare your scale so you are back to zero.
- Now measure 125g of warm water. I don’t bother with filtered water, I just use my tap water.
- Using a wooden spoon, I like to use my sourdough spatula on that is in my SHOP, stir your flour and water until completely combined.
- Using a ring and lid, cap your jar and set it on your counter for 24 hours. You want to make sure your starter is in a warm place. Your kitchen should be no colder then 65 degrees, or your starter will have a hard time taking off.
Day 2:
Your first time feeding your sourdough starter will be a little different then the rest. Your starter isn’t very active, which means your discard can’t really be used in anything. For this first feeding, you will just have to throw your discard out completely. After today, you should be able to use your discard in other gluten free sour dough treats! So just sit tight!
- Remove your ring and lid and give your starter a good stir. If there is a little bit of water on the top of your starter that is ok. Just stir it in.
- Discard all of your starter except 40g. This is about 1 to 1 1/2 TBSP of starter. To tell you the truth I don’t measure out the starter for this. I just eye ball it.
- Measure out 65g of brown rice flour and add it to your jar with the starter. Tare your scale so it says zero.
- Measure out 65g of sorghum flour and add it to your jar. Tare your scale so it says zero.
- Now measure out 125g of warm water and add it to your jar.
- Give everything a good stir so it is completely combined. Place your lid and ring back on the jar and let sit on your counter for 24 hours.
Day 3:
At this point your starter should be getting some bubbles and growing slightly. It shouldn’t still look like flour and water mud in a jar on your counter. However, the timing changes for everyone. So, the amount of time this whole process takes will change from person to person and kitchen to kitchen. In general the process should take between 5-7 days, although it could take longer.
- Remove your ring and lid. Give your starter a good stir, if there is a little bit of water on the op of your starter just stir it in.
- Discard all of your starter but 40g or about a tablespoon. At this point you can keep your discard and throw it into a GF pancake recipe, GF muffin recipe, or even a GF pizza dough recipe to make a delicious sour dough dish. I love using our discard for all kinds of yummy dishes. Or you can give it away to a fellow gluten free friend who is looking to get started in gluten free sour dough. They can start feeding it like you and ta-da, they will have an active starter in no time without having to start a new starter. Or you can simply throw it away if you are not making anything else that day.
- Measure out 65g of brown rice flour and add it to your jar with the starter. Tare your scale so it says zero.
- Measure out 65g of sorghum flour and add it to your jar. Tare your scale so it says zero.
- Now measure out 125g of warm water and add it to your jar.
- Give everything in your jar a good stir so that all your flour and water is combined. Place the lid and ring on your jar and let it sit for another 24 hours at room temperature.
Day 4:
Today you should see a pretty active gluten free sourdough starter. Again, everyone’s timeline will be different however today marks the point that your starter is really fermenting and becoming active. Just like yesterday, you can take your discard and use it in other recipes or just throw it out. Depending on my week, the day, and my time frame I will do both.
- Take your lid and ring off and give your starter a stir. Take a whiff of your wonderful sour dough starter. It should smell sour and kind of sweet. This means you are almost ready to make bread with it!
- Discard all of your starter except 40g or about a TBSP.
- Measure out 65g of brown rice flour and add it to your jar. Tare your scale back to zero.
- Measure out 65g of sorghum flour and add it to your jar. Tare your scale back to zero.
- Now measure out 125g of warm water and add it to your jar.
- Remove your jar from the scale and give everything a good stir until it is completely combined. Make sure to be scraping down the sides so all your good starter is getting mixed.
There’s one added step for this day.
At this stage, I know that I am getting close to being able to make bread. I like to use a rubber band on my jar at the line that my starter is after feeding it, to watch for it’s growth. This will give me a starting point to measure how much my starter is growing.
Just remember that with gluten free sourdough starters they don’t grow too much. You won’t get a jar of bubbling starter that is spilling out over your jar like you see regular starters doing. That doesn’t mean it isn’t active, it is just going to be different.
Your starter will grow some and it should get very bubbly with lots of air pockets and holes, but it will likely never get to the top of your jar. The rubber band is just a starting point to make sure that it is growing to about double in size. But the real determining factor for when your starter is ready to use is the smell and the bubbles.
Make sure to use your senses in this process!
Day 5:
Today is the day! Your starter should have lot’s of bubbles/air holes and smell sour and kind of sweet. Of course, if you are not at this point yet, you will continue to feed your starter (like in day 4) until you do get to this point. Yours just may need a few more days to get active.
I will feed my starter today with a plan to make bread on day 6.
From here on out you will continue to feed your starter just like before, 40g of starter, 65g of brown rice flour, 65g of sorghum flour, and 125g of warm water. Stir it up and leave it on the counter. You will need to do this every day, as long as your starter is sitting on your counter. At this point, you do not need to keep a ring/lid on now as it doesn’t have to be air tight. You can simply cover with a cloth and rubber band or I like to use these Weck jars and remove the rubber ring and clips and just place the lid on.
- Stir starter and discard all but 40g of starter.
- Measure out 65g of brown rice flour
- Measure out 65g of sorghum flour.
- Now measure out 125g of warm water
- Give everything a good stir so that it is well combined.
- Wait 12-24 hours for your starter to grow slightly and get lots of bubbles/air holes. Now you are ready to make bread with your very active starter!
How should I store my gluten free sourdough starter?
Now when I first got started, I was thinking I have to feed this thing every single day? It will be like feeding another child! But this one won’t balk at me when it’s hungry so I’ll just have to remember, I’m doomed!
While this is true, you will have to feed your starter every single day, don’t worry it is really forgiving. I have gone a day or two without feeding (since it isn’t crying at me for food) and it has been just fine! In the summer months when your kitchen it really warm try not to forget though, it’s a little less forgiving in a super warm kitchen and it may get really sour. Still good, just a strong sour taste.
I keep mine on my counter and feed it every day because I bake bread at least twice a week for my girls. With 4 of us being gluten free, we go through a lot of bread. Sometimes one whole loaf in a meal!
What happens if I will be gone and can’t feed it every day?
There are times where we will be gone, or I just don’t feel like the hassle. This is the time that I put my starter in a clean jar with the lid and ring and pop it into the fridge!
Some people recommend only leaving it in there for a month or so before taking it out and feeding it, but I have left mine in there for up to 6 months and it has been fine!
Just note that when you do put it in the fridge it goes dormant. This means it basically takes a long sleep. It doesn’t require feedings, however it does take some time to wake back up.
To wake it back up take your jar out of the fridge and let it sit on your counter to come back to room temperature. There may be grey colored water on the top. This is called the hooch and is the alcohol part of the wild yeast. This doesn’t mean your starter has gone bad, it is just hungry! Go ahead and pour the hooch off and then give your starter a good stir.
Feed your starter the same as you did in day 5.
You may have to discard and feed your starter a couple times to wake it back up. I usually find that if I discard/feed twice it is ready for bread making after being in the fridge. Again, this is different for everyone so make sure to watch for lot’s of air bubbles and the smell should be sour and slightly sweet, then you are good to go!
Let’s see how to make a gluten free sourdough starter in action:
Getting your starter started is the first step in the gluten free sour dough process. Once you got a sour dough starter that is active and ready to work, you can start to make breads with it!
Remember that throughout the starter process you can use your discard for other recipes as a nice sour dough treat. You just can’t make bread yet because it is not active enough to make bread rise on it’s own.
Is it time to make gluten free sourdough bread yet?
The bread making process was not an easy step for me. It took me years, with lots of failed attempts, to get a good one that was acceptable in both taste AND texture. I was being rather picky, but I knew that I didn’t want to share a product that wasn’t great.
The taste was great right off the get go, but the texture needed a lot of work.
Gluten free breads are known to be heavy and dense and that was exactly what was happening in my sourdough bread.
I used a combination of MANY flours in the process and even tried an all-purpose gluten free flour, against my better judgement, to find what worked best. I finally came up with the perfect recipe, using the right flours. After getting some non-gluten free friends and my husband to try it to make sure it was good, I knew I had a winner! Everyone was really pleased with the results.
As always, it’s important to remember that gluten free is very different then regular bread. When you keep that mindset, you will understand the process better and how to work with it. If you are constantly looking for it to “look” the same as regular sourdough bread you will be disappointed. I had to switch my mindset as well.
The first day of your bread, after it is completely cooled, is always the best in texture. The taste remains the same always but unfortunately the texture doesn’t. Every day after that first day, we will use our gluten free sour dough bread as toast, French toast, or grilled cheese. It works perfectly in those!
Next I will be sharing my hard earned gluten-free sour dough recipe for bread. Make sure to come back next week so you don’t miss it! My email subscribers will be the first to receive the recipe, so don’t forget to get on my list!
But for now spend the next week getting your gf sourdough starter started and ready to go! Happy gluten free sourdough starter making!
Gluten Free Sourdough Starter
Equipment
- 1 Kitchen Scale
- 1 Clean quart with lid and ring
Materials
- 65 grams sorghum flour
- 65 grams brown rice flour
- 125 grams warm water
Instructions
- Measure flours using a digital scale in a clean quart jar.
- Measure out warm water into the jar.
- Give everything a good stir and put the ring and lid on. Set on counter or in a warm place for 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, discard all starter but 40g. Feed the 40g of starter with 65g sorghum flour, 65g brown rice flour, and 125g warm water. Stir everything, put lid and ring back on, and set for another 24 hours at room temperature.
- Continue the above process for 5-7 days or until your starter has doubled, has lots of air pockets, and smells sour with a little sweetness. You are now ready to make bread!
I’m so glad you share all you hard work with us so I don’t spend a couple years [and lots of dollars] trying to figure things out! Everything we have tried from your recipes has been amazing!
You’re so welcome! I am so happy to hear you have enjoyed all my recipes! I love to share and help others along in this journey as well.
Thank you for sharing this labor of love process with us! What a wonderful alternative to still make a sourdough starter from scratch!
Thank you so much! I love to take you all along to learn with me!
Hi, is this safe for pregnancy?
I don’t see why it wouldn’t, but I would always consult with your doctor when in question!
Hi Charlene
I mixed my first gluten free starter following your recipe but the mixture was very stiff not the mud like texture in your videos. I used 65g brown rice flour and 65g bobs red mill stone ground sorghum flour. The mix required an extra 50 g water to get the desired consistency. What is your advice, thank you.
I can’t say for sure, but my first thought would be the humidity in your area is different then mine. Did you do 125g of water and had to add 50g more? We are very humid here in Missouri so that does play a roll in the texture of my starter and bread. I would continue to add the additional water to get the right consistency as long as your starter is gaining lots of air pockets and bubbles and growing some. That means it is fermenting and doing what it is supposed to!
I read and reread your instructions as well as watched your how to video. Thank you for so much detail! This definitely took some getting used to but I now have my measurements memorized and it’s simple to follow!
Fantastic! I’m so glad you got it down!
I watched the YouTube video on gf SD starter but can’t find the actual gf sd bread recipe?
Here is the link to the sourdough bread recipe! I made the video to the starter first and forgot to go back out and add the video for the bread. I’m sorry! It is linked on my YouTube video now but here is the direct link as well!
https://theranchershomestead.com/how-to-make-a-good-gluten-free-sourdough-bread/
Hello! Quick question, I have glass jars but I purchased reusable plastic screw on lids so I wouldn’t have to mess with the metal ones (getting rusty etc). Would using one of those plastic screw on lids be airtight enough? Thank you for entertaining my question ☺️
You can give it a try. I find that the starter takes off better with it being airtight. Once it is super active you can switch to the white lids. If it just won’t take off try putting some plastic wrap over the top and then the white lid to keep it airtight. Hope this helps!
I’m curious why you use an air tight jar? I thought it was good to have it open. I previously made Einkorn flour starter and always had the lid off And a cloth there instead. I was later able to switch the flour to brown rice. I didn’t make too many loaves with it, but the discard was great for crackers! Our gabled home on youtube was where I got the cracker recipe. My sourdough eventually died and I am anxious to try yours as I want to use sorghum flour too! My starter was helped along by her suggestion of putting caraway seeds in the starter. It worked to activate the starter.
I don’t know the exact science behind it but I have found that when I start a brand new starter it needs to be airtight just until the starter takes off. Then you can just do a cloth or something not airtight. Every time I try it without doing an airtight container the starter just won’t ever take off! I keep my active starter on the counter now with not an airtight lid but for the first 5-7 days when you are starting it, it is important.
Hi Stephanie! We are on day 6 and cannot get out starter to grow! It has some bubbles (it looks like the picture you posted for day 2). Do you have any tips on why it won’t grow at all? Thanks so much!
My first thought is your kitchen isn’t warm enough. Starters love the warmth! Try putting it next to a heater vent, wood stove, or even in the oven with the light on. Also, gluten free never rises as much as regular starter. It won’t double. The important thing to look for in gluten free starters is all the air pockets and bubbles! If you have a good amount than rest assured it is working! Temperature and humidity play a part in how long it takes to get the starter to grow. Hope this helps!
Hello Stephanie, thank you so much for your videos. I am attempting my first gluten-free starter and I am proud to say that on day seven when I woke up this morning my starter had risen 3/4 of an inch. So I think I’m ready to bake bread. The smell is great, there’s bubbles everywhere. It’s a nice consistency too. My question is, do I still feed it on the day that I am going to make my dough? For example, it’s now 8 AM Eastern time, if I feed it in the next couple of hours and make my dough tonight before I go to bed is that the correct way. Or am I to not feed it today and just make my dough tonight before I go to bed. The plan is to bake the bread tomorrow morning.
When do I start feeding the starter again?
Yes feed it in the morning and make the bread that late afternoon evening. Then you can bake the next morning. I usually do the opposite and feed before I go to bed st night, mix up bread in the morning, let it rise all day and bake in the late afternoon/evening. Either way works! Happy baking!
Thank you Stephanie. I actually did what you just described. I fed it last night before I went to bed woke up this morning and mixed my dough. What I noticed was the dough was sticky as I was expecting it to be, but I wasn’t expecting it to be grainy. I guess that’s just the texture of the white rice flour coming through the dough. Or I wonder if I didn’t mix it long enough. I did mix it two minutes on low but maybe I needed to mix it a little bit more and on a medium speed.
This is my first time through the process. I’m excited to see the end result. Thank you for all of your guidance.
It definitely is the texture of the rice but I don’t find my end product to be grainy at all after it is baked. If you find that your bread is grainy then maybe try getting a superfine rice flour. I hope this helps and you enjoy it as much as we do!
Hi Stephanie, the bread turned out beautiful. The graininess of the dough didn’t seem to negatively impacted at all. It was enjoyed by many. Making my second batch tonight. Thank you again for all of your help.
That is great to hear! Enjoy!
THANK YOU for doing all the hard work for us and sharing it. This is my third time trying to get a gluten free starter going. I had given up for awhile and then found this recipe. I am probably a month in, my starter in thriving and I have had success with bread, and tons of discard recipes… biscuits, waffles, pancakes, scones, muffins!! Thank you 🙂
That is amazing! I love hearing these success stories as I was right where you were… about ready to give up. I’m so happy to hear all the success you have been having!
My 11 year old grandson fought your video and it lead me to your website.
We have made several loaves of sourdough and it is a great homeschool activity for us.
Thanks so much for all you teach us!
You are so welcome! I love that it has turned into a homeschool activity for you!
Hi Stephanie!
How long after the last feeding can we use the starter to make the bread?
Greetings
As soon as it is nice and active, which will be different for everyone. It will depend on how warm your kitchen is! When you see lots of air pockets in the fed starter and it has risen some, than you are ready to bake!