Gluten Free Sourdough Starter Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What flour is best for gluten free sourdough starter? ›

Mixed with another whole grain flour such as buckwheat or brown rice flour yields consistent results. These are the only two whole grain flours I've tried when making this starter. If you use something different, please let us know how it goes in the comments!

Wheat sourdough bread may contain less gluten than regular yeast bread, but it's not gluten-free. If you're on a gluten-free diet for celiac disease, regular sourdough bread isn't safe. Instead, buy sourdough bread made with gluten-free grains or invest a few days and activate your own gluten-free sourdough starter.

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.

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.

There is no single best ratio, but I've found a ratio of 1:5:5 fed twice daily at 12-hour intervals to produce a sourdough starter that's strong and healthy. This ratio corresponds to 20% ripe starter carryover, 100% water, and 100% flour (a mix of whole grain rye and white flour) at each feeding.

Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter Maintenance

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.

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.

Then, we take the freshly sprouted live grains and slowly mash them, mix them into dough in small batches and slowly bake into bread. Q: Are Food for Life Ezekiel 4:9®, Genesis 1:29® and 7-Sprouted Grains products "gluten free"? A: No. These products contain naturally occurring gluten.

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.

White rice flour and pure starches are found in many GF bread blends, and high acid contents just eat away at them unchecked. For a sour gluten-free bread, you must use a high percentage of wholemeal flour so the proteins and fiber can buffer the acids.

Why does my gluten free sourdough starter keep molding? ›

It is not dangerous but is often a sign that your starter is hungry. Some people recommend pouring it off. I usually stir it back in and feed it with some extra flour. Kahm yeast is something else you might find on your starter but it is not really a kind of mold.

Your sourdough starter can be runny because:

You're not weighing your ingredients accurately or measuring by volume. It's too warm in your kitchen. The flour you're using needs less hydration. You're not feeding your starter regularly enough.

All-purpose flour works great for feeding starter, but adding a little whole grain flour can help give it a boost if needed.

As for using almond flour, it's possible to use it to create a starter but it's a much more expensive flour to experiment with.

For more tang: Incorporate some rye flour and/or whole wheat flour early in the bread-making process, such as when feeding the mother culture and the preferment. Rye flour in particular will help your culture produce some acetic acid.