Gluten-Free Sourdough: Real Bread, No Wheat

Gluten-free sourdough is its own discipline. The chemistry, technique, and expectations are different from wheat sourdough. Done well, the bread is excellent. Done poorly, it's a brick.

Start with a gluten-free starter

You can convert a wheat starter, but it's faster to build one from scratch.

• Day 1: 50g brown rice flour + 50g water
• Days 2–7: discard half daily, feed 50g/50g
• By day 5–7, you'll see active fermentation

Brown rice flour is the most reliable. Buckwheat and sorghum also work.

Flour blends

No single GF flour acts like wheat. Use blends.

Country loaf blend:

• 40% brown rice flour
• 25% sorghum flour
• 20% potato starch
• 15% tapioca starch

Hearty seeded blend:

• 30% brown rice
• 20% buckwheat
• 20% oat flour
• 15% potato starch
• 15% tapioca starch

Binders are non-negotiable

Without gluten, you need something to hold the dough together.

• Psyllium husk powder — 4–6% of flour weight. The most important. Creates a gel that mimics gluten elasticity.
• Xanthan gum — 0.5–1%. Adds dough cohesion.
• Whole eggs — 1 per loaf, optional. Adds richness and structure.

Hydration

GF sourdough needs more water — typically 90–100% hydration. The dough will be batter-like.

Mixing

No kneading. No folding. Mix everything together until uniform. The dough is too wet to handle.

Bulk fermentation

3–5 hours at 78–82°F. Watch for:

• 30–50% size increase
• Surface bubbles
• Slight dome

Don't wait for wheat-style cues. GF dough barely doubles.

Shaping

You don't shape — you transfer. Pour the dough into a parchment-lined loaf pan or a well-oiled banneton.

Final proof

1–2 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge.

Bake

• Preheat oven to 475°F with a Dutch oven or covered loaf pan
• Pour dough into pan
• Bake covered 35 minutes
• Uncover, drop to 425°F, bake another 25–30 minutes
• Internal temp: 210°F

GF crust browns slowly — bake long.

Cooling

Cool at least 4 hours before slicing. GF crumb sets as it cools; cutting hot guarantees gummy.

What good GF sourdough looks like

Dense but not heavy. Slightly chewy. Tangy from the fermentation. A cross between wheat sourdough and dense whole grain bread. It will not look like white wheat sourdough — and trying to make it do so is what causes most failures.

Storage

Slice completely, freeze in bags. Toast from frozen. GF bread stales in hours at room temperature; the freezer is your friend.