How To Make A Gluten Free Sourdough Starter
|How To Make A Gluten Free Sourdough Starter|
Some of you that have been following me for a little while may have noticed that there is a lack of bread around these parts lately.
I know some of you may miss seeing all those beautiful photos of bread but there is good reason for it.
See, I have been struggling a little bit with my health since I’ve had Lilah. I don’t know enough yet to go into details here but I do know that I feel better since cutting out gluten.
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Yup, I’ve went gluten free.
No more bread for me. Or the fun sourdough stuff.
I do have my gluten starter still and very occasionally will make something with it for someone else but I can’t do it very often.
Why? I simply don’t have the willpower to not eat it. Not yet anyway.
It wasn’t long though, before I started researching gluten free sourdough and just had to make a gluten free sourdough starter to experiment with.
I just love the wild fermentation and creativity that comes with sourdough, whether it is gluten free or gluten full.
Plus the health benefits are of course another good reason to make sourdough.
What are the health benefits of sourdough?
- phytic acid, an anti-nutrient found in seeds, nuts and grains is reduced
- easier digestibility
- lowers the glycemic effects of breads, i.e doesn’t make your blood sugar spike and crash
- no strange, artificial ingredients (in true sourdough, there are fakes out there however that use yeast)
With all those benefits and the fact that I don’t have to buy yeast, I love sourdough and will never go back. Even if it is gluten free sourdough.
Plus I love a good fermentation 😉
The only “downside” I’d say there is to sourdough is it takes more time than instant yeast. HOWEVER gluten free sourdough takes much less time that gluten full sourdough.
A regular sourdough loaf of bread can take upwards of 24 hours to make, sometimes longer. Gluten free sourdough takes anywhere from 4-14 hours to make.
If you need gluten free ideas be sure to follow me on Pinterest!
Some of you may still be on the brink of running the other direction thinking there’s no way you have time for that but rest assured! The hands on part is only about 20 minutes. The rest of the time is fermentation (at room temp or in the fridge) and baking.
For this gluten free sourdough starter you will need four things: brown rice flour, buckwheat flour, water, and time.
Why the two flours?
I like to use buckwheat with the brown rice flour because it has more phytase. You see, in order to effectively break down the phytic acid in seeds, grains and nuts, there has to be adequate amounts of the enzyme phytase. But not all grains or seeds have enough phytase on their own to eliminate phytic acid so we pair them with a grain or seed that does have good amounts of phytase. This is also the reason for rye sourdough starters in the gluten world.
Now a gluten free sourdough starter isn’t that much different than a gluten sourdough starter and is relatively easy to make. I do however recommend you get a kitchen scale. (This is similar to the one I use.) They are inexpensive and essential to good baking.
The basic run down for starting a gluten free sourdough starter is to stir together the two flours in a jar with some water and then every 4-6 hours dump out half and do it again until the starter is doubling, bubbly and slightly sour smelling.
If you aren’t gluten free check out this sourdough fish post and this bread recipe!
It could take 3-7 days for it to be fully active. I do find that my gluten free sourdough starter is actually much quicker acting than my gluten sourdough. It typically peaks around 4 hours. Mine also doesn’t really go much over doubling itself, compared to my gluten one which will triple itself on occasion.
Two extra tips for you:
- a tall, glass cylindrical jar with a lid that fits sort of loose works best. I use these with the clamps off and just the glass part resting on top. Works perfect.
- putting a rubber band around the jar where the top of the starter is when you feed it helps to see when it is double. Alternately you can mark it with a dry erase marker.
How To Make A Gluten Free Sourdough Starter
Ingredients:
- 50g brown rice flour
- 40g buckwheat flour
- 85g water (non-chlorinated)
Instructions:
- Using a glass container of some sort (I like these), weigh out both flours and water, then stir together.
- Cover loosely with a lid or plate.
- After 4-6 hours dump out half of the starter in the garbage, feed to the chickens, compost it or make pancakes with it. And repeat steps 1 & 2.
- Continue repeating these steps until the starter is doubling itself in height (this is why I like tall cylindrical containers, it’s easier to see when it doubles), has air bubbles and smells slightly sour.
- After it is doubling you can feed it and store it in the fridge so you don’t have to feed it as often (the fermentation slows down) and take it out when you are ready to bake.
- Before you bake you will want to refresh it again using the same steps above!
How To Make A Gluten Free Sourdough Starter
Making a Gluten Free Sourdough Starter is easy and the best way to increase the nutritional value of your gluten free bread while making it all the more delicious!
Ingredients
- 50 g brown rice flour
- 40 g buckwheat flour
- 85 g water non-chlorinated
Instructions
-
Using a glass container of some sort (I like these), weigh out both flours and water, then stir together.
-
Cover loosely with a lid or plate.
-
After 4-6 hours dump out half of the starter in the garbage, feed to the chickens, compost it or make pancakes with it. And repeat steps 1 & 2.
-
Continue repeating these steps until the starter is doubling itself in height (this is why I like tall cylindrical containers, it's easier to see when it doubles), has air bubbles and smells slightly sour.
-
After it is doubling you can feed it and store it in the fridge so you don't have to feed it as often (the fermentation slows down) and take it out when you are ready to bake.
-
Before you bake you will want to refresh it again using the same steps above!
I am gluten free, I have been for 13 years. I miss pizza and rolls. I have a sourdough mixture started. I use brown rice flour and non chlorinated water. I feed it everyday. i have been trying to find recipes using my sourdough starter and discard recipes; I found your site via Pinterest. I am hoping you can help me.
Francine