Gluten Free Sour Dough Bread, WOW!

I have been on a journey to find an easy, tasty, gluten free sour dough bread to bake. (Like the REAL deal!!). Since posting this recipe, I’ve found ways to simplify the method and timing for baking this totally amazing gluten free bread. I’ve also created an anti-inflammatory flour blend, giving us more options. I seriously can’t wait for you to take your first bite!

Learn how to make perfect gluten-free sourdough bread with this easy-to-follow recipe. No gluten, no problem! Yes, this deliciously chewy center and crusty sour dough bread can be made in the comfort of your own home! I DID it and so can you! Sour dough toast, melted butter, and a crispy crunchy crust… it WAS heaven at first bite! Next level, slather it with our delicious strawberry jam.

I have been on a gluten free bread baking kick all through 2024 with my dear friend and student Marci. Marci loved baking regular wheat sour dough bread because she didn’t feel it wasn’t hurting her Crohn’s disease, nor was she having immediate symptoms. However, there is a myth going around that people with gluten intolerance, or Celiac disease can eat regular wheat or Einkorn sour dough bread and it won’t affect their body. Here’s the bottom line truth when it comes to eating sour dough gluten FULL bread; if your body can’t break down gluten, no fermented wheat sour dough bread will magically allow your body to digest it. It will cause problems on the inside, regardless if you don’t feel any symptoms. Your symptoms will simply be delayed.

Marci soon after our conversation joined our winter’s group Reset, where she eventually felt and saw how eating gluten had indeed been causing problems in her body. Together we found an amazing gluten free bread blogger that we binged baking all kinds of her deliciously satisfying gluten free breads; Ciabatta, English muffins, pita, challah, and artisan boules. Our first gluten free bread muses were bloggers Aran Goyoaga, Cannelle et Vanille and Kat from The Loopy Whisk.  We learned by practicing our skills and developing confidence how amazing and fun it was to bake delicious gluten free breads.

However, in the back of our minds was the illustrious SOUR DOUGH bread. I didn’t really want to embark on making a starter again, because taking care of a starter…well, was just too time consuming with the daily feeding and the potential for problems… it was easy to talk myself out of it. UNTIL, my daughter Annie decided she wanted to bake a loaf of sour dough! Watching her go for it, and talking with her, made me jump on in. I must admit, having a partner in crime really did make baking sour dough so much more fun!  

I was impressed as Annie continued to inspire me! It had been a couple of years since I baked my first sour dough boule from Cannelle e Vanille and Aryan Goyoaga’s Bakes Simple cookbook. The recipe was a bit more robust. And to be perfectly honest, I found an artisan loaf at Gjusta Bakery in Venice who made an excellent artisan gluten free loaf that satisfied my need for a “sour dough-esq” bread for sandwiches and toast, even though it wasn’t a sour dough… it satisfied on all levels!  

Annie though took it on. She didn’t want all the fluff of using all the different flours or starches in her first attempt to making her first sour dough bread. She found a recipe to fit her needs. Her first sour dough bread tasted good, but the crumb,(the breads soft internal texture), was a little dense.  Her success gave her confidence to keep going and improve. So my Annie blessed me with some of her starter, named Betty, after her Gma Betty Ann Curry. My starter I named Noodles after Annie. Game on!

Now I was invested. I researched and read a lot of blogs, before baking my sour dough. It was unanimous by bread bloggers NOT to use a bread blend when baking sour dough. I landed on Bakerita by Rachel Conners. Rachel had the clearest and easiest recipe directions and method for baking. She made it simple to follow, and helped clarify the fear around baking a gluten free sour dough bread. Rachel expressed, “although baking bread is a science, you can’t really go wrong baking this recipe.” I found truth in her words, as ease in following her recipe.

I can attest to her truth! The first time I baked the bread I forgot to make the sponge. I thought, ugh it’s going to be so dense and won’t taste like sour dough, because I didn’t make a preferment aka sponge. AND… my gluten free sour dough bread still came out, amazing! Every time after, the bread kept getting better and better! Its been amazing and fun!

Annie my rebel, trying to keep it simple, baked her second sour dough loaf using only 1 type of flour, but still no starches. Again it tasted good, but didn’t have the characteristics of a sour dough we were looking for. Her crust was good and crunchy, but still a bit dense. Bottom line for me, and all the bloggers I read, you must use the starches to give the bread its chewy, wholely crumb, and tasty structure for true sour dough characters. It IS the REAL deal folks. 

I brought Annie over the loaf that felt like the best one yet and that won our hearts. That loaf was the perfect loaf on the 2nd maybe 3rd try. Tasting it, convinced Annie to follow the recipe.

So here is my version of combining 2 awesome bread bloggers recipes and the recipe I used combining both of their brilliance that helps me continue to bake weekly an amazing loaf of anti-inflammatory sour dough bread! 

Covered
Uncovered
Dutch Oven

Gluten Free Sour Dough Bread

Before you start, here’s what you’ll need to bake sour dough bread:

Step 1: Making Your Starter

Starter Recipe from Aran Goyoaga

  • 140g brown rice, superfine
  • 170 g filtered water room temp

Method:

  1. 32 oz Ball glass jar with a white lid.
  2. Blend both ingredients together in the jar and keep it in a warm spot on your kitchen counter or in your oven with the light on. The oven is a perfect warm spot. Just put a note on the door to remember she’s in there. Oh, and name your starter. Talk to her and she will love you back! 
  3. Repeat every day FEEDING your starter for 5 days. 
  4. Remove and discard enough to keep 100-125g of your starter. If baking a double batch keep more. Use discard gluten free sour dough starter to give to a friend, (its still a starter), or make yummy focaccia or pizza crusts.
  5. Add into your jar
    • 45 g brown rice flour
    • 55 g purified water
  6. On day’s 3, 4 and 5 you can discard 1/4 cup or 75grams of starter if you like, I did not.
  7. DAY 5
    • Add 70g brown rice flour
    • 85 g purified water
  8. You are ready to use your starter, AS long, as she is active and bubbly. 
    • When you use the 150g of starter to make your preferment or sponge, feed your Starter and set her out or in the oven for a few hours. If making bread soon, leave her out and continue feeding her until ready to use. If you aren’t going to use her again for a week or longer, put her in the fridge to store. You wont need to feed her, but once a week or until you are ready to use her again.
    • When ready to bake, take your starter out of the fridge, feed her again the 50g brown rice:50g purified water to get her bubbling.
    • If making a double batch of bread, use 80g brown rice:80g purified water  

Feeding Your Starter. BEFORE STARTING Bread Baking

Instructions:

If you are using your gluten free starter that’s been out on your counter, feed daily and its already “active” and bubbling at room temperature,  OR if your starter has been stored in the fridge, unfed, you’ll need to feed your starter at least once to get her good and bubbly aka “active”. It may take an hour or two to get the starter active and bubbly. I let her rest in a warm spot on counter covered with a napkin or in the oven with the light on. Air, flour and warmth gets the starters active.

First feed: Waking up your starter from the refrigerator.

A single loaf of sour dough bread: as you wake your starter use of 50-60 grams of flour to 50-60grams of filtered water.

If making a larger loaf or 2 small loaves, use a bigger feed for your starter. Feed her 80-100g of brown rice flour and 80-100g of filtered water

In bread baking do NOT use tap water. Our city’s tap water can affect the outcome of our bread, because chemicals are added into the water.

If your starter isn’t bubbling, it may need a second feed, same as above direction. IF it isn’t bubbly after 4 hours, feed again: the 50g brown rice flour and 50g filtered water. Wait until she gets active, doubling in volume and very bubbly before using her. 

This is important, as an active starter with lots of bubble action and growing in size is what you want to happen. I’ve found sour dough starter doesn’t grow a ton…

Let’s Bake Bread

Ready Set, HERE WE GO!

STEP 1: Making a Preferment AKA Sponge (allow 4-18 hours to proof)

Using your gluten free sour dough starter to make a preferment/sponge.

  • 150g active gluten-free sourdough starter, it should be at peak rise and super bubbly
  • 100g filtered water
  • 80g superfine brown rice flour

*When doubling your recipe for bread, also double the sponge.

Make your sponge from an active starter (you’ll see bubbles).

  1. In a glass bowl add 150 grams of your starter.
  2. Add 100 grams of filtered water
  3. Whisk in 80 grams of brown rice flour
  4. Cover Sponge with a light towel. Set her in a warm spot or oven for 4 hours or all day or overnight.

My starter really liked being cozy in an “OFF oven” with the light on. It was a perfect solution to my cold kitchen. The longer you allow the sponge to ferment, the stronger the souring occurs. 

NOTE: I didn’t make a sponge the first time I baked this bread. I simple used just the starter. The bread still came out fine. The crumb was just more dense, not as many “holes” and not as sour as I’d like. Then I made a second loaf, AND made the sponge, and WOW! Let me preface by saying, making the sponge made the bread not only more amazing, I felt like a professional bread baker and my bread looked and tasted it too! 

Bread baking CAN be a fun, enjoyable and a Zen ride! Truly do what works best for you and your timing! 

After you make sponge, FEED YOUR STARTER, and put her back into the fridge until ready to bake again.

Starter Maintenance:

Before putting starter back in the fridge for next use; FEED STARTER 50g brown rice to 50g filter water. If baking a double batch once a week, this method works well.  If I’m not going to bake, I feed the starter at least once a week. Choose a day that works for you and if you forget to do it, it won’t ruin your starter.

I LOVE THIS method of storing the starter in the fridge so much! I’m using way less flour and it takes up way less of my time baking just once a week or every other week.

Timing For MAKING SOUR DOUGH BREAD

If you want your fresh bread ready to serve FOR the EVENING:

  • Make your sponge before bed. Proof in lit oven lightly covered OVERNIGHT FOR 4-18 hours.
  • Once your sponge has rested over-night, you’re ready to make your bread dough.
  • Your bread dough is in either a proofing basket or a loaf pan and time for proofing (resting).
  • Cover and proof for 4 hours in a warm area of your kitchen or oven with the light on.
  • 8/9pm make sponge and let rest overnight.
  • Wake at 6:30/7am Make the dough. Let proof/rest for 4-5 hours in a warm spot in kitchen or lit oven.
  • Heat oven to 425-degrees.
  • Once oven is hot, and NOT before, score the bread and add ice on top of bread
  • 12 noon, put bread covered into hot oven and bake 1-hour.
  • 1 pm, pull bread out from oven, remove the parchment paper and set bread directly onto the oven grates for an additional 20-30 minutes.
  • Once bread is browned and feels “hallow” or like a rock, its ready to pull out and let cool completely BEFORE CUTTING.
  • Serve by 4 or 5pm when bread is completely cooled.

If you want your fresh bread in the MORNING:

Peg’s preferred timing method.

  • Start your sponge in the morning. For example; proof sponge in oven at 9am.
  • Let proof all day up to 12 hours (max 18 hours). Longer sponge proofs, the more sour your dough will be.9 am-9pm thats 12 hours of proofing the sponge.
  • Ready and make your bread dough between 8 and 9pm before bed.
  • Place bread dough into parchment lined loaf pan or if using a Dutch oven, you’ll proof in a rattan proofing basket covered.
  • Place bread into the fridge to proof over night. Cover with loaf lid, basket cover or plastic wrap.
  • Next morning, wake at 6/7am and turn on the oven to 425-degrees.
  • Remove proofed bread from refrigerator and set on counter. UNCOVERED.
  • Once oven is hot, score the bread with a lame or sharp knife. THIS IS IMPORTANT for air bubbles.
  • Add 2 ice cubes right into the loaf.
  • Cover loaf with lid and bake for 1 hour.
  • Pull bread out from oven, remove the parchment paper and set bread directly onto the oven grates for an additional 20-30 minutes.
  • Once bread is browned and feels “hallow” or like a rock, its ready to pull out and let cool completely on cooling rack BEFORE CUTTING.

TIP #1- The longer you PROOF the sour dough sponge, the more sour your bread tastes.

TIP #2- Bread must cool for at least 2 hours before you cut into it.

NOTE: Gluten Free bread needs time to rest after baking, so it doesn’t get gummy. Sour dough GF bread cut hot from the oven will be gummy. It needs the rest. Patience. Its worth the wait.

MAKING SOUR DOUGH BREAD

Sponge has proofed, NOW we bake bread

Step 1: In a medium bowl or right into your mixer bowl, whisk the first 4 ingredients together.

Once the psyllium has gelled, THEN whisk in the preferment/sponge. Blend it all together and set aside.

  • 20g psyllium husk, I used psyllium husk powder it worked fine…
  • 20g maple syrup or honey
  • 300g filtered water 
  • 12g olive oil
  • 150 g sponge/pre-ferment 

Flour Mixture 

In a large bowl, combine all of the flours, starches, and salt. SET THIS aside. This is also where you can add any fresh minced herbs, think rosemary or thyme,  chopped  pitted kalamata olives or other dry seasonings like an Italian blend to add an herby flavor to your bread.

Notes:

Starches work to keep gluten free breads texture soft and less dense. Also helps the “crumbs” stay light and chewy.

For an Anti-inflammatory sour Dough Bread, swap arrowroot for potato starch.

Here’s my favorite flour/starch blend NOT using Potato Starch: 80g tapioca flour, 80g brown rice flour, 80g sorghum flour and 60g arrowroot + 12g sea salt. Peg’s Reset friendly anti-inflammatory blend.

Method for Baking Gluten Free Sour Dough Bread

Let’s make bread dough

  1. Your Psyllium gel mixture is ready.
  2. You’ve measured your flours, starches and salt
  3. Add the entire flour mixture all at once into the sponge mixture.
  4. Use your dough hook, mix all of the ingredients on medium to low speed. Up the speed and continue to mix until a smooth dough ball forms and there is no flour remaining on the bottom of bowl. It can take about 2-3 minutes in the stand mixer. 
  5. Once your dough is soft and smooth, turn it out onto a clean, smooth work surface to knead just a few times.
  6. If your dough feels sticky, add a pinch of flour to your hands and surface – less is more here. In California I did not need any flour. In Colorado, I did. Perhaps altitude…
  7. Knead dough with your hands for a minute to form it into a smooth boule shape or if using a loaf tin, shape into an oval.
  8. For a round boule, use rice flour and dust your 8” banneton (a proofing basket) for 1 recipe. If doubling the recipe, it will make 2 small 8″ round boules.
  9. For boule to proof: place the dough smooth side down into the dusted proofing basket if you want the horizontal lines you see on round loaves, or you can use the liner for a smoother look.
  10. For sandwich loaves, you’ll proof directly in a parchment lined metal loaf pan. Place bread seam side down.
  11. Cover, and let the dough proof for 4-hours at room temperature or over night in the fridge covered. Our home runs cool, so I had it in the oven with the light on and it worked great for 4 hours. It doubled a little.  
  12. I loved proofing using the overnight method, as In the morning you wake and bake bread after allowing the oven to pre-heat for an hour. It allows the dough to come to room temperature. Coming to room temperature is also not necessary.

When you’re ready to bake

  •  If you’ve overnight proofed bread in refrigerator, take bread out. TURN ON OVEN to 425-degrees. Allow bread to rest until oven is hot and ready at 425-degrees.
  • Once oven is hot, if using a Dutch Oven, let the dutch oven heat in oven for 20 minutes before before putting bread inside.
  • While dutch oven is heating and your dough is well proofed, carefully flip the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper top side up.
  • RIGHT BEFORE YOU PUT BREAD INTO THE OVEN score the bread using a lame, sharp knife or razor. Make sure your cuts are deep enough, but not TOO deep, otherwise you’ll still have cracking where you didn’t make the cuts.
  • For Boule: carefully lower your round loaf, seam side down, scored side up, into the hot Dutch oven. Be careful not to drop the bread in, which can cause gumminess and reduce the loaf’s rise.
  • Add a 2-3 ice cubes directly into the Dutch oven over the bread. Put the lid back on, and put your bread into the oven for 45 minutes.
  • After 45 minutes to an hour, remove the lid and allow the Boule to cook for another 20-30 minutes in the pot. Once done remove carefully and allow to rest on a cooling rack until completely cooled before cutting. About 2 hours.
  • If using a loaf tin, you won’t need to preheat the pan its already in.
  • For a loaf, After 1-hour of baking, carefully lift and remove bread from the loaf pan. Discard parchment paper.
  • Finish baking loaf for about 20-40 minutes directly on the oven rack to get the golden brown all over. It all depends on your oven and it’s temperature.
  • Once your bread is golden brown, and tapping makes a hallow sound, remove bread from the oven, and place on a cooling rack.
  • Let bread cool completely on a cooling rack at room temperature for 2-3 hours before slicing into it. The hardest part is the wait, but this wait time is essential for the crumb to set and not be gummy.

NOTES for Using a Metal Loaf Tin

  1. If you’re wanting to bake your sourdough in a loaf pan, shape the dough to a longer oval shape and place the dough seam side down in the metal loaf pan. I used a 8.5″ x 4.5″.
  2. Allow the dough to rise in the loaf pan either on counter for 4 hours, or overnight in the fridge. It doesn’t rise much. When ready to bake, bake for 1 hour + 20-30 minutes as directions states above.
  3. Follow the same directions for cooling. The cooling is very important to allow crumb to set and bread NOT to get gummy when sliced.

Storing your Sour Dough Bread

Your loaf has no preservatives. It will keep well at room temperature for a week. Store in an airtight container.  I also have put the container in the fridge. Another method for storing your sour dough bread is to slice half and place the other half sliced and stored in a freezer zip lock bag. I don’t always eat sliced bread everyday. If your loaf gets a bit stale, put it in the toaster on light to refresh the crust. It also is works to toast directly from the freezer!

Enjoy a slice of your sour dough bread toasted and slathered with butter and jam👏🤤❤️

For troubleshooting, check out Rachel Conners, Bakerita.

Happy baking!

If you ever need to reach me, DM me on Instagram or email me your questions at Peggy@currygirlskitchen.com and subject it, “ Help with sour dough”. You can always leave a comment below too. 

Love, Momma Pegs

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