This easy gluten free sourdough bread recipe makes a sourdough bread that is so good, you will be surprised it gluten free!
Welcome to my blog. This is one of the first and most popular posts on my blog. Sadie was so kind to share this sourdough bread recipe with us. Keep in mind this recipe is a work in progress, and it is meant to be experimented with.
Gluten Free Homemade Sourdough Bread
This gluten free homemade sourdough bread recipe is yeast free and absolutely worth the effort. Feel free to write if you have questions, or read the comments below for more inspiration.
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If you would like to try making Bread Srsly’s sourdough bread, this is a great starting point. Sadie no longer uses this specific recipe, but the point of this recipe is to inspire you to experiment in your kitchen.
No yeast sourdough
Making gluten free sourdough bread takes a lot more time than regular bread. You need 3-5 days to create a sourdough starter for the first time because there is NO YEAST in this recipe. The sourdough ferments to make a fluffy bread without yeast.
(Once you have a starter for this gluten-free bread, if you keep it well fed, you can use it to start baking new sourdough bread loaves right away.)
You need 3-5 days to create a sourdough starter for the first time because there is NO YEAST in this recipe. The sourdough ferments to make a fluffy bread without yeast.
To read Sadie from Bread Srsly’s story, click here.
Gluten Free Sourdough Starter Instructions
- Mix together equal parts of a flour blend and water. (Stay away from pure starch sources such as tapioca and potato.) Leave it in a bowl at room temperature. Cover the bowl with a towel.
- Every 8-12 hours, (2-3 times a day) add a little more flour and water.
- After 3-5 days, your mixture should smell sour and have bubbles. Congratulations! You are almost there.
- Once your mixture is bubbling, add some to your bread mix. Do not use any yeast.
- Let rise for at least 12 hours.
- Once the bread has risen, you have your starter!
How To Feed Gluten Free Sourdough Starter?
If you love sourdough bread and want to continue making it regularly, your best bet is to keep a starter in the refrigerator. The starter will need to be fed by removing approximately ¼ cup of the starter from the fridge. Then you will need to combine the starter, ¼ cup of water and ¼ cup gluten free flour mixture. Next, you will place covered on the counter at room temperature until it is bubbly, then put back in the fridge in a covered container.
If you love gluten free bread, you will want to try these Gluten Free Cheddar Herb Muffins. They are so light and fluffy. Also, these Paleo Biscuits are delicious and perfect for anyone who needs to be grain free!
How Do I Know If Sourdough Starter Has Gone Bad?
If your sourdough starter has been exposed to bacteria, it can go bad. Naturally, if you eat bad bread, you can expect to become ill. The easiest way to tell if your starter is still good is to open it and smell before each use. If it smells unbaked bread, then it is still good and can be baked. If you notice a foul odor, mold growing or pink or orange tint, then it has gone bad and should be discarded.
What Is The Liquid On Top Of My Sourdough Starter?
The liquid that forms on top of your sourdough starter is known as hooch. When you see hooch in your starter that is an indicator that the sourdough needs to be fed. The development of hooch is perfectly normal and not a cause for concern. Simply drain off the hooch before you feed the sourdough starter. You may notice the hooch smells like alcohol and this is normal as well.
Can I Freeze The Gluten Free Sourdough Starter?
Yes, you can freeze the sourdough starter. If you decide to freeze the starter, you will not have to feed it. When you are ready to bake the bread, you will need to give the sourdough starter a week before the dough is active again. Once you remove it from the freezer, you will need to begin the feeding process. When the sourdough appears to be stable, then you are ready to bake some bread.
Freezing the starter is an excellent idea if you just don’t have the time and effort to keep feeding it. I recommend freezing the sourdough starter if you are going on vacation or aren’t going to be home for some reason for several days.
What To Serve With Gluten Free Sourdough Bread:
If you haven’t eaten a lot of sourdough bread or are looking for some ideas on what to serve it with, here are a few tasty ideas:
- Roasted Chicken – Place pieces of roasted chicken and cheese (if you can tolerate dairy) and toss it under the broiler until it is hot and the cheese is bubbly. Add toppings and enjoy. So good!
- Bread Bowl – Use this sourdough gluten free bread as a base for a bread bowl. Add in your favorite soup and gobble it all up!
- Bread Crumbs – You can dry the loaf of sourdough bread out and turn it into bread crumbs. It will go lovely in any recipe that requires bread crumbs, and the flavor is terrific. Try this delicious Gluten Free Meatloaf recipe!
- Dip – Serve pieces of gluten free sourdough with this Hot Cream Cheese Dip and it will go perfectly! It pairs nicely with anything cheese based too.
Things You Need To Make This Recipe:
- Millet flour
- Sorghum flour
- Arrowroot starch
- White rice flour
- Sourdough starter
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Easy gluten free sourdough bread.
Chef Recipe: Bread Srsly’s Gluten Free Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6
Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 213 Total Fat: 1g Saturated Fat: 0g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 587mg Carbohydrates: 45g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 0g Protein: 6g
More Yummy Gluten Free Recipes to Try!
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- Gluten Free Chocolate Almond Joy Cookie Bars
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- GF Candied Ginger White Chocolate Biscotti
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- Easy One Pan Gluten Free Chicken Picatta
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- GF Zucchini Ricotta Meatballs
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- One-Pan Blackberry Tarragon Chicken and Rice
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- GF Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
Lisa Corbett
June 19, 2019 at 7:17 ami have this rising today as i made it last night. It seems like a sticky kind of play dough. I added more water last night but it was just like a muddy sludge. Hoping it rises today and bakes well!
Sandi Gaertner
June 19, 2019 at 9:52 amPlease do keep me posted. A recent commenter listed her step by step process for making this bread, it is worth looking at what she says about the dough.
Nionie Johnston
June 17, 2019 at 3:36 pmHey People! If you have used arrowroot flour in your bread and allowed the batter to then rise, then Stuckey or even gooey is your fate; you can bake it forever and it will be like crusty sludge. Arrowroot is so hydrophilic that it is a water magnet and almost impossible to dry out. If baking with arrowroot you need to mix and bake IMMEDIATELY to have good results, so it is more suited to cakes and muffins, in combination with, say, coconut flour or brown rice and buckwheat. Good luck.
Kari
June 27, 2019 at 4:12 pmWhen making this bread it is alive. Regular tap water with chlorine if used will kill the good bacteria / yeast resulting in no rise / use distilled water when working with live foods
Laurel E Porter
June 6, 2019 at 7:21 amIt would be great if you could give an internal temperature for the bread when it is ‘done.’ I baked mine for an hour, and discovered it really wasn’t cooked all the way through. So having an internal temp to check would be great. Thanks.
Sandi Gaertner
June 6, 2019 at 2:05 pmHi Laurel, this is a guest post by Sadie, so I am not sure what an internal temperature she would recommend. Sadie checks in on this post and I am hoping she can answer this question for you.
Dana Callahan
May 15, 2019 at 11:31 amHi there,
INTRO:
I’m not Celiac but quite sensitive to Gluten and Wheat especially, with bloating and severe water gain and swelling. Still being very new at Gluten Free home baking, I chose to attempt this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill One to One GF Baking Flour(R). Silly me, didn’t read the fine print of the ingredients, so I found later that there is some Tapioca and Potato starch in the product. Well- the worst that could happen is the starter wouldn’t rise and behave correctly. A whole bag of flour wouldn’t be wasted, just the bit that I used for starter.
STARTER for a new GF Baker:
I chose to begin the Starter with 1/4 C of 1 to 1 Bob’s with 1/4 C of Water in a mason jar. I left the lid ajar for air. I did notice that this didn’t work as well as a loose cotton dish towel over the jar, instead of the lid. Once using the towel instead of the lid, I believe ambient yeast collected more easily and I began to “get a rise” out of the starter. Sorry for being so detailed, but being new at GF baking, I’m attempting to offer as much info in my steps – to help someone else troubleshoot their baking experience of this recipe.
MIXING up my First Batch
Instead of going exactly by the recipe – I continued to use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 in exchange for all the flours listed. All of those flours and the arrowroot is included in the 1 to 1 Baking flour – thus the reason for this choice. Also- I was attempting to find the most economical way of baking this bread. Measurements I kept the same – so instead of 1/2 C of each flour plus the arrowroot powder – I used 2 cups of the 1 to 1 baking flour, the Salt (Pink Himalayan Sea Salt) the Xanthene Gum and the water until I had a decent consistency of a medium thick Pancake batter. I used the Kitchenaid metal mixing bowl and covered loosely with the cotton kitchen towel for a full 24 hours. I did this because at 12 hours- it hadn’t seem to rise to it’s full potential.. At about 18 hours, there was a full-doubling rise, so kept it going for any best rise possible.
BAKING my First Loaf:
I didn’t have shortening to grease with – but I did have cruelty-free obtained coconut/palm oils-so I used that on a new non-stick metal 1 lb. loaf pan and coated well using a basting brush. Don’t overwork the “batter”. Fold it in the greased pan and let it settle on it’s own while preheating the oven. It will look lumpy. Let it- don’t overwork- for every stroke- you are eliminating the Rise. The flour mixture that I used had White and Brown rice flour and so more water was used to get that Pancake consistency before baking. I baked at 375* F(also measured with baking thermometer) on middle rack of the oven. I baked for 50 minutes, then turned on the oven light to closely monitor for the last minutes of baking. Also at this time, I noticed it hadn’t browned on top – so I brushed the top with my coconut/palm oil mixture for the last 10 minutes, hoping it would brown up a bit. I’m sure butter would work beautifully as well. Hurry when gently brushing it on- the longer the oven is open and rack pulled out a bit – will lose a tiny bit of it’s Rise. Once oven is closed again, the Rise came quickly back. Baked for the full 60 minutes and then with a Probe style Roasting Thermometer showing 160-180*F in the center. I did notice that it had a bit of residue on the probe- so I turned off the oven and left the loaf in to cool that way, hoping to finish baking and cooling more gently to keep as much of the final Baked in Rise and fluff. Cooled completely before removing from pan and slicing with a serrated bread knife.
CONCLUSION:
I’ve tried a lot of GF breads – the online, the super pricey, down to the cheap or clearanced (aka cardboard tasting). As an Artisan sourdough bread fan – I have to say the experience of starter, mixing, baking and finally eating it – the trouble I went to was well worth it. It was a pleasure at each step- because it was an adventure. Not everyone is that enthusiastic, I know. But, for someone whom has Zero experience in GF Baking – this brave trial was easy and enjoyable.
TASTING: WOW! Quite authentic Sourdough Bread flavor. Doesn’t toast up Brown as easily as it’s Gluten filled relative, but I’m very pleased with the results, the RISE, and flavor. I can finally have Sandwiches again after 3 years of going without buns, rolls and deserts because wheat and gluten were giving my stomach and body such fits.
I know this was long winded – I hope it helps and encourages others to try as well.
Good luck and enjoy!!
Dana
Sandi Gaertner
May 15, 2019 at 11:44 amWow! Dana you are so wonderful to come and comment with such full directions to help other readers. Thank you so much!! I am hopeful that your encouragement will help people who are newer to gluten free baking to try this recipe.
Raylene
May 4, 2019 at 7:52 amHi
Are you able to put up a conversion to grams please? I have all sorts of trouble trying to figure out if you firmly pack the cup measurements or if you are using metric cup measurements or something else. (new to sourdough baking?
Thank you.
Sandi Gaertner
May 4, 2019 at 3:43 pmHi Raylene, Unfortunately, this isn’t my recipe it is Sadie’s and I am not familiar enough with grams to reliably convert this recipe. You may consider finding an online converter.
Alison
April 27, 2019 at 3:06 pmI’m sorry, I am confused. How is this yeast free? A wild starter is yeast, its just ambient yeast that is collected from the air rather than a commercial, packaged yeast, but its still yeast.
Sandi Gaertner
April 28, 2019 at 10:20 amHi Alison, I can try to ask Sadie for you since this is her recipe.
Brigitte
January 22, 2019 at 6:54 amI tried twice to make this bread and it came out great except it did not rise much . We have toasted it and it is truly a winner, however I would love to find out why it did not rise as much ? maybe more water ? does it really have to have the consistency of pancake batter before I let it rise ? that’s pretty wet, right ???
Sandi Gaertner
January 22, 2019 at 11:24 amMy first thought is to try more water. Sadie gave this recipe, and she wanted people to use it as a base to experiment from. Please let us know if more water helps.
Tammy
November 19, 2018 at 8:13 amI made this bread today with a brown rice flour/water starter. It rose well while baking. I baked it for over an hour, but the top did not brown. Any suggestions?
Sandi Gaertner
November 20, 2018 at 10:17 amHi Tammy, this isn’t my recipe, so I am not fully sure why the top didn’t brown. Sadie occasionally stops by to see the post and will add comments for readers. I am hoping she will see your question and respond back.
Amy F;)
September 7, 2018 at 11:27 amCan I use glass pans or do they have to be metal? (Love SRSLY bread 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
September 7, 2018 at 5:07 pmHi Amy, That is a great question. I am not sure but I believe Sadie uses metal baking tins.
Debbie
September 4, 2018 at 5:23 amThank you Sandi, my starter is bubbling just fine!
Sandi Gaertner
September 4, 2018 at 9:55 amThat is great news! Keep us posted 🙂
Jenny
June 7, 2018 at 8:18 amHi there! I had the same sticky problem as a previous commenter even after leaving in the refrigerator over night. I’ll wait a couple days to see if that subsides before I toss it because it is inedible. The crust is on point though. My bread also didn’t rise as much as I’d hoped. About half the height of a 9” bread pan. Maybe it needs more water… I also noticed that the bread srsly loaf shows salt as an ingredient. Wondering if that does something chemically to the bread that might help absorb the mushiness. Just some thoughts, and help would be greatly appreciated! I will keep experimenting!
Sandi Gaertner
June 7, 2018 at 8:34 amThat is so interesting Jenny. I am hoping someone who had success with this recipe can chime in and offer some suggestions.
Sadie Scheffer
August 8, 2018 at 3:25 pmHi Jenny,
We’ve accidentally left out the salt a few times at the bakery, and we found that the bread did not rise as much as a salted dough! It was really interesting, and not at all in line with the baking rules I know. The key to getting your recipe down is the balance between water, binder, and bake time. Too little water means the dough can’t stretch enough to take full advantage of the binder. Too little binder, and the water will just make it harder to bake, with less rise because there isn’t enough elasticity. Too low a bake temp means that the amount of oven spring will be small.
I hope that helps, and I’m glad the crust came out well – that can be really tricky in a home oven.
Sandi Gaertner
August 8, 2018 at 3:36 pmYou are awesome Sadie!!
Sarah
December 20, 2017 at 1:15 pmDo you mix all the flours in with starter and leave to rise before baking. This is new to me I am confused. Also are flours easily replaceable like buckwheat with a seed flour and use white rice? Thanks
Sandi Gaertner
December 21, 2017 at 11:17 amHi Sarah, When Sadie gave me this recipe, it was to be an experimental start…she wants you to try new things and make it your own. You need to make the starter first, and that takes 3-5 days. Sadie said to mix equal parts of a flour blend (but don’t use pure starches.) You could use white rice and a seed flour, though I would maybe combine three flours total…maybe sorghum too? I hope this helps.
Dawn
October 26, 2017 at 5:26 pmI like how uncomplicated it is to make. I have things with a thousand directions!
Sandi Gaertner
October 26, 2017 at 7:44 pmThank you so much 🙂
Misty
October 26, 2017 at 5:24 pmMy twin brother and I both have reactions to gluten. His is more severe. We are always looking for more foods that we can eat that taste. Will make some for him for Christmas.
Xavi
May 2, 2016 at 2:33 amHi Sandi,
Can a “normal” sourdough be “converted” to a GF sourdough by feeding it with GF flour?
I mean, I have a sourdough that I have been using and refreshing for months with wheat flour… if from now I only feed it with GF flour, will it be GF?
Sandi Gaertner
May 2, 2016 at 7:15 amHi Xavi, I really don’t know the answer to that. I have never worked with a wheat starter. I will ask in a few food groups and see if I can find an answer for you. Stay tuned.
Victoria
March 11, 2016 at 10:32 pmHello – I’m not sure if you’re still accepting questions, but I thought I’d ask anyway!
I’m just wondering if you need to let the bread rise any longer (second rise) after putting it into the bread tin? E.g. should you try to keep as much air in it from the initial rise while scooping it in and bake it right away, or stir it down and let is rise for a number of hours in the tin before baking?
Thanks!
Victoria
Sandi Gaertner
March 12, 2016 at 2:15 pmHi Victoria, I can try to answer, though this is Sadie’s recipe. I would think either way would work just fine as it has sourdough active in it. Will you please come back and let us know which you tried, and how it worked? Thank you 🙂
Cachi Baier
July 9, 2015 at 10:48 amLove srsly bread but our local market runs out for weeks….going to try this recipe….been gluten free yeast free, soy free dairy free for almost a decade and have tried EVERY bread available to me and by far his bread is AWESOME and EVERYONE will enjoy it!
Sandi Gaertner
July 9, 2015 at 12:32 pmWe love Bread Srsly too…they are just starting to sell here in the South Bay. Keep in mind this recipe is a start. Sadie wants people to experiment with it 🙂 If you read the comments, there are some tips there as well.
Sandi Gaertner
August 4, 2014 at 11:03 pmHi Pippi,
Here is Sadie’s response to your question…
Hmm, have you tried refrigerating the bread? Our bread is sticky inside as well when it is fresh, but that should go away after a few days chilled. Then you should be able to slice it more easily and there should be no more stickiness.
Alternatively, we made a batch where we accidentally doubled the xanthan gum, and while these were not saleable, we did cut into some and found that the stickiness was way way less. You can also use less water, although this will not allow the dough to rise as much.
I hope this helps! Feel free to contact me with photos so i can better pinpoint the problem.
Beth
May 22, 2014 at 11:48 amHello there!
You recipe looks interesting! I’ve made sourdough bread before using my own starter, and I was wondering if there’s a way for the bread to not turn out too sour. Also, I have a lot of brown rice. Can I use it instead of the white rice, and maybe add a bit more starch or something else? Thank you!
Sandi Gaertner
May 22, 2014 at 1:22 pmHi Beth, I am honestly not sure about how to make the bread less sour. The sour taste comes from the fermentation of the starter. I would say to experiment with the brown rice. I have not tried it any other way. Just be sure not to use starch in the starter. I would love to hear how it turns out.
Beth
May 26, 2014 at 11:44 pmThank you, Sandi! I’ll try with the brown rice!
Bekah
May 21, 2014 at 9:13 amHi! So i know most people can do this, but I have never done sour dough. Can you give more specific measurements on the starter? I just dont want to mess it up. Thanks!
Sandi Gaertner
May 21, 2014 at 9:21 amHi Bekah, you can’t mess it up. I asked Sadie about why she said to use equal parts. It really depends on how much starter you plan to use. For example, will you be making the sourdough this one time, or will you make several loaves over the course of a few days. You only need 1/2 cup of the starter to make one loaf of sourdough, so 1/4 cup gluten free flour blend (with no starches) and 1/4 cup water should be a good measurement to start with. Good luck and please let me know how it turns out.
Bekah
May 21, 2014 at 11:11 amOk thanks! I’ll give it a try as soon as I can! Thanks for responding!
Sandi Gaertner
May 21, 2014 at 11:13 amYou are welcome 🙂
Michelle @ The MaMade Diaries
February 22, 2014 at 4:36 pmGreat recipe! I really need to try to make my own bread sometime, I’ve never done it before! Thanks so much for linking up at the MaMade Blog Hop! Don’t forget to stop back and link up again next week and see if you’ve been featured!
Sandi Gaertner
February 22, 2014 at 4:42 pmThanks for stopping by Michelle. This is definitely a fun recipe to experiment with. Mamy like it because it is yeast free and gluten free. Please let me know how it turns out.
Marla
February 21, 2014 at 5:05 amGreat recipe and sour dough bread has so many health benefits. Thanks for sharing on MaMade Blog Hop! Have a wonderful healthy day.
Sandi Gaertner
February 21, 2014 at 7:48 amThank you Marla. I love sourdough as well and having it gluten free is huge for me. I hope you have fun making it 🙂
Farm Fresh Mama
February 18, 2014 at 1:00 pmThanks for sharing this great recipe! I’m hoping I can get this sourdough thing down, since we just decided to go gluten free for a while. This looks great!
Sandi Gaertner
February 18, 2014 at 9:50 pmLet me know if you have any questions. I have not made it myself, but I can forward any questions to Sadie. Have a great evening,
Pippi
July 30, 2014 at 3:56 pmHI!
I have tried Sadie’s SRSLY sourdough bread recipe several times and as much as I think it will be different each time with my adjustments, it is still coming out gooey inside! I wonder if I could get a tip from you or Sadie! After rising it is nice and puffy and i spoon it in and bake it according to the loose directions. But each time it has come out ooey, or sticky is even more accurate, through out the center…even if baked a lot longer! I even got creative and cut the bread into strips to bake again as breadsticks. Still sticky gooey inside the crispy little bread sticks. Help! : )
Sandi Gaertner
July 30, 2014 at 4:04 pmHi Pippi, I forwarded your note to Sadie. I hope we hear back some great tips to help you.
Pippi
July 30, 2014 at 4:13 pmthanks Sandi!
Sandi Gaertner
August 4, 2014 at 11:04 pmHi Pippi,
Here is Sadie’s response:
Hmm, have you tried refrigerating the bread? Our bread is sticky inside as well when it is fresh, but that should go away after a few days chilled. Then you should be able to slice it more easily and there should be no more stickiness.
Alternatively, we made a batch where we accidentally doubled the xanthan gum, and while these were not saleable, we did cut into some and found that the stickiness was way way less. You can also use less water, although this will not allow the dough to rise as much.
I hope this helps! Feel free to contact me with photos so i can better pinpoint the problem.