This gluten-free sourdough starter recipe begins with just two ingredients: flour and water. As the wild yeast multiplies, learn how to feed it on a regular schedule and then watch it come to life over seven days. The day-by-day schedule below tells you exactly what to expect, when to feed and discard, and how to tell the difference between a healthy starter and one that needs your attention.
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
The Quick Bite: This is the starter I have made many times over the years. I use brown rice flour, purified water, and patience. This day-by-day schedule tells you exactly what to feed it, how often, when to discard, and what healthy fermentation actually looks like, so you are not guessing.
I have been making gluten-free sourdough starters for about 8 years, and I have killed more than a few along the way. A starter that looks perfect on day three can go completely flat by day five, and if you do not know why, it is easy to give up and assume gluten-free sourdough is just too hard. It is not. It just behaves differently from a wheat starter, and once you understand what to watch for, this process is actually straightforward.
My guide walks you through every day of the process, from the first mix of flour and water through the moment your starter is ready to bake with. I cover which flours work well, which ones to avoid, how to keep your starter warm enough to ferment, and how to read the signs that tell you whether things are on track or need adjusting. If you want to give your starter a jump-start, I also include the option to use a Cultures for Health Gluten-Free culture, which I have found improves success rates, especially in cooler kitchens.
Once your starter is established, you can use the discard in gluten-free sourdough and discard recipes long before you are ready to bake a full loaf.
Planning to Make the Starter:
It is important to plan before you begin to make your starter. Decide whether to make your starter with just flour and water, or give it a jump-start using Cultures for Health Gluten-Free Culture. I have made starters using both methods, and I find my readers have a higher success rate with the flour-and-water plus culture.
- Always use purified water when making sourdough or baking with yeast. Chlorine and chemicals in our tap water can kill your yeast and inhibit the rise. To get the best rise, you must use purified water that doesn’t contain these chemicals.
- Plan how you want to keep your starter warm, between 72 and 79ºF. Your starter will not ferment or establish if it is too cold.
- Choose what flour you will use to grow your starter. Years ago, I used a gluten-free flour blend, but over the years of making starters, I have found that a single-grain flour is best and less expensive. I have seen folks grow successful starters with brown rice flour, millet flour, sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, and other types. My favorite is brown rice flour.
Why I don’t recommend using starches:
I do not advise using pure starch sources such as tapioca and potato. When you use pure tapioca or potato starch as your base flour, the starter may show some early bubbling due to bacterial activity, but it will not develop a stable yeast colony. Starches ferment differently from whole-grain flours and do not provide the nutrients wild yeast needs to establish long-term.
Keeping Your Starter Warm:
When getting your starter going, keep it warm enough for the bacteria to grow. I have found several ways to keep the sourdough starter warm.
Many of my readers keep their sourdough starter in their oven with the light turned on and the door closed. The light generates enough heat to keep the starter warm. The two cons of this method are that you can burn out the light, and if someone forgets your starter is in the oven, someone may preheat the oven and ruin your starter.
I use an old Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker base that my mother-in-law gave me. I plug in the base and place two folded dish towels on top to help prevent it from getting too hot at the bottom of the jar. I place the jar on top of the towels.
They also make sourdough warming mats that easily fit a quart-sized mason jar. This is better than the option I used above because you can set the temperature.
Sourdough Starter Instructions:
I share a lot of important tips and recommendations on making your gf sourdough starter. Everything from the best water to use and how to keep your starter warm.
Start with the right tools; read My Favorite Sourdough Tools for a full list of equipment.
Day 1:
- Mix equal parts of gluten-free flour and water (1:1 feed ratio) in a clean bowl or quart-sized mason jar. I start with 1/4 cup of flour to 1/4 cup of water. You want the starter to have the consistency of thick pancake batter.
- If you are using the Cultures for Health Gluten-Free Culture, add it to the jar. Mix well.
- Cover loosely with a clean, breathable dishcloth and keep at 72 to 79°F for optimal growth.
- Plan to feed the starter 2 times a day.
- Choose a name for your starter! We named this starter “Freddie,” and it became a running family joke about who remembered to feed her. You do not need to name your starter, but if it helps you feel connected to the process, go for it.
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Sandi says: Equal parts flour and water by volume give the yeast enough food without diluting the colony you are building. Going heavier on water produces a thinner starter that ferments unevenly; going heavier on flour starves the yeast before the next feeding.
Day 2:
- On day two, feed the starter 1/4 cup of purified water and mix it well.
- Add 1/4 cup of the rice flour and mix it in. Adding and mixing the water into the starter first helps to aerate the flour and water mixture, so when you add the flour, it will mix in easily to feed the yeast.
- Note: Keep the 1:1 flour-water ratio. Again, be sure to use filtered water and stir the starter well.
- Feed 2 times a day.
Days 3-4:
- After 3-4 days, your mixture should begin to smell sour and have some bubbles.
- On day 3, it is time to discard! By discarding some of your starter, the remaining starter can continue to strengthen and establish itself with the feeds.
- Mix the starter well and then remove 1/4 cup of the mixture to discard.
- Next, add the 1/4 cup of water, mix it well, then add the 1/4 cup of brown rice flour. Mix again and then cover it with a clean dishcloth or paper towel.
- Feed the starter 2x per day as instructed. Note, you only discard once a day.
👀 Sandi Says: Your starter is too young to use in discard recipes at this point, so place the discard in the trash or in your compost bin. Do not dump the discard down the drain. It is sticky and can cause many plumbing issues.
Day 5 and Beyond:
This is what the starter should look like now! Look for lots of bubbles. It should still have the consistency of thick pancake batter because you are following the 1:1 flour and water ratio. Sometimes it takes a few extra days, so keep repeating the feeding and discarding steps.
Keep feeding on the 1/4 cup flour to water ratio, discarding daily.
On day 7, if your starter is really bubbling well, you can begin to store and use the discard in recipes like these Gluten Free Sourdough Discard Biscuits and these Gluten Free Sourdough Discard Muffins.
What a healthy starter looks like:
A gluten-free starter should rise 50-75% around 3 to 6 hours after a feed. You should see are visible air bubbles and pockets with a slightly domed surface. It should have a mildly tangy, slightly yeasty, sour or yogurt-like smell.
If your starter is not bubbling, here are some things to check:
- Are you keeping the discard warm? Check the temperature of the discard. Yeast needs warm temperatures to activate and grow.
- Are you using filtered water? Chemicals will inhibit the yeast growth.
- Are you feeding it often enough? Twice-a-day feeding will help keep the yeast fed.
- Are you using a gluten-free flour blend? Sometimes the starch and binder in the blend can slow things a little because of the starches and xanthan gum.
🔑 Sandi says: If you see clear liquid on top of your starter, this is called hooch. This means your starter is hungry and you need to feed it. You will want to drain off that liquid before feeding the starter.
How do I know if the starter has gone bad?
If you don’t see many bubbles or if something seems off, smell your starter and take a close look at it. Discard it immediately if you notice:
- rotten/chemical odor
- pink or orange streaks
- fuzzy growth
How To Store Your Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter:
The starter should be kept on the counter, warm, for another week or two, feeding and discarding as needed until it is well established. I do not recommend storing your starter in the fridge until it is at least 2-3 weeks old and established.
If you don’t bake often, store it in the refrigerator. The refrigerator slows the fermentation process, and it puts your starter to sleep so you don’t have to feed it as often.
A good way to tell if your starter is ready to refrigerate is to see if it doubles within 3-6 hours of feeding; if it does, it is ready to refrigerate.
How to store your gluten free sourdough starter:
- Do not store your sourdough starter in a metal container. Store in a glass or ceramic container. I store mine in a quart-sized mason jar. (These are my favorites because they have lids!)
- Time to Store the Discard! You will want to continue discarding by removing some of the discard before feeding the starter. Feed the starter before putting it in the fridge.
- If the starter is on the younger side, feed it in the refrigerator every 4-5 days. Once your starter is well established, it can go into the refrigerator. As the sourdough starter ages, you can feed it less often, once every 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. I feed mine by adding 2 TBSP of flour to 2 TBSP of purified water. Stir it well so the flour is incorporated. If your blend is starchy, you can use 3 tablespoons of water.
- Cover the jar with the lid and refrigerate.
When you plan to bake with your starter, remove it from the refrigerator the night before, discard some, feed it, and let it come to room temperature. Keep it covered with a clean, damp kitchen towel.
What to make with the discard:
Want more ways to use up your gluten-free sourdough discard? Don’t miss my full list of tested gluten-free discard recipes!
You can use the discard to make these Gluten-Free Discard Crackers or these Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard Crackers if you choose to discard. We also love these Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes, you can switch flour types. Fermentation may slow for a day or two, depending on whether you use a blend or single-grain flour, but it will pick up again!
Yes, you can freeze the sourdough starter. If you freeze the starter, you will not have to feed it. When you are ready to bake the bread, you must give the sourdough starter a week before the dough is active again. You must begin the feeding process once you remove it from the freezer.
Freezing the starter is an excellent idea if you don’t have the time and effort to keep feeding it. I recommend freezing.
Don’t forget to check out the next step…making sourdough bread!
Gluten-Free Sourdough Recipes To Try:
- This sourdough starter, aka levain, is used in my Gluten-Free Crescent Rolls recipe.
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard Scones – Perfect for using up discard!
- Don’t forget to check out the next step…making the Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread! This recipe makes a sandwich-style loaf using 1:1 gluten-free flour blends!
- My new favorite is this rustic Gluten Free Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread or Gluten Free Whole Grain Sourdough Bread.
- Use this gluten-free sourdough starter to make this homemade Gluten-Free Sourdough Boule
Love This Recipe?
I still have readers message me years later about the success they’ve had after finally getting their starter active. If that ends up being you, I would genuinely appreciate hearing it. Drop a comment below, and let me know how it turned out!
How to Make a Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter Recipe (Day-by-Day Schedule)
Method
- It is important to read my entire post before making this gluten-free sourdough starter. This is one recipe where it is IMPORTANT to read my whole recipe post, not just this recipe card. I have a lot of experience with sourdough, and the tips I share are valuable to your success.
- Mix equal parts of a gluten-free flour blend and water (1:1 feed ratio) in a clean bowl or quart-sized mason jar. I start with 1/4 cup of flour to 1/4 cup of water. You want the starter to have the consistency of thick pancake batter.
- NOTE: I highly recommend using filtered or bottled water. Chlorine and chemicals will kill the beneficial bacteria you are trying to grow.
- You will feed the starter 2 times a day. Mix well. Cover loosely with a breathable cloth and keep at 72–79°F for best growth. (See Notes)
- On day two, feed the starter 1/4 cup of purified water and mix it well.
- Add 1/4 cup of the rice flour and mix it in. Adding and mixing the water into the starter first helps to aerate the flour and water mixture, so when you add the flour, it will mix in easily to feed the yeast.
- Feed it twice a day.
- After 3-4 days, your mixture should begin to smell sour and have some bubbles. Keep feeding your starter twice a day until it is full of bubbles and doubles in size within a few hours of feeding it.
- Time to discard! As the amount of starter in your jar grows, I recommend discarding some. Mix the starter well and then remove 1/4 cup of the mixture to discard.
- Next, add the 1/4 cup of water, mix it well, then add the 1/4 cup of brown rice flour. Mix again and then cover it with a clean dishcloth or paper towel.
- Feed the starter 2x per day as instructed. Note, you only discard once a day.
- NOTE: Your starter is too young to use in discard recipes at this point, so place the discard in the trash or in your compost bin. Do not dump the discard down the drain. It is sticky and can cause many plumbing issues.
- Look for lots of bubbles. It should still have the consistency of thick pancake batter. Sometimes it takes a few extra days, so keep repeating the steps of feeding and discarding.
- Keep feeding on the 1/4 cup flour to water ratio twice daily, discarding once a day.
- The starter should be kept on the counter, warm, for another week or two, feeding and discarding as needed until it is well established. I do not recommend storing your starter in the fridge until it is at least 2-3 weeks old and established.
- A good way to tell if your starter is ready to refrigerate is to see if it doubles within 3-6 hours of feeding; if it does, it is ready to refrigerate.
Nutrition
Notes
- I have used sorghum, brown rice, millet flour, and gluten-free flour blends successfully to make a starter. I prefer brown rice flour because it is a lot less expensive than a flour blend.
- If you want to jumpstart the process of growing a wild yeast starter, get the Cultures For Health Gluten-Free Culture to jump-start your starter.
- I found brown rice flour works much better than a flour blend, and it is less expensive to use compared to a gluten-free flour blend.
- In order to give your natural yeast a chance, you must use purified water. Chlorine in tap water can kill your yeast, not growing your starter.
- I include very detailed instructions for storing your sourdough starter in my blog post. Please refer back to that because it has a lot of important information.
- I include a very detailed troubleshooting section in my blog post to help if something does not look or smell right.
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
Day 3, minimal bubbling, it looks & feels like a pudding, not what i expected of a GF starter. Can I add more water, or start over. Used King Arthur GF flour. Thanks
Hi Wanda, I am happy to troubleshoot. 1. What temperature is the area you are keeping your starter? 2. Starches in a 1:1 can slow things down. I really recommend using brown rice flour (individually, not in a blend). 3. How often are you feeding your starter and what is the consistency?
Thank you for all of this. I’ve been successful in a typical sourdough starter, but now I have people asking for gluten free, so I’m going to give it a try. Is it ok to start the starter with Bob Mills 1 to 1 gluten free blend and then convert over to rice flour to get it more active? At what point is that a good time to do? Thank you for your help?
Hi Rachel, The starches and xanthan gum in the 1:1 may slow things down as far as the starter taking off. I have used a 1:1, but I am curious. Why use an expensive 1:1 when brown rice flour is easier, faster, and costs a lot less money? I haven’t switched the flour on an active starter, so I am not sure on that question.
I am on day 5 of the starter. I have bubbles!!!! How long do I continue to feed it 1:1? When is it ready to bake with. I don’t in the whole instructions where it tells me that
Hi Jane, That is so exciting!! I would wait and continue to feed and discard until it is more established. How bubbly is your starter?
It looks like the picture that you have for day 5. I have a 32 oz mason jar that is 1/2 full, how much should I discard?
Hi Jane, I would discard 3-4 tablespoons and add it to the compost. Usually a starter should be more established (a couple of weeks) before using discard. Keep feeding it and if it looks like mine, you should be able to bake something with the starter.
Hi Sandy, Darla again. I ordered my gluten-free sourdough starter that you recommended along with the equipment to make the sourdough bread. This is day five; my starter looks nothing like your picture and has very few bubbles and has not doubled once. I followed your instructions to a T. I have a background in science and biology so I know my way around a lab, following instructions, having proper equipment and accurate measurements.
I do smell a slightly sour odor and see a few bubbles before feeding and when I stir. I have a total of one cup starter so I did a discard. Do I need to be patient? And yes, I kept it in a dry warm place that ranged from 74 to 78°
Hi Darla, the 74 to 78 is a bit cool to get a new starter going. It is a good sign you have a few bubbles. You may consider putting it in the oven with just the light for warmth to speed it up. (Don’t turn on the oven…the light will give the necessary warmth.)
Should the sour dough starter smell sour after 4 or 5 days? And should I use starter or discard as bread making? I seen different folks using discard and it confused me a little. And if starter is doubled in 5 to 7 days it’s okay to bake? Or do you have to wait two to three weeks? I love all your recipes you share❤️❤️Thank you
Hi Donna, it should smell sour. Do you see lots of bubbles and activity? For the bread, you use the starter. I would wait at least a full week, maybe longer depending on how active it is. The older it is, it will work better because the bacteria will be stronger.
Thank you so much, you are very helpful I new to this and appreciate what you’re doing thanks again.
I am glad to help. How did your sourdough starter turn out?
Sandi, thank you for your recipe and all your pages of tips and instructions! I just successfully made my very first loaf of gf sourdough bread! (It was DELICIOUS) I used the ‘Cultures for Health’ to begin my starter and used organic rice flour to feed it. I used King Arthur’s Measure for Measure gf flour blend to make the dough / bread. I will continue feeding with the same rice flour and will continue baking bread with the same King Arthur flour blend. I have a number of questions, but they all relate to the extra discard and/or starter:
1) Just to make sure I understand, I don’t need to purchase another ‘Cultures for Health’ starter every time I want to make a new loaf of gf sourdough bread, correct? I’m assuming I can just use some of the (massive amount of) discard I immediately stored in the freezer. If this is not correct, then disregard the below questions.
2) I’m a little confused about feeding the starter because the ‘Cultures for Health’ instructions (which I followed to the T) had me feeding it with ½ cup flour and ½ cup water. Then, with every feeding, it told me to discard down to ½ cup, and then add the new ½ cup flour and ½ cup water. …I noticed you only have people feed with 1 Tbsp flour and 1 Tbsp water. I have waaaaaay too much discard in my freezer (due to feeding with ½ cup flour and water every single feeding!). Here’s my question: once I remove a discard from the freezer, can I just feed it the 1 Tbsp flour / 1 Tbsp water like you suggest? And just discard every now and then?
3) Once I remove a discard from the freezer, how do you recommend thawing it? And would you recommend beginning to feed it as soon as it’s completely thawed?
4) You said it takes a week for the starter to become active again. Do you mean it will take a week of feeding the starter before it’s ready to start making another loaf of bread, OR do you mean it will take a week of feeding before I’ll need to CONTINUE feeding for the standard 3 – 5 days?
5) Some of my discard is from day 1 of beginning the starter. Some of it is from the very end of the process right before the starter was ready to go into a loaf of bread / dough. So, in my understanding, all my discards are at different points in the fermentation process. My question is: will this affect how long (how many days) I’ll need to feed it for once removing it from the freezer? I would assume that the discard from the very beginning of the starter process would take a lot longer to be ready to bake with, as opposed to the discard from the very end of the starter process (when it was really starting to bubble, etc.).
I am so glad you loved this recipe. Let me respond to all of your questions. You don’t need to purchase another starter packet from Cultures for Health. You continue to feed your starter to keep it going. I use 1/4 cup of flour to water…I am not sure your starter is usable this early. Usually you don’t use the discard until it is more established. You can definitely feed it 1 TBSP, but it may not be enough. Better to feed it 2 TSBP. Also, if you are not using it often, you can keep it in the refrigerator, which slows the starter down so you only need to feed it 3x a week (at first) but a it gets older and more established, you can feed it every 1-2 weeks. I wouldn’t use the discard in your freezer. I have never stored it there, but your starter is probably too young if you just started it. I am not sure where you saw it takes a week for a starter to become active. You need to remove it from the refrigerator and let it warm, feed it, and let it get bubbly. Depending on the temperature in your house, this is more a few hours.
Ahhh…so glad I asked. I was a bit overwhelmed by how much information there was about how to successfully make a gf sourdough loaf of bread, I decided I would focus on that and just toss all the discard in the freezer….including the very last portion of my starter. 🙁 I never put anything into the fridge; only freezer. So I probably do need to purchase another starter packet from Cultures for Health. …I first tried this without the starter packet, and just the brown rice flour and water, per your instructions. At the time, I thought it wasn’t working because by day 5 I had no bubbles – nothing. But even with the Cultures for Health packet it actually took 7 full days to get the starter to the point where I could bake bread (in their instructions they say 5 – 7 days). I live in FL where our air conditioning is always on. It says 77 degrees but I think it feels colder than that…to me AND my starter! Hmm…maybe I’ll try the original way (just brown rice flour + water) and turn my temp up to 80 and give it a good week, maybe even two before I decide that it’s not working. I was hesitant to keep it in the oven with the light on because when I open the oven door it feels VERY warm…is there a certain temperature that would be too hot that it could kill your starter??
It is definitely a lot. Yeast definitely needs a warm environment to be active. I suspect it is fine to move your starter to the counter…see how it does so you don’t have to keep the oven light on any longer. Just feed it and see how it does.
Hi Sandi, I’m going to use the sour dough starter you used. Is this a powder or a liquid? Do you add brown rice and water to the starter? Also, when do you switch over from brown rice? I will be using King Arthur 1:1 GF flour.
Thank you!
Suzanne Charles
Hi Suzanne, The Cultures for Health is a powder, or granulated. Follow the directions that comes with it for the first few days.
Hi! I am on Day 3. I used brown rice flour and filtered water. I followed your recipe to a T, except, used dough container, rather than glass jar/bowl? I live in south Florida, so kept in my kitchen bay window, no direct sunlight. My kitchen isn’t exactly warm? We have the AC blowing so my home is definitely at a comfortable 75 degrees! Should I move it closer to the stove or oven?? Towel attached to top with rubber band. It has slight bubbles, no hootch, smells fine, but definitely hasn’t started to “grow”?? It still looks like pancake batter. Is it ok? Do I continue to feed it 3 times a day with a 1:1 ratio??
Hi Meghna, If you are starting to see bubbles and you don’t smell an off smell, it is fine. My guess it is a little slower given the air conditioning. I would continue to feed it 3x a day until it is getting pretty bubbly. You can discard some so the container doesn’t get too full. I wouldn’t use the discard in a recipe because it isn’t established yet.
Thanks so much Sandi! I have never tried to make Sourdough before so I am completely new at this! It’s been 2 more days so now starting Day 5 and still nothing!! It looks the same as day 3. I feed it 3 times a day with Brown Rice flour and filtered water. It’s now started to gain a little hootch that I pour off every time I feed it, but it smells and looks fine, like thick pancake batter, but little to no bubbles and no “growth”/expansion or whatever it’s called! It sits in my kitchen window sill with no direct sunlight, covered with a cheesecloth in a 4qt restaurant grade plastic dough container. So plenty of space to grow!
Hi Meghna, I am worried it isn’t growing, and I think it is too cold if you are running the air conditioning. Can you put it in the oven with an oven light on to keep it warmer?
I am on day 3. Do I still feed it 1 TBSP flour and water days 3-5?
Hi Pam, Please give me a bit more info so I can help. What does your starter look like, how are you keeping it warm, and what flour or blend are you using to feed it? Did you use Cultures from Health or are you starting it from scratch?