Gluten-Free Whole Grain Sourdough Bread

This homemade gluten-free whole grain sourdough bread is crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. It is perfect for toast, sandwiches, or French Toast. It is made with simple ingredients, including my gluten free whole grain flour blend, sourdough starter, salt, and purified water. I walk you through every step to make this artisan whole grain loaf with plenty of photos and expert tips.

I have been working on creating gluten free sourdough recipes again, and it has been so nice to eat a slice of crusty sourdough bread each morning with breakfast. This whole grain loaf has been my favorite so far because it has a little more substance and flavor. You can taste buckwheat, sorghum, and millet flours, and they add a slightly nutty flavor.

This bread recipe assumes you have an active sourdough starter on hand. If you do not have an active starter, please refer to my How to Make a Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter post to get started. A starter is easy to make, and you should be able to bake with it in a couple of weeks.

If you would like a non-whole-grain version, my Gluten-Free Sourdough Artisan Bread is a great loaf. See all of my gluten-free sourdough recipes for more baking inspiration. I also have many non-sourdough, gluten-free bread recipes to try.

Ingredient Notes and Easy Swaps:

For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.

• Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with my homemade gluten-free whole grain flour blend. This flour blend works in yeast recipes, and you get consistent results using it. At the time of testing, the only commercially available whole-grain gluten-free flour blend, Cup4Cup Wholesome, consistently lists whole grains (rather than primarily rice or starches). I plan to test that blend in this recipe in the future, but for now, this loaf is made with my homemade whole-grain blend. Every blend varies, so if you use a different blend, you may need to adjust the dough moisture levels by adding more flour or water. Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more about this.
• Binder – I used psyllium husks to bind and improve the texture in this recipe. Some brands will turn your bread purple, so I recommend using Anthony’s Psyllium Husks. Don’t use the powder because it will not give the bread the same texture. Learn Why Binders are Important in Gluten-Free Baking.
• Sourdough Starter – See my notes above. You need an active gluten free sourdough starter to make this recipe.
• Salt – I used sea salt, which balances the whole grain flavors.
• Purified Water – Do not use tap water when baking with sourdough or yeast. The chlorine can inhibit the yeast growth, which affects the rise of the bread.

How to Make Gluten Free Whole Grain Sourdough Bread (Step-By-Step)

Make the psyllium gel. Add 16.5 grams of psyllium husks to 1 cup of purified water. Stir and then let it sit for 5 minutes until a gel forms. If you haven’t mixed up my gluten free whole grain flour blend yet, use a digital scale to measure the grains and starches now.

Step 1: Add the psyllium gel, 1 1/2 cups of purified water, flour, sourdough starter, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Attach the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed, then gradually increase the speed. You want the dough to hit the sides of the mixer bowl for 30 seconds.

Step 2: You will notice the dough pulling away from the mixer bowl sides. Remove the dough from the bowl and slide it onto a flour-dusted silicone mat.

Step 3: Use your palm to flatten the dough into a rectangle. Fold up each side and then fold the dough in half. Shape into a rectangle or a circle, depending on the banneton you plan to use. If you do not have a banneton, use a mixing bowl. I like this oval banneton for this recipe, so it can be sliced for sandwiches easily.

Step 4: If using a banneton, dust a little flour along the sides and bottom to prevent the dough from sticking. Place the dough in the banneton. Cover with plastic wrap or a disposable shower cap. I prefer a shower cap because it retains moisture and prevents the dough from drying out during a long rise time.

Step 5: The time to rise the dough will vary, as I explained in my testing notes. I rose my dough on the counter overnight, from about 6 pm until 8 am the next morning. It is winter, and we keep the house around 65ºF at night. Sourdough rises a lot more slowly than yeast.

If you are rising in a warmer spot or a bread proofing box, your rise time will be a lot shorter than mine. You want to see the dough double in size. Do not rush the rise, as this is when the bread gets air bubbles that make it fluffier inside.

Step 6: When the dough has doubled in size, preheat the oven to 450ºF. I do not own an oval-shaped Dutch oven, so I baked this bread in a cast-iron skillet. Make sure the baking pan you use is heat-resistant.

Place two cast-iron skillets in the oven. One on the bottom rack and one on the middle rack. The bottom one will be used to make steam; the other is preheating, and you will add the dough to the preheated pan when the oven reaches 450ºF.

Step 7: When the oven is ready, place a piece of parchment paper on the counter. Gently invert the banneton over it so the dough drops out onto the parchment paper. Use a bread lame to slice a slit across the dough.

Step 8: Now you want to be quick. Put on pot holders and slide the shelf with the top pan out so you can put the dough onto the pan. Next, quickly drop 5 ice cubes into the lower pan and shut the oven door. This will make steam to help you get that crusty outside of the bread.

Step 9: Bake for 15 minutes at 450ºF, then reduce the temperature to 425ºF. Bake for 35-40 additional minutes. Use a digital thermometer to check the internal temperature of the bread. You want it to be 210ºF.

Step 10: Remove the bread from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Do not slice the bread until it is fully cooled, which can take 2-3 hours. The inside of the bread continues to set while the loaf cools.

Tips For Success:

• Do not feed your sourdough starter before making the recipe. You want it to be hungry so it starts to activate the dough.
• Use purified water only. Do not use tap water.
• No matter how tempting, do not cut the bread before it has cooled.

Frequently Asked Questions:

More Gluten-Free Sourdough Recipes:

• Gluten-Free Cheddar Sourdough Boule
• Gluten-Free Artisan Cranberry Raisin Sourdough Bread
• Homemade Gluten-Free Artisan Sourdough
• Gluten-Free Sourdough Sandwich Bread