Getting a gluten-free sourdough starter to actually thrive has always been notoriously tricky - until now!
To make the process easier than ever, we enlisted the help of Georgia McDermott, the brilliant recipe developer behind George Eats and an absolute expert in intolerance-friendly baking. Georgia has done a complete deep dive into the world of gluten-free flours, rigorously testing different grains, blends, and starches with our culture so you don't have to!
Below, she breaks down exactly what works, what to avoid, and her top recommendations for keeping your new gluten-free starter happy, healthy, and perfectly bubbly. Enjoy!
- The Sourdough Starter team
What is the best gluten free flour to use for a sourdough starter?
When activating your gluten free sourdough starter, you have a wealth of different flour options. It can be hard to know where to begin with all the different flour varieties available.
First of all, let’s start with what not to feed your sourdough starter. Commercially available gluten free flour blends are not recomended. They are often made predominantly of starches (tapioca flour/starch, cornstarch, glutinous rice flour etc) and contain other ingredients such as xanthan gum and baking powder among other things. Some blends also contain psyllium husk which is fantastic in sourdough baking but not in a sourdough starter.
Even if your blend is all wholegrain gluten free flours without any starches, gums or other ingredients, I don’t recommend this approach. The upkeep will be far more expensive than choosing an individual flour.
This brings us to individual starches. Tapioca flour/starch, cornflour/starch, glutinous rice flour/sticky rice flour (which is distinct from white rice flour), potato starch and cassava flour are not suitable for feeding a starter. The cultures consume the energy much too quickly and the starter will rise and fall rapidly. It is not a sustainable way to maintain a starter and not good for the culture.
For a healthy starter that you can maintain long term, choose a single flour made from a gluten free wholegrain. Some options include fine white rice flour, light buckwheat flour, sorghum flour and quinoa flour.
I tested several gluten free flours with the Sourdough Starter culture -here's what what I found:
#1: White Rice Flour
Finely ground white rice flour was the standout performer in my tests with the Sourdough Starter culture.
Cheap, neutrally flavoured and neutrally coloured, it is what I have fed my original self-cultivated gluten free sourdough starter for years now.
TEST RESULTS
I find that flours with more fibre can produce a sourer tasting starter which creates sourer loaves. White rice flour produces a starter that is more neutral and I prefer to be able to manipulate the sourness of the loaf intentionally rather than having it dictated by the starter.
White rice flour is quite thirsty, so I often find myself feeding the starter with a bit more water to create my ideal paste-like consistency.
SHOPPING TIPS
It’s important to note that rice flour needs to be finely ground and fresh. The variety in the box at the supermarket is too coarsely ground and has a polenta-like consistency. Not only does the coarse grain create a more silty, sluggish starter but it also impacts any loaf you use it in. Stale rice flour also has a musty, floral taste that is overwhelming taste-wise and doesn’t bake out.
So, you need to ensure you are using a finely milled and fresh white rice flour. I recommend health food stores with high turnover and bulk food stores for this
#2: Light Buckwheat Flour
Buckwheat flour (which is naturally gluten free and has no relation to wheat) is interesting in how it performs relative to other gluten free flours. It has a distinct elasticity and stickiness that other gluten free flours do not have.
TEST RESULTS
I tested both light and dark buckwheat flour as food for the sourdough starter. The light buckwheat flour version had the highest initial rise of all gluten free sourdough starters and it had wheat-like bubbly elasticity when I stirred the risen starter.
I transitioned the light buckwheat flour starter to dark buckwheat and found that it produced a more gluey textured starter with moderate rise at best. It also smelt a lot funkier and more sour which will impact recipes you make with it.
A drawback of buckwheat flour is that it tends to grow and fall quicker than a starter made with other flours. In order to keep it more neutral in flavour and acidity, I found I had to feed it more regularly than I did with other flours. Granted, I keep my starter on the bench because I bake frequently, but I found buckwheat really needed feeding twice a day to be happy. This might be less of an issue for those who keep it in the fridge, but it’s worth keeping in mind when timing starter feedings prior to baking.
It also smells funkier which might not be suitable for a beginner baker. It can sometimes be tricky to know whether a smell is normal or abnormal in sourdough baking, so starting with a more neutrally scented flour can aid in your discernment.
SHOPPING TIPS
Buckwheat flour comes in two styles: light and dark. Light buckwheat flour uses buckwheat grains that have been hulled, removing the fibrous outer husks. Dark buckwheat flour uses the grain and husk so it is much higher in fibre.
If you live in Australia or New Zealand, light buckwheat flour is the most common variety. I have rarely seen dark buckwheat flour at the supermarket - it is generally only available at health food stores. However, if you are in the US, the opposite is true! Dark, whole-grain buckwheat flour is the standard in most grocery stores, and you may need to visit a specialty shop to find the light variety.
#3: Sorghum Flour
Sorghum flour is a fantastic flour for gluten free sourdough baking, but it is not my pick for a gluten free starter.
TEST RESULTS:
Although it rose well, I find it created a silty starter that separated. Liquids sunk to the bottom while the thicker floury bits stayed on top.
The loaf that I baked with the sorghum flour starter had a moderate rise but was not as perky as with the white rice flour or buckwheat flour starters.
SHOPPING TIPS:
Sorghum Flour is a little trickier to find in mainstream supermarkets, but you can always find it in a speciality store or online. I buy Bob’s Red Mill brand.
#4: Quinoa Flour
Of all the flours that I tested with the Sourdough Starter cultures, this is probably my least favourite option. It produced a mediocre starter, and the loaf I baked had less of a rise.
TEST RESULTS:
I found that the quinoa starter had a porridge like consistency beyond the first rise. It had quite a funky, sour smell and a bit of an off putting texture.
The bread I made with this starter was OK, but had a more pronounced flavour than the white rice flour starter and less of a rise.
SHOPPING TIPS:
Quinoa flour used to be more readily available in supermarkets but has petered out over time. I suspect this is because it tends to go rancid quite quickly. You can make your own quinoa flour using white quinoa grains and a high-speed food processor, which is what I tested to make a quinoa flour starter.
Gluten Free Sourdough FAQs
Here are the answers to the most common questions we get about baking Gluten Free sourdough with our kits:
To activate your Gluten Free starter, you can follow the same process as detailed in the Activation Guide, with one exception:
I recommend doubling the amount of water and flour, so:
* 100-125g water, to form a thick paste
* 100g gluten free wholegrain flour of choice
You can feed your GF Starter with the same 1:1:1 ratio as we recommend for a standard wheat starter - ie. if you have 100g of starter to begin with, you would feed it by stirring in approx 100g of GF Flour and 100g of water.
You will likely need to discard some starter before you feed it, so you don't end up an excess amount. To work out how much to discard, calculate exactly how much you need for your recipe, plus a little extra (at least 20-30g) to keep in your jar for next time.
Once fed, let your starter sit in a warm spot until it is active, bubbly, and peaked - usually about 4 to 8 hours - before mixing your dough. By feeding only what you need, you avoid the trap of slowly gaining massive amounts of excess starter over time.
If keeping it on the counter:
If you are baking almost every day, keep your starter at room temperature and feed it once a day (or twice if your kitchen is very warm and it peaks quickly).
If keeping it in the fridge:
If you are not intending to bake every day, your sourdough starter is best stored in the fridge. Sourdough is actually very resilient when fed, placed in an airtight container (to prevent the top from drying out), and refrigerated. Common advice says you can leave it without feeding for up to 3 weeks if needed, but I have left my self-cultivated starter in the fridge for a month while on holidays and it was fine!
If you are not on holidays, I recommend feeding it once or twice a week before returning it to the fridge. I feed my starter by removing a few tablespoons of it and then replenishing it with fresh flour and water. This ensures the culture remains healthy and not too acidic. You can use the removed starter in gluten-free sourdough discard recipes.
Preparing to bake:
When keeping a starter in the fridge, you need to bring it out 1-2 days beforehand and feed it generously at least once or twice at room temperature. This will restore its activity and get it ready for baking. I also recommend putting it in a nice warm spot to encourage yeast growth if you are baking in a cooler climate or in winter.
You can, but you will get the best results by sticking to one variety of flour. The wild yeast and bacteria in your starter adapt to the specific nutrients of what they are fed, so chopping and changing your feeding flour regularly can confuse the culture and lead to a sluggish starter.
Consistency is key, but if you do happen to run out of your flour of choice and have nothing to feed it with, by all means, use another gluten-free flour as a stop-gap until you can restock.
Georgia's top tips for GF Sourdough success:
· In my experience, the first two rises of your gluten free sourdough starter are the most dramatic. It can double or even triple before starting to fall again. This is to be expected, so don’t panic! This initial burst is often just early bacterial activity sorting itself out before the true wild yeast takes over. It is completely normal for it to quiet down for a few days after this, so just keep feeding it.
· The smell of your sourdough starter changes based on the flour you use. I find white rice flour to produce the most neutral smell.
· Discarding and feeding is an important part of making sourdough as it keeps the culture strong and healthy. Allowing the culture to acidify and weaken (by leaving it unfed on the bench) can allow bad bacteria to creep in.
· If you are baking in winter, expect things to take more time. Cultures thrive in warm, moist environments so if the outside air is cold and dry, your sourdough culture (and bread) will take longer. Be patient!
Georgia's step-by-step recipe for easy Gluten Free Sourdugh:
Or click below to watch the video!
Easy Gluten Free Sourdough