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This flavorful loaf of gluten free sourdough bread is made with the simplest homemade gluten free sourdough starter. Once your starter is ready, you can make and bake your loaf the same day!
After writing a whole book on gluten free bread baking, I simplified the sourdough process down to mixing the dough, letting it rise, and baking it in a few hours. There's no complicated schedule to worry about, either.
“The texture is like real (gluten) bread — soft and spongy with a firm crust. This has become my go-to recipe for making bread routinely. I haven’t bought any gluten-free bread since discovering this recipe!”
my take
Nicole's Recipe Notes
This gluten free sourdough recipe and our simplified gluten free sourdough starter are not a deep dive into all things sourdough. Instead, we're keeping it super simple with a 2-ingredient starter, and a 7-ingredient bread (including salt and sugar).
Think of it more like a workhorse kind of white bread that's great for lunches. In my bread book, GFOAS Bakes Bread, I have a whole chapter on wild yeast sourdough recipes and we go deep.
Here, the rules are a little relaxed, the process takes less work, and you still get a yeasty, tangy loaf of sourdough bread after a single day of baking (and about 20 minutes of active time).
If you have commercial yeast on hand and you need a loaf of bread today, I recommend our simplest gluten free bread recipe. But if you can be patient, sourdough bread baking is worth the time.
Expert tips
- Keep it simple. If you've been confused by sourdough starters in the past, stick with me. All that matters is that you can use the right ingredients combined in the right way, and judge when the bread is risen enough for baking.
- What's a starter? A sourdough starter is a fermented mixture of flour and water that captures and cultivates yeast from the flour and the surrounding air. It's different from commercial yeast you buy in the store, which is a single, isolated strain of yeast.
- Do you have a starter? If you've come here from our gluten free sourdough starter recipe (a mixture of gluten free flour and water), you're more than halfway there. If not, create your starter, then come back in 5 to 10 days.
- Get your starter ready to use. If your starter is active, but hasn't been fed within the last 8 to 10 hours, feed it first. Discard 1/3 of the volume, mix in 4 fluid ounces spring or distilled water (tap water has chlorine that could kill the yeast) and 70 grams gum-free gluten free flour or another gluten free flour blend without xanthan gum with a non-metal spoon or spatula, close the lid loosely, and let it sit for about 2 hours or until bubbling again.
Ingredients & substitutions
Sourdough starter
This recipe is written to use the flour and water sourdough starter recipe on this blog, which is a very wet starter, with a a “hydration ratio” of 160%. For every 1 gram of flour, there are 1.6 grams of water.
To try making this recipe using a different sourdough starter, you must rebalance the amount of water to flour in the starter.
For example, if your starter has equal parts gluten free flour and water (a 100% hydration ratio), add some water (or more milk) to increase the hydration. Instead of the 165 grams of starter called for in this recipe, try 100 grams of that equal-parts water-and-flour-starter and 65 grams of water in this recipe.
Dairy free
Milk and butter add richness and tenderness to the bread. If you're dairy free, the milk can be replaced with unsweetened and unflavored nondairy milk (my favorite is almond milk). For the butter, try a vegan butter alternative like Melt or Miyoko's Creamery brand or Earth Balance buttery sticks, not oil.
Tapioca starch/flour
All of my recommended all purpose gluten free flour blends already contain tapioca starch/flour as an ingredient. This bread rises much better and has a softer, more tender crumb when you add more tapioca starch to the loaf.
You can make the recipe with 3 1/2 cups (490 grams) all purpose gluten free flour, though, but it's a better bread with 3 cups all purpose and added tapioca starch.
tools to use
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale: Measuring everything by weight, not by volume, for the starter and everything else, will give you predictable results the first time, and every time. This simple Escali scale is great; nothing fancy needed.
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment: Creating a smooth dough that rises well works best with a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. If you don't have one, you can pulse the dough a few times in a large food processor (a plastic blade is ideal). You can also try mixing really hard by hand with a Danish dough whisk.
- Loaf pan: You don't need a fancy Banetton basket for this loaf. A standard loaf pan works great. You could also bake this loaf in a hot Dutch oven for a crispier crust. Just shape the dough with wet hands into a dome on a small piece of parchment paper, heat the Dutch oven, place the loaf inside on the paper and bake.
How to make gluten free sourdough bread
Make the raw dough
Once your starter is ready for baking, making the bread is quick and easy. Whisk together the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer (gluten free flour blend including xanthan gum, add tapioca starch, some sugar and salt), add the wet ingredients (sourdough starter, milk, and butter), and beat with the paddle until very well combined.
Let it rise, then bake
Transfer the raw bread dough to a prepared loaf pan, and smooth the top. Cover and let rise until it's about 50% bigger than when it started. It won't double, and rising will take at least 3 hours, and up to 6 hours or more.
Cut a 1/4-inch deep slit down the middle of the risen loaf and bake at 400°F for 30 minutes, then finish baking at 350°F. The internal temperature will be at least 200°F when it's done.
Let cool on a wire rack, then slice the loaf and serve!
Gluten Free Sourdough Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or try pulsing in a food processor)
- Glass jar for starter with loose-fitting or cloth lid
- Nonreactive (no metal) spoon or spatula silicone, plastic, wood all work
Ingredients
- 3 cups (420 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- 3 teaspoons xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- 9 tablespoons (68 g) tapioca starch/flour
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons (9 g) kosher salt
- ¾ cup (165 g) gluten free wild yeast sourdough starter, fed within previous 12 hours (See Recipe Notes)
- 1 ½ cups (12 fluid ounces) warm milk, (about 95°F), plus more by the tablespoon
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Melted butter, for brushing on top to help browning (optional)
Instructions
- Grease a standard 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Set the pan aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer fitted with dough hooks, place the all purpose flour, xanthan gum, tapioca starch/flour, granulated sugar, and salt, and mix or whisk to combine well.
- Add the starter, 1 1/2 cups of milk, and the butter, and beat on medium speed to combine. This is a batter-style bread dough, so it won’t resemble traditional bread dough, but rather a soft cookie dough.
- Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat until the dough has taken on a whipped appearance (about 5 minutes). The dough should be tacky to the touch, but should hold its shape when scooped.
- If your dough feels at all dry to the touch, add more milk by the tablespoon, beating it in until well-combined, until the dough reaches the proper consistency.
- Transfer the bread dough to the prepared loaf pan. Using a moistened spatula, press the dough into every corner of the loaf pan and spread the top into an even layer.
- For a more traditional loaf shape, pile the dough a bit more toward the center in a dome.
- Cover the loaf pan with lightly oiled plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm, draft-free place until it’s reached about 150% of its original size, at least 4 hours. It will not fully double in volume, and will rise more in the oven than it does raw.
- Even traditional yeast bread dough will take longer to rise properly in colder, drier weather and less time in warmer, more humid weather.
- This wild yeast sourdough bread will take longer to rise than any other, and will depend in part upon the age of your starter.
- This bread dough is much less likely to overproof and take on that pock-marked appearance than bread made with conventional yeast. If you’re unsure about whether the bread has proofed enough, allow it to keep rising.
- When the bread is nearing the end of its rise, preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Remove the plastic wrap and, using a sharp knife or lame, slash the top of the loaf from one short end to the other about 1/4-inch deep.
- Brush the top of the risen loaf generously with melted butter before baking as an optional step to aid the loaf in browning.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and allow to bake for 30 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temp to 350°F, rotate the pan 180° around, and continue to bake until center of the loaf reads 200°F on an instant read thermometer (about 30 minutes more).
- The crust may not darken as much as you expect, but the loaf should sound hollow when thumped quickly with a finger.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow the bread to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.
- To freeze the bread, cool the loaf completely, then slice, wrap tightly and freeze the slices. Defrost as many slices at a time as you need in the toaster.
Video
Notes
- Discard 1/3 of the volume
- Mix in 4 fluid ounces spring or distilled water and 70 grams gum-free gluten free flour or another gluten free flour blend without xanthan gum (Nicole's Best works great) with a non-metal spoon or spatula.
- Close the lid loosely
- Let it sit for about 2 hours or until bubbling again
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
FAQs
This recipe is for a batter-style bread, not our bread recipes that call for the more complex gluten free bread flour so it has only one rise. It produces an everyday, but flavorful loaf of bread with a crisp crust and a soft crumb.
This rise takes quite a bit of time. In all of my recipe testing, I'm yet to see a rise that took less than 3 hours, and have even let it rise for 8 hours without overproofing.
If you’re unsure about whether or not the bread has proofed enough, allow it to keep rising.
The dough should rise to about 150% of its original size when it's done proofing. That means that it should be 50% bigger than when it started. Unlike conventional bread, this loaf will not double in size, or rise to 200% its original size.
Yes, since this recipe rises so slowly without overproofing, you can make the dough before bedtime, shape it in the loaf pan, cover the pan, and set it to rise during the night. When you wake up, bake the loaf and enjoy. You can also start the process in the morning, let it rise and bake about an hour before dinnertime.
Try using 20 grams of psyllium husk powder instead of adding xanthan gum and instead of an all purpose gluten free flour with xanthan gum already added.
Yes. All yeast bread takes longer to rise in cool, dry environments than in moist, wet environments, but it will rise. Just be sure you've covered the dough as it rises so it doesn't dry out, and be patient while it rises, however long it takes.
Yes, the sugar helps feed the yeast. Instead of using granulated sugar, you can use half as much honey, though, if you prefer.
make ahead/leftovers
Storage instructions
Fresh homemade bread is always best the day it's baked. Once cool, you can wrap this loaf tightly in plastic wrap and it will stay fresh at room temperature for 1 to 2 days.
For longer storage, you can wrap it tightly unsliced, or slice it and place it in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag and freeze the bread for up to 2 months. Remove as much air as possible from the bag, since air creates freezer burn. Defrost the whole loaf to slice if unsliced, or defrost by the slice in the toaster oven.
Refresh bread that's begun to go stale by sprinkling it with lukewarm water and baking in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes. It will taste fresh as the day it was baked.
Which hand made blend of yours do you recommend for this bake? Thx
Hi, Lisa, the best, most versatile blend to make, I think, is the mock Better Batter blend. It would work perfectly here. :)
I’m in the uk and can’t get the flour brands you mention is Doves farm flour ok to use please?
Hi, Paula, I have tried Dove’s plain gluten free flour, and haven’t liked it, I’m afraid. If you’re willing, I recommend you make my “mock Better Batter blend” and use that with component flours.
This is our go to recipe for GF sourdough bread! It’s so moist and soft the first day. However, it dries out SO MUCH between the day it’s baked and the following days. Any tips for storage to help it keep its squishy goodness? We currently wait 4+ hours to cook/cut and then store in a plastic Ziplock bag. Thank you for this recipe and feedback!
Hi, Kenzie,so glad you enjoy the sourdough bread so much! I’m surprised that you’ve found it dries out that much after the first day. Homemade bread is always best the first day, but it shouldn’t be completely dry the next day. What all purpose gluten free flour blend are you using? If it doesn’t contain much (or any) xanthan gum, it will dry out much more quickly. Or if you’re using another gluten replacer, like psyllium husk, that will also happen after day 1. I can tell you that I don’t recommend refrigerating homemade bread ever (since that tends to be drying, even if the bread is wrapped tightly). If you’re storing it in a ziploc bag that contains air (and not squeezing out the air), that will also contribute to drying out. I always recommend slicing and freezing whatever you don’t use the first couple days. To refresh any baked goods (including bread) that have begun to dry out, douse with water and refresh in a 300°F oven until warm throughout. I hope that’s helpful!
Hi. I am trying to make bread for my daughter who has been taken off gluten, refined sugars, yeast, corn, mushrooms, oats, etc. I notice most of your recipes call for a stand mixer with a bread attachment. Am I able to make these recipes without the standup mixer and bread wand? Also, I ordered your flour, so I have that on hand, am I able to use that flour for these recipes or do I need to order the other flour you recommend?
Thank you for any help you may offer.
Hi, Debbie, it’s so hard to make a smooth bread dough without a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, but you can try using a large food processor and pulsing the dough just enough to make a smooth dough. You have to be really careful not to overprocess the dough and heat it. For the sourdough starter, you do should use one or some of the single whole grain flours indicated, but you can really just make it using brown rice flour (and it doesn’t need to be finely ground, really, since it’s soaking quite a bit). For the all purpose gluten free flour blend, you can absolutely use Nicole’s Best (and you can always use that in every recipe of mine that calls for an all purpose gluten free flour blend, without exception), but be sure to add 3 teaspoons of xanthan gum since my blend doesn’t contain any. You’ll still need to add the additional tapioca starch as an ingredient, regardless of the all purpose gluten free flour blend you use. I hope that’s all helpful—and thank you for giving Nicole’s Best a try!
I previously tried making sourdough bread (boule style) with basically zero success. I made glorified gummy bricks that were inedible. Because of those previous experiences, I didn’t want to waste expensive gluten-free flour or my time making another failure. Then I happened to come across this recipe, and it seemed less complicated than the others, so I figured I’d give it a try. Oh, my goodness! After baking the loaf and allowing it to cool completely, I was pleasantly surprised! The texture was like real (gluten) bread — soft and spongy with a firm crust. This has become my go-to recipe for making bread routinely. I haven’t bought any gluten-free bread since discovering this recipe.
I’m so happy to hear that, Patty! The thing with sourdough bread is that the rise time is extremely variable, and often people just get understandably tired of waiting. If you’re willing to go through the steps and wait, you will be rewarded—like you were!
Could you use buttermilk in this recipe?
Hi, Linda, I’m afraid you can’t use buttermilk and milk interchangeably, no. Buttermilk has considerably less moisture than milk, and the bread would be dense. If you were able to dilute the buttermilk with milk to match the consistency and moisture content of milk, you might be able to, but it would be hard to tell and you risk a loaf that doesn’t rise for lack of moisture.
Is there another mixer option as I don’t have a stand mixer?
Generally, you really do need a stand mixer because you need a paddle attachment and a handheld mixer doesn’t come with one. You may be able to use a food processor if you only pulse, then scrape and redistribute, then pulse again until smooth. Be careful not to overprocess or you’ll heat the dough.
I’m pretty new to gluten free as my daughter was recently diagnosed with celiac’s. I was gifted a GF sourdough starter that is about 10 years old and well established. I followed this recipe for the first time and flavor wise it turned out amazing! But it was dense and gummy in texture. What did I do wrong?
Hi, Sunnie, I’m afraid the starter that you used likely had a much different moisture content than the starter that I provide instructions for. It’s very hard to sub in one starter for another. Most likely, my starter has a lot more liquid in it.