An easy recipe for gluten-free sourdough starter. With just two ingredients, you can easily create your own gluten-free sourdough starter from scratch. Once the starter is active, use it to make crusty loaves of gluten-free sourdough bread at home!
Weigh the empty glass jar. You’ll refer back to this weight daily so make sure you write the number down and have it near your prep area.
Day 1 First Feed: In the clean and dry glass jar, add 50 grams of brown rice flour and 50 grams of room temperature filtered water. It’s okay if you’re a few grams above or below 50 grams each when doing the daily feedings. The consistency should look like a thin paste that’s a bit thicker than pancake batter. Add a little extra water or flour if needed. Stir well with a wooden spoon, then use the spatula to scrape down the inside of the jar. Place the colored tape or elastic band at the height of the starter. Cover the jar loosely with a clean towel or plastic wrap and set it in a warm location in your home away from direct sunlight.
Day 1 Second Feed (12 hours after Day 1 First Feed): Stir the starter with a wooden spoon. Add an additional 50 grams of brown rice flour and 50 grams of room temperature filtered water. Stir well with a wooden spoon. Use the spatula to scrape down the inside of the jar. Move the colored tape or elastic band to the height of your starter. Cover the jar loosely with a clean towel or plastic wrap and set the jar back in a warm location.
Day 2 First Feed (12 hours after Day 1 Second Feed): Repeat steps of Day 1 Second Feed.
Day 2 Second Feed (12 hours after Day 2 First Feed): Repeat steps of Day 1 Second Feed.
Day 3 First Feed (12 hours after Day 2 Second Feed): Stir the starter with a wooden spoon. Discard all but 100 grams of the starter. This is where your math comes in handy. Let’s say your jar was 730 grams. When you stir and discard all but 100 grams of starter, your food scale should now read approximately 830 grams (730 grams for the jar, plus 100 grams for the starter in it). Now add an additional 50 grams of brown rice flour and 50 grams of room temperature filtered water. Using the math, the 730 jar plus the 100 grams of starter in it plus the 50 grams of additional brown rice flour plus the 50 grams of additional filtered water, the weight of all would now be around 930 grams. Stir well with a wooden spoon. Use the spatula to scrape down the inside of the jar. Move the colored tape or elastic band to the height of your starter. Cover the jar loosely with a clean towel or plastic wrap and set the jar in a warm location in your home.
Day 3 Second Feed (12 hours after Day 3 First Feed): Repeat the steps of Day 3 First Feed.
Day 4 First Feed (12 hours after Day 3 Second Feed): Repeat the steps of Day 3 First Feed.
Day 4 Second Feed (12 hours after Day 4 First Feed): Repeat the steps of Day 3 First Feed.
Day 5 First Feed (12 hours after Day 4 Second Feed): Repeat the steps of Day 3 First Feed.
Day 5 Second Feed (12 hours after Day 5 First Feed): Repeat the steps of Day 3 First Feed.
If you’re seeing good bubbles and a rise in your starter (almost doubling in height between feeds), then move onto Day 6 Feed instructions. If you aren’t seeing a good rise yet, don’t panic! Continue with Day 3 First Feed instructions until you’re seeing bubbling and height in your starter. The amount of time it can take to see a good rise is dependent on a lot of factors, including time of year, temperature inside the home, type of flour used, temperature of water used, etc. Be patient and keep going even if you aren’t seeing a lot of activity yet. If you’re seeing absolutely no activity (no bubbles, still a very loose consistency before feeds) after 5 days, it’s probably time to start over.
Day 6 Feed (24 hours after Day 5 Second Feed): It’s now time to move to once a day feeds. Stir the starter with a wooden spoon. Discard all but 100 grams of the starter. Add an additional 100 grams of brown rice flour and 100 grams of room temperature filtered water. Using the math, the 730 gram jar plus the 100 grams of starter in it plus the 100 grams of additional brown rice flour plus the 100 grams of additional filtered water, the weight of all would now be around 1,030 grams. Stir well with a wooden spoon. Use the spatula to scrape down the inside of the jar. Move the colored tape or elastic band to the height of your starter. Cover the jar loosely with a clean towel or plastic wrap and set back in a warm location.
Day 7 Feed (24 hours after Day 6 Feed): Repeat the steps of Day 6 Feed.
Repeat the steps of Day 6 Feed every 24 hours until you’re seeing the starter double in size within 4 to 6 hours after feeding. It should also have a pleasant, yeasty bread smell. Now, it’s finally ready to use for baking a loaf of gluten-free sourdough! This could take another full 7 days of daily feeds so be patient.
Once your starter is at the maintenance phase, it can be stored in the fridge and will need weekly feedings.
For Weekly Maintenance Feeds: Stir the starter with a wooden spoon. Discard all but 100 grams of the starter. Add an additional 100 grams of brown rice flour and 100 grams of room temperature filtered water. Stir well with a wooden spoon. Use the spatula to scrape down the inside of the jar. Move the colored tape or elastic band to the height of your starter. Cover lightly and place back in the fridge.
Before Baking: Remove the starter from the fridge, let sit at room temperature, feed as normal (100 grams each of starter, flour and filtered water) then let sit for 4 to 6 hours until you see peak rise. If the starter hasn’t peaked within 12 hours, do another feeding (100 grams each of starter, flour and filtered water).
Notes
The amount of flour and filtered water needed for this recipe varies depending on how long it takes to build a strong active sourdough starter. Depending on the time of year, the temperature in your house, and other factors, it could take 2 full weeks to see a good rise in your sourdough starter. This recipe calls for 3 pounds of gluten-free brown rice flour to start, but you may not need all of it.
For the first week, the sourdough starter is going to smell bad. This is normal! As long as there isn’t mold growing in it, it’s still good. It takes at least a week (usually two weeks) before it starts emitting a pleasant, yeasty bread scent.
When you switch from twice a day feedings to once a day feedings, it’s normal for the activity level to decrease. You may see less rise and not as many bubbles. This is normal and usually lasts 2 to 3 days after switching to once a day feedings. Just keep going with the 24 hour feeds and your starter will start to become more active again.
Keep the mouth of your jar, the lid area, and any ridges inside the jar clean. Use a slightly damp clean cloth to wipe the inside of the jar down after every couple of feeds. If you leave old starter to dry out and stick to the inside of the jar, it could be a breeding ground for mold.
To store: Store gluten-free sourdough starter in a clean, covered jar on the countertop in a warm, draft-free spot indefinitely or in the refrigerator for fewer feeds. Do not place this by a window, a door, a cold exterior wall, or in direct sunlight (too much heat will kill the yeast).
Mama says, “Make sure to always check your labels!”