How to make gluten-free sourdough starter
It takes 10 days, but then it lasts forever.
I never got on the sourdough boat during lockdown. Apparently it would be 2024 before I was ready.
I've read SO many different recipes on how to start a sourdough starter, how to feed it and how to keep it alive.
The recipe I ended up following is from Letthemeatgfcake. I used a different flour, but otherwise pretty much followed her instructions for the ten-day start-up.
Every recipe I read instructed and admonished that under no circumstances can you use a flour mix to start, and that you should use a coarse GF flour. I think they mean whole grain rice, buckwheat or oats. I wanted to try starting with Doves Farm Plain White, which is a mix of rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, corn flour and buckwheat flour. And it turned out just fine, much to my surprise. Unfortunately, the one I started on pure oat flour did not fare as well. So that's my experience.
I feed either the mix from Doves Farm, or rice flour or whole grain rice flour. It's kind of an alternating thing. And my sourdough is living its best life. It turned one month old on July 7, 204 and in the first month I've baked 20+ batches of my delicious, moist, knead-free sourdough buns.
Scroll to the bottom to see step by step how I bake with my sourdough. I have put this in a rather educational way, as I found it difficult to figure out what to do after the ten days when the sourdough is ready.
How to make gluten-free sourdough starter
It takes 10 days, but then it lasts forever.
You’ll need:
A clean glass - I use a patent glass as it's easy to open and close, and easy to use with the lid ajar.
260 g. flour, I used Doves Farm Plain White.
Water.
Patience.
Method:
Day 1 - Add 50 grams of flour and 60 grams of water to your clean glass. Stir to mix. If it's thicker than a thick pancake batter, you can add another 10 grams of water. Leave the jar with the lid ajar for 24 hours at room temperature. You can also use a paper towel to cover the jar.
Day 2 - Add 30 grams of flour and 40 grams of water to what is already in the bowl and stir. Leave the jar with the lid ajar for 24 hours at room temperature.
Day 3 and 4 - Continue with the previous day's feeding (30 grams of flour and 40 grams of water) on both days. Leave the jar with the lid ajar for 24 hours at room temperature on both days.
Day 5 - Now discard about half of the sourdough. It is not necessary to measure. Feed the sourdough starter as usual (30 grams flour and 40 grams water). Leave the jar with the lid ajar for 24 hours at room temperature.
Day 6 - Add 30 grams of flour and 40 grams of water. Cover loosely. Leave the jar with the lid ajar for 24 hours at room temperature.
Day 7 - Discard about half of the pre-dough and add 30 grams of flour and 40 grams of water, Leave the jar with the lid ajar for 24 hours at room temperature.
Day 8 - Add 30 grams of flour and 40 grams of water. Leave the jar with the lid ajar for 24 hours at room temperature.
Day 9 - Discard half and feed with 30 grams of flour and 40 grams of water. Leave the jar with the lid ajar for 24 hours at room temperature.
Day 10 - By now your starter should start to look bubbly and have a tart aroma reminiscent of beer or buttermilk. It shouldn't have any mold on it at any point and it should smell sour, but not bad.
Pay attention to water on top:
If you see liquid on your sourdough, you can either stir it back into the sourdough or pour it out before feeding it. Stirring it back in can give the sourdough a stronger flavor, while pouring it out can give a milder flavor.
The liquid must be clear, grayish, slightly brownish. The liquid should NOT be orange, greenish, pink - this is a sign that the sourdough has developed harmful bacteria or mold. In this case, you should discard the entire sourdough starter as it is not safe to use.
Storage:
If you don't bake often, it's a good idea to keep your sourdough starter in the fridge. I learned from my friend's mom that it's good to put a piece of foil right down to the sourdough before closing the lid and putting it in the fridge. It helps to prevent it from molding, I think. At least it works for me.
Don't worry if your sourdough separates a bit, leaving liquid at the top. This liquid is often called "hooch" and is a by-product of the fermentation process.
Prepare your sourdough for baking:
Take your sourdough starter out of the fridge. Remove 50g of sourdough starter and put it in a tall glass or measuring cup with lines so you can see it growing.
I make my sourdough active using the 1:1:1 principle. This means that if I've taken 50g of sourdough starter, I feed it with 50g of flour and 50g of water. I leave this at room temperature until it bubbles and roughly doubles in size (at least until it is half the size). This takes about 2-6 hours.
Then the sourdough is ready to be baked with.
How to feed it:
The way I remember it is that I give my sourdough starter what I take from it. That is, if I take 50 grams of sourdough starter, I add 25 grams of flour and 25 grams of water. I stir this in and leave the sourdough starter at room temperature for about 24 hours. Then I cover it with film, close the lid and put it back to sleep in the fridge.
The way I do it:
If I have to bake my amazing gluten-free sourdough buns, and I often do! Here's how I do it in terms of time:
In the evening, I take my sourdough out of the fridge. I remove the film and leave the lid ajar overnight on the kitchen counter.
The next morning I follow the step "bake with your sourdough". Also remember the step "feed your sourdough" to keep the old one alive.
Over dinner, when the sourdough starter is ready, I make the dough for my cold-raised buns. Either in the evening or the next morning I bake the buns. A long process, but very little work and the most delicious buns come out of it.
Enjoy.
