The Best and Easiest Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread

By Jennifer H Dewitt September 30, 2021 5 mins read 341 Views

No kneading, no stretching or folding, no gumminess, no eggs, no loaves that are as hard as a rock…This gluten-free sourdough is the best and the easiest you’ll try! Mix all ingredients until combined, transfer the mix to a parchment-paper-lined bread pan, wait 8 hours for it to rise, and then bake. It’s a very hands-off process that only requires a little patience. With this gluten-free recipe, you will get that delicious sourdough texture and flavor without any trouble.

The Best and Easiest Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread

Skip the boule shape. It’s not worth it.

Seriously, do not bother. It’s a waste of time and a waste of expensive GF flour. There is no gluten to hold GF bread together, so it is impossible to get a good rise and inner texture while creating a boule shape. I tested three recipes that I developed and tried two other people’s GF sourdough boule recipes… Same result each time: a dense loaf with a crust that is as hard as a brick. I literally cut my knuckle open on the crust while trying to slice one of the loaves.

I tried using different flours, different baking temperatures, different baking times. But there was one problem with the boule recipe: the flour to water ratio. Here’s the thing, though. If you increase the water content, the dough is too wet and impossible to shape because there is no gluten to hold it together. The fix is simple: use a loaf pan.

Can Gluten-Free Flour Rise with Yeast?

Yes, gluten-free flour can rise with packaged yeast or with wild yeast in a sourdough starter. And with the right bread recipe, the rise is beautiful!

Here’s the thing about gluten-free flour rising with yeast, though: you MUST shape the bread before allowing it to rise. This is NOTHING like glutinous bread dough. There is no punch-down, no stretching or folding, no pre-shaping then shaping. There is one rise and one rise only.

This is why I chose the loaf-pan method for our gluten-free sourdough bread recipe. It allows for a higher water content and no need to try and shape something that includes no gluten to hold everything together.

Equipment you need for this recipe

For this recipe you only need a few things:

a kitchen scale
a large mixing bowl
parchment paper
a 9×5 inch loaf pan

Ingredients for Making Gluten-Free Sourdough

If you change any of the flours used in this recipe you will get different baking results. If you want your bread to turn out like mine, you must use the flours I used in the ratios I used.

Here’s all the ingredients you need for this easy recipe:

gluten-free sourdough starter
water
salt
Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour
brown rice flour
sorghum flour

IMPORTANT Tips for Cutting this Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread

Immediately remove the loaf from the hot pan after baking.
Let it cool for 4 to 6 hours at room temperature on a cooling rack after baking.
After cooling, place the loaf into an air-tight bag and let it sit in there for a few hours or overnight (this helps soften the outside a little before cutting).
TURN THE LOAF UPSIDE DOWN TO CUT IT INTO SLICES. I cannot stress this enough; it makes cutting so easy. Use a straight, smooth knife to cut it. Do not use a serrated bread knife.

a loaf of gluten-free sourdough that has been sliced

How to Eat Gluten-Free Sourdough

This gluten-free sourdough texture is ever-so-slightly moist on the inside. The slices are 10/10, five stars, delicious when toasted. If you want a quality slice of GF bread, DO NOT skip throwing those slices in the toaster for a couple minutes.