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A cut slice of gluten-free sourdough showing an open crumb, leaning against a jar of bubbling gluten-free starter with a flour canister behind

Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread

A gluten-free sourdough boule with real structure, built on a psyllium gel instead of gluten. Baked in a Dutch oven with an overnight cold proof that finally makes it possible to score. Plan on 8 to 18 hours start to finish, depending on your kitchen and your starter.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Fermenting and cold proof 7 hours
Total Time 8 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Course: Bread
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 cups warm water
  • 2 1/2 tbsp psyllium husk powder
  • 1 3/4 cups certified gluten-free oat flour
  • 3/4 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/2 cup tapioca starch
  • 1/4 cup potato starch
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup active gluten-free sourdough starter
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey

Method
 

  1. Whisk the warm water and the psyllium husk powder together and let it stand 5 to 10 minutes, until it is thick and gelatinous.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the oat flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch and salt. Mix thoroughly.
  3. Add the active starter, the psyllium gel, the olive oil and the honey to the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. The dough should be soft, slightly sticky and cohesive. It holds together, but it is not as firm as wheat bread dough.
  4. Let the dough rest 15 to 20 minutes so the psyllium and the flours can absorb the water. Do not add flour before this rest. After resting, if it is still so loose it will not hold a mound, add oat flour one tablespoon at a time until it is shapeable.
  5. Wet your hands and gently form the dough into a round boule, smoothing the surface with wet hands. You want a smooth outside, not a tight one.
  6. Place the boule seam side down into a generously rice-floured banneton, or a bowl lined with a rice-floured tea towel. I have had the best luck wetting a piece of parchment paper, laying the smooth loaf on the damp parchment, and setting that into a bowl.
  7. Cover and let it rise at room temperature for 3 to 6 hours. Do not wait for it to double. You want it noticeably puffier, lighter, slightly aerated, and a little jiggly when you move the bowl.
  8. Once it has visibly fermented, cover and refrigerate 4 to 12 hours. Cold dough is much easier to score and decorate.
  9. Place a Dutch oven with its lid inside the oven and preheat to 450F for at least 45 minutes.
  10. Take the cold dough out of the refrigerator and turn it onto parchment paper. Dust the surface lightly with rice flour. Score it with a bread lame or a sharp razor. Make one main expansion score about a quarter inch deep and keep any decorative cuts shallower. That gives the loaf a controlled place to expand and helps prevent random cracking.
  11. Carefully transfer the loaf and its parchment into the hot Dutch oven. Cover and bake at 450F for 30 minutes.
  12. Remove the lid, reduce the oven to 400F, and bake another 30 to 35 minutes. For an extra crisp crust, take the loaf out of the Dutch oven for the last 5 to 10 minutes and set it directly on the oven rack.
  13. Transfer to a cooling rack and let it cool at least 4 hours before slicing. Gluten-free sourdough needs that time for the interior to finish setting.

Notes

The starter: This needs an active gluten-free starter, one built and fed with gluten-free flour. A wheat starter will not do, and neither will a wheat starter you have been feeding gluten-free flour for a week.
Do not add flour early. The dough is supposed to feel wetter than wheat dough. Let it rest the full 15 to 20 minutes before you decide it needs more flour, because most of the time it does not.
Do not wait for it to double. Gluten-free sourdough will not. Puffier, lighter and a little jiggly is the whole target, and waiting past that will overferment it.
The cold proof is what lets you score it. You can bake it the same day, but room temperature dough drags under the blade and you will not get a clean cut.
Cool it four hours. This is not a suggestion. The interior finishes setting as it cools, and a warm slice will be gummy in the middle.
Storing it: Cut side down on a board for two or three days. It slices best on day one and toasts beautifully after that.