My gluten-free sourdough starter. How I have converted a starter to gluten free and how I use and manage it!
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Y’all, I am no expert at all.
At all!
I kinda have just fumbled through having a sourdough starter over the years. I know no technical rules – I don’t weigh anything – I don’t really even measure anything.
But it seems to be working out for me.
Because my gluten free sourdough starter is as happy and bubbly as can be!
I get asked constantly about it over on my instagram page, so I thought I’d put it all to a post so I can refer people with questions over here!
I used to do an einkorn starter until I found out that I’m so gluten intolerant that I can’t even handle an ancient grain like einkorn. *insert crying face*
So I took a bit of a break from sourdough for awhile. But that just wasn’t working for me. We love sourdough around here.
I have also tried several times to start my own sourdough from scratch, but it dies every time. I think its much harder to start it when its gluten free.
That’s when I decided that I would just convert a regular starter to gluten free.
Converting your starter
If you keep using it and keep replacing what you took with gluten free flour, it will eventually become pretty much fully gluten free. I didn’t eat it for about the first 6 months while it was being really well converted, I just still baked with it for my family though because they aren’t gluten intolerant.
First, I got a really healthy, well-established starter from my friend Catherine.
Then literally all I did was start feeding it gluten free flour. Currently I use Bob’s red mill 1-to-1 baking flour, while I don’t have time to mix my own freshly milled grains (someday!). I’ve got the grain mill, but not the time or energy.
Caring for your starter
I don’t measure my flour and water. I just aim to about double the starter that was already there. So I take some starter out to use, either using up discard on something like flatbread, or making a new 24-hour ferment like bread.
Then I add back in GF flour and some filtered water. I’m aiming to get it to about a “pancake batter” consistency. No measuring, just try to double it, and make it like pancake batter. Easy peasy.
Frequently asked questions
Q: The gluten free starter seems to be thicker than normal once it’s fermented, is that normal?
A: Yes, it is a little different of a consistency, being gluten free. After mine is fermented the top of it is a little thicker than the bottom half, but you can stir it back up into that “pancake batter” consistency. So it’s never been something I’ve worried about. It’s still bubbly and healthy even with the difference in texture.
Q: Do you feed it daily?
A: Yes we feed it daily while we need it. Right now it’s been a couple months of feeding it pretty much daily. When we want to take a break though I’ll give it a fresh feeding and pop it in the refrigerator and it’ll be fine in there for quite awhile.
Q: What flour do you use to make your bread dough?
A: Same as for the starter…Bob’s red mill 1-to-1 baking flour
Q: How do you get it so bubbly? I’ve been working at it for 3 months and it doesn’t grow at all after feeding it!
A: It took longer than my regular sourdough starter did. It was several months of feeding consistently before it started getting very bubbly. A couple things to consider… Make sure you’re feeding enough, you want to double the starter that is already there. If you end up with “hooch” (the liquid on the top) before 24 hours are up and it’s time for another feeding, then that means the starter is hungry. Don’t skip any days, when it’s weak it can’t handle being forgotten about as easily as when its really strong.
Q: Do we treat it like a normal starter (recipe wise) for like muffins or cinnamon rolls?
A: Yes, I do. Because I use the 1-to-1 baking flour I just sub the starter and flour in recipes 1-to-1. It makes it really easy. The texture won’t be exactly how you’re used to, especially for breads it can be difficult, but so far it’s worked well enough for us!
Q: What is your bread recipe?
A: I will work on another post soon with my bread recipe, it’s not perfect, but we definitely enjoy it! Sign up for my email list to be notified of new posts.
Q: Are the measurements different than regular sourdough? ie the flour/water/starter
A: Ya know, if you are the type to be super precise about this, weighing it out to the exact gram, then yes maybe. But even when I did regular sourdough I would add flour and water until I got a certain consistency (pancake batter), and it doesn’t really seem to be much different with gluten free.
Q: What jar or other supplies do you use for your sourdough?
I use the weck jars without the rubber seal, it works really well to just set the glass lid on top so it’s not airtight but it keeps the dust out.
I use the thin wooden spatula for stirring the starter (it’s ideal to not use metal if you can), this wooden bench scraper for bread making, these bread baskets for fermenting the loaves, and this bread lame, all from Ballerina Farm.
Check out some of my sourdough recipes:
And there ya go! That’s how I converted and care for my gluten-free sourdough starter!
And beannachdan (blessings)!
Pin it for later!
I’m new to sourdough “stuff” and I’m not really understanding about “feeding daily”. Here’s my thought – you start with a jar, put in flour and water and let it set. Next day, you had flour and water and let it set. How big of a jar do you need – what do you do with too much starter if you can’t use it for a while. I want to have gluten “free” because I’m allergic to wheat and so if I can’t use it for a while, do I throw away some?
Please help