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Best Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread

This is not a weekend project — it's a 24-hour labor of love. But if you've been searching for a gluten-free sourdough that actually has a crackly crust, a chewy interior, and real sourdough tang, this is it. No compromise, no cardboard texture, no sad loaf.
The secret is in the combination of flours — oat, sorghum, tapioca, and brown rice — plus psyllium husk and flaxseed meal, which do the work that gluten normally would. The result is two beautiful boules that nobody will believe are gluten-free.
Plan ahead. The dough needs 24 hours to proof, but your hands-on time is minimal. Read the recipe all the way through before you start — it will save you a headache.
Prep Time1 day 3 hours
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 day 4 hours
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Gluten-Free
Diet: Gluten Free
Keyword: Bread
Servings: 2 loaves or boules
Author: Shelly

Ingredients

STEP 1 - SOURDOUGH MIXTURE PROOFING

  • 1 cup sourdough starter
  • 1 cup superfine brown rice flour
  • 1 cup filtered water

STEP 2 - making the dough - 24 hours later

  • 2 cups oat flour
  • 1 cup tapioca starch
  • 1 cup sorghum or buckwheat flour
  • 3 teaspoons Himalayan salt
  • ¼ cup psyllium husk powder
  • ¼ cup flaxseed meal
  • 2 cups filtered water *If using oat flour add only 1+½ cups water

Instructions

  • SOURDOUGH MIXTURE PROOFING - Put the starter in a medium ceramic or glass bowl (not plastic or metal). Add the rice flour and water and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set the bowl at room temperature, ideally at 70-75F / 21-24C for 24 hours.
  • 24 HOURS LATER In a medium bowl whisk together the oat flour, tapioca starch, sorghum or buckwheat and salt. Add the flour mix into the sourdough mixture and using a wooden spoon mix as much as it lets you. It will be dry and crumbly; don’t worry.
  • Put the psyllium husk and flax seed meal in a medium bowl and mix. Add the water and mix until well combined. The mixture will harden. Immediately add the mixture into the sourdough bowl. Knead the dough with your hand until it comes together, about 3 minutes. If the dough is too dry, add a little bit of water.
  • Divide the dough into two. Shape into balls and place in proofing baskets or colanders, lined with clean kitchen towels. Set at 70-75F / 21-24C and let it proof for 3 hours (in a warm place the proofing time can be reduced to 2 hours.)
  • Preheat the oven to 500F / 260C. Put a piece of baking paper (or dust with rice flour or oats) in the bottom of Dutch ovens (or any heavy pots). Score the balls with a sharp knife and gently transfer them into the Dutch ovens. Cover the pots and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 450°F/230°C and bake for 30 minutes.
  • Take the pots out of the oven and carefully remove the lids. Put the bread back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the crusts are brown and the bread sounds hollow when you tap it.

Notes

PLEASE READ THE RECIPE CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU START