Gluten-free sourdough starter with brown rice flour
A gluten-free starter is made like any other — flour and water, fed daily — with brown rice flour instead of wheat. It rises less and looks more like a thick batter full of bubbles, and it usually takes 7–14 days to get going.
Brown rice flour works well. Use flour and equipment that have not touched wheat if you bake for someone who must avoid gluten.
2
Mix it thicker than a wheat starter
Rice flour holds less water — aim for a thick batter, and add water a spoon at a time.
3
Feed once or twice a day
Keep a spoonful, feed equal weights of flour and water, and keep it warm.
4
Read it by bubbles, not height
Without gluten it cannot trap as much gas, so it may not double. Lots of bubbles all through and a pleasant sour smell mean it is ready.
Why
The yeast and bacteria do not need gluten — they eat the starch. Gluten is only what traps the gas in wheat dough, which is why a gluten-free starter bubbles more than it rises.
Questions
Is gluten-free sourdough safe for celiac disease?
This page helps you bake with gluten-free flours, but it cannot promise a loaf is safe for someone with celiac disease: cross-contact in a home kitchen is outside our control. Follow your doctor’s advice.
Can I turn my wheat starter gluten-free?
Not reliably: some wheat stays behind. Start a new one with gluten-free flour in a clean jar.
Which other flours work?
Buckwheat, sorghum and teff starters work too; brown rice is the mildest and easiest to find.
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