How to Bake Your First Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread (Step by Step)

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You did it. You’ve made your gluten-free sourdough starter. It’s vibrant, it’s alive, it smells amazing.

What now?

Now you BAKE.

This is the article I promised you: the exact step-by-step process for how I bake gluten-free sourdough bread with my starter.

If you haven’t made your starter yet, start here →

The bottom line in front

Baking gluten-free sourdough bread takes 8 hours from start to 3-5 days to finish, but only about 30 minutes of actual time.

The main difference with regular sourdough? You’re going to use gluten free BREAD flour instead of all-purpose flour for the actual bread.

This makes all the difference in texture and rise.

What you need

Ingredients:

Equipment:

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Step 1: Prepare your active starter

The first thing you need to know is that this all start when to feed your original sourdough starter.

This is the process from day 14 in the first article.

1. Remove the starter from the refrigerator.
   • Place 1 cup of starter + 1 cup of water + 1 cup of gluten-free flour [REGULAR 1:1 NOT bread flour] in a glass bowl.
   • Stir until completely mixed together.
   • Cover the bowl with tight plastic wrap and place a towel over it, placing it on the counter. [Put the starter that’s still left in the jar back in the fridge.]
2. About 6 hours later, remove the starter jar from the refrigerator.
   • Remove 3/4 cup from the mix on the counter and set it aside.
   • The REST of the mix then goes from the refrigerator back into the starter. Stir with your wooden spoon and place your starter back in the refrigerator.

Timing: 4-8 hours before mixing the dough

Make sure your starter is fed and active. You want it to be bubbly, doubled in size and at its peak.

This is how you know it’s ready: Drop a small spoonful into a glass of water. If it floats, it is ready to use.

Step 2: Mix the dough

Timing: Evening (I usually do this around 7-8pm)
Hand-on time: 10 minutes

In a large glass bowl, mix:

• 3/4 cup active starter (what you just set aside)
• 2 ½ – 3 cups filtered water
• 6 cups King Arthur gluten free Bread flour
• 2 teaspoons of salt

Here’s the key: Mix until completely incorporated. Gluten-free dough will be stickier and wetter than regular sourdough dough. This is normal. Don’t add extra flour to “fix” it.

I always start with 2 1/2 cups of water. I try to get by with just that amount, but sometimes it’s still too hard to fully mix, so I’ll add a little more.

The consistency should be thick and sticky.not diluted.

Step 3: Fermentation

Timing: Overnight stay for a maximum of 3-5 days
Hand-on time: 0 minutes

Cover your bowl tightly with plastic wrap and a towel.

Place the bowl in the refrigerator.

Leave it there at least overnight, and up to 3-5 days.

Additional comments on this section:

• As soon as you put the mixture in the refrigerator, the fermentation process begins slows down. This is why some people leave the mixture on the counter overnight and bake it first thing the next morning. You can do this.
• The reason I put it in the refrigerator is because I usually don’t want/need to bake for a few days. So I keep it in the fridge for when I’m ready.
• It’s just a personal decision – my best advice is to try everything and see what you like best. Experimentation is so nice. At least for me 🙂

What you’re looking for: The dough should rise and you will see bubbles forming on the surface. It may not double like regular sourdough, and that’s okay.

Temperature is important: The ideal room temperature is 70-75°F. If your house is cooler it may take longer (which I mentioned about the refrigerator).

Step 4: Get Ready to Bake It!

Practice time: 15 minutes

Right now there are so many different ways that people will share how they’re doing.

And I’ve done them all.

In my early sourdough days I took the extremely long route.

I rolled out the dough and let it rest for 90 minutes. And I repeated that several times before the final baking.

Until one day I was in a hurry and wondered, “Can I just roll it and then bake it?”

The answer was > YES.

So I’m lazy and always take this shortcut now.

I just grab a large cutting board and place gluten free flour on it. Then I take my sourdough out of the bowl and place it on top. I roll the sourdough in flour by hand.

Anyway, here’s where gluten-free sourdough is different: You don’t really “shape” it like traditional sourdough, because there’s no gluten structure to work with.

Instead of:

For a loaf pan:

• Place a piece of baking paper in the bread tin
• Pour the dough into the pan
• “Create” your dough
• That’s it

For a Dutch oven bread:

• Line your Dutch oven with parchment paper
• Pour the dough onto the parchment
• Don’t worry about perfection; it spreads a little
• “Score” your dough (more on scoring below)

Step 6: Preheat your oven

Timing: 30 minutes before baking
Hand-on time: 1 minute

Preheat your oven 425°F.

When using a Dutch oven: Place the empty Dutch oven (without lid) in the oven while it preheats.

When using a bread tin: Just preheat the oven; you do not need to preheat the pan.

Step 7: Score and bake

Practical time: 5 minutes preparation, then 45-55 minutes baking

Optional but nice: Use a sharp knife or bread lame to score the top of your bread. This isn’t as crucial with GF bread as it is with regular sourdough, but it looks delicious.

Why score? When bread bakes, steam builds up inside and has to go somewhere.

Scoring creates a controlled weak point where the bread can expand and ‘bloom’ in the oven.

Without scoring, the bread will find its own random places to crack open, which can look messy.

Sometimes I don’t even score, but use scissors instead. I cut a ton off the top, which helps it bake more evenly in the deep center.

Think of it this way: you’re giving your bread permission to expand exactly where you want it to.

Baking times:

For Dutch oven:

• Place the lid on the Dutch oven
• Bake covered for 30 minutes at 425°F
• Remove the lid
• Bake uncovered for another 15-20 minutes until deep golden brown
• Total: 45-50 minutes

For bread mould:

• Bake uncovered for 45-55 minutes at 425°F
• Cover with foil if the top browns too quickly
• Total: 45-55 minutes

How do you know if it’s ready:

• Internal temperature should be 205-210°F (use a thermometer)
• The crust should be a deep golden brown
• It should sound hollow when you tap the bottom

Bake Note

For the the longest Time we needed a new oven because I could only get 400 degrees and not 425 degrees. During this time it is still worked. The only difference was that I had to add maybe 10 minutes to the baking times.

I would still Check the bread and use a knife in the center to make sure it is fully baked. Once that is the case, you can pull.

Step 8: Cool (THE HARDEST PART)

Duration: minimum 30 minutes
Practical time: Extreme patience required

Immediately remove the bread from the pan/frying pan.

Place it on a wire cooling rack.

DON’T CUT IT YET.

I know. I know. It smells great. But gluten-free sourdough needs time to set internally, otherwise it will become gummy in the center.

Wait at least 30 minutes, maximum 1-2 hours. Serious.

These are the real and raw images. I did not tinker with them to give any false looks.

What to expect: The real conversation

Texture:

This is gluten-free bread.

It won’t have exactly the same texture as wheat-based sourdough.

But it WILL have:

• A real crust
• A soft, slightly denser crumb
• Those beautiful fermented sourdough flavors
• Actual texture (not crumbly like many GF breads)

Taste:

You taste the sourdough note. You also taste the mix of gluten-free flours. It’s different from wheat sourdough, but it’s WELL different.

Storage:

• Room temperature: Wrapped in a tea towel for 2-3 days
• Refrigerator: Can be stored in an airtight container or bag for up to 1 week
• Freezer: Cut it into slices first and then freeze it for up to 3 months (toast slices straight from the freezer!)

My honest review

The first loaf may not be perfect. Mine wasn’t. The second was better. By the third I had mastered it.

It is wetter than regular sourdough dough. Don’t panic and add more flour. Trust the process.

The Dutch Oven method produces a better crust. But the loaf pan is easier and less intimidating if you’re new to this. The bread pan also allows you to cut into bread-like slices, which I love.

It’s absolutely worth it. If you need gluten-free bread and you’ve done the work to make the entree, this homemade bread is SO much better than anything you buy at the store.

Troubleshooting

Dough is too wet/liquid:

• Next time, reduce the water by ¼ cup
• Different GF flour blends absorb water differently

Bread is gummy in the center:

• You didn’t let it cool long enough (I know, I’m sorry)
• Your oven may cool down. Next time increase the temperature by 25°F
• Bake 5-10 minutes longer

Not up much:

• It may be that your starter has not been active enough
• Try to make the second rise longer (up to 6 hours if necessary)

Crust is too dark:

• Cover with foil for the last 15 minutes
• Next time, lower the oven temperature to 400°F

What’s next?

Now you have both a gluten-free sourdough starter AND the knowledge to actually bake with it.

Your homework: Bake your first bread. Take a photo. Tag me on Instagram so I can celebrate with you!

I also KNOW what you want to know, which are the following two:

1. Tell me how to get creative with my sourdough design
2. And tell me how to get creative with my sourdough flavors

Anything else? Post it in the comments below.

More coming soon!

Related articles:

To ask? Post them in the comments or DM me on Instagram. I’m here to help you solve problems!

XXX,
S.K.H

PS If you’re loving this gluten-free sourdough journey, make sure you’re on my newsletter. I’ll first share all my experiments, victories and (let’s be honest) failures there.

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