Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter

There is something really satisfying about making sourdough from scratch—and you don’t have to use traditional wheat flour to do it.

This gluten-free sourdough starter is simple to make and only requires two ingredients: gluten-free all-purpose flour and water.

Once your starter becomes active, you can use it to make gluten-free sourdough recipes, use the discard in other recipes, share some with friends and family, or keep feeding it and see where it takes you.

Measuring the ingredients

Ingredients

• 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour

• 1 cup water

Day One

Combine 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour with 1 cup water in a clean glass jar or bowl.

Stir well until there are no remaining clumps.

Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and leave it undisturbed overnight, preferably somewhere at a comfortable room temperature.

Give it a good stir

Day Two

Your starter may or may not show much activity yet. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look particularly exciting.

Discard approximately half of the starter.

Add:

• 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour

• 1 cup water

Stir thoroughly.

Pay attention to the consistency.

You want your starter to have a consistency similar to pancake batter.

If it is very thick, almost like pizza dough, add a little more water.

If it is too thin or watery, add a little more flour.

The exact amount of water can vary depending on the flour you’re using, so don’t be afraid to adjust as needed.

Continue Feeding Your Starter

For the next 2–5 days, continue the same process each day:

1. Discard approximately half of the starter.

2. Add gluten-free flour and water at approximately a 1:1 ratio.

3. Stir well.

4. Observe the consistency and adjust the flour or water if necessary.

5. Cover loosely and allow it to rest at room temperature.

Sourdough is a living culture, so it won’t necessarily behave exactly the same way every time.

Pay attention to what your starter is showing you rather than relying only on the clock.

How Do You Know Your Starter Is Ready?

Your starter is ready to use when it shows consistent signs of activity.

Look for:

• Lots of bubbles throughout the starter

• A noticeable increase in volume after feeding

• A pleasant, fermented aroma similar to sourdough bread

• The starter increasing in volume significantly—often around 2–4 times its original volume when it is particularly active

Once your starter is reliably active, you can begin using it in your sourdough recipes.

What Do You Do With All That Starter?

This is where sourdough gets fun.

Use your discard in recipes while continuing to feed the starter.

Make sourdough things.

Give some of your starter to family or friends.

Keep feeding it.

And then, eventually, you might get completely sick of making sourdough.

That’s okay, too.

Stick your starter in the refrigerator and let it go dormant.

When you’re ready to bake again, bring it back out, feed it regularly, and give it some time to become active again.

That’s one of the things I love about keeping a starter. It doesn’t have to be an everyday commitment forever. You can work with it when you want to and let it rest when you don’t.

A little flour, a little water, a little patience, and eventually, you have a living starter that can become something delicious.