I decided to try my hand at bread-making while reading the list of ingredients on the so-called “Organic” bread at our local grocery store, only to discover they are adding ingredients foreign to my mom’s bread-making days. I can’t buy organic yeast, either. My markers for real food is if I can’t buy clean food, I’ll prepare it myself like my mom or grandma did. I won’t do a trade-off from eating clean, as I’m healing a health issue.
So here I am making sourdough bread from scratch, using gluten-free grains, something Mom and Grandma never had to do. Nevertheless, she used “organic” flour before it was labelled “organic”. There was no such thing as toxic flour back in the day.
Interestingly, there are two steps to making sourdough bread. The first step is to make the starter — essentially creating home-made leaven. The second is the actual bread-making, using the home-made leaven instead of yeast. I’ll do a separate blog on bread-baking. The entire starter process can take up to a week or more, depending on the success of the starter.
Then there is the issue which my mother never had to deal with — the gluten-free factor.
After untold attempts, I finally baked bread that resembles bread and tastes great. Okay,
it’s w-a-a-a-y better than a mere “resemblance” because it tastes a-w-e-s-o-m-e. My body actually wants to eat it. Unlike when I bought gluten-free breads beginning in 2005 filled with harmful chemical additives from the grocery store. I literally forced myself to eat it because I wanted something resembling bread in my diet. And, in 2013 when I went organic, I discovered it was impossible to buy gluten-free AND organic combined. I could buy organic WHEAT bread, but not organic gluten-free bread. Looking back, I suppose industry marketing decided to divert attention away from the organic issues by addressing the gluten-free issues. The reality is gluten intolerance could very well be the result of eating toxic conventional grains — wheat and rye being among the worst offenders. Kind of like the Non-GMO movement diverts attention from organic now, perhaps? Case in point: Do you know the difference between “Non-GMO” and “Organic” produce? Great if you do. Otherwise you may wish to do some research and find out for yourself — because it’s important.
Let’s get on with the actual recipe I created.
Tools you will need for gluten-free bread starter:
- Glass jar or bowl with loose-fitting lid (or cloth)
- Wooden or plastic spatula or spoon
- Organic Pineapple Juice (only when starting a new starter, first addition only).
- Filtered water — very important for the remainder of the leaven creation.
- Organic AND gluten-free flour mix. Remember, the cleaner the inputs, the tastier and healthier the outputs. Either buy a mix or make your own flour mix. I make my own using rice, tapioca, chickpea, and quinoa flours.
- Two glass or stainless steel bread pans 9” x 3”(2), buttered.
Step 1: The Starter
For best results, always use organic ingredients. I can’t emphasize this enough. Otherwise, artificial ingredients and chemicals will prevent live culture from growing and thriving. I’m repeating myself here because the base ingredients are the difference between failure and success of the starter. Also, do you really want to eat toxic ingredients? Me neither.
The starter will begin to ferment by the end of the day, if you start the process in the morning. It takes about five to seven days to produce enough volume before moving on to the actual bread-making.
Starter Process
- In a glass bowl or jar (volume: 2 quarts) combine 1/3 cup organic pineapple juice (unsweetened) with 2/3 cup organic, gluten-free flour mix.
- Stir together thoroughly.
- Cover with a cloth.
- Set the bowl of starter in the warmest place in your home so that it can begin to ferment. Don’t cover with a too-tight lid because your culture needs to breathe. It will bubble and grow in volume. It will give off a pleasing fermentation aroma not unlike beer.
- For the rest of the culture, use water instead of pineapple juice. Add water and flour and stir thoroughly morning and night: 1/3 cup filtered water and 2/3 cup flour mix until you have more than five or six cups of leavening, if you want to keep using the sourdough starter method. Otherwise, you’ll need only four cups for my recipe.
- You may have to adjust the ratio of water to flour if you have water floating on top when it is time to feed the culture again. I started out using 1/4 cup water to 1/4 cup flour, then I upped it to 1/4 cup water to 1/3 cup flour, and finally I’m at the 1/3 cup water to 2/3 cup flour. Perhaps the gluten-free flour doesn’t absorb water quite as well as wheat.
- In about five to seven days you will have enough starter for bread-making, plus you’ll have leftovers. I keep leftovers in the fridge, lightly covered. Feed it once a week, until you want to make bread again.
Print this Recipe for Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread Starter
This organic and gluten-free sourdough starter is bubbling nicely.
I now have enough starter for two loaves of bread.
Tomorrow is a baking day!
Now, we’re ready to make the actual bread.
Here is part 2 of the recipe for Bread-Making using sourdough starter.
I’d love to know what you think, so feel free to drop me a comment.
Why Organic? Read Big Food’s Dirty Little Secrets
hey, which way is up? 