Want to know the secret to really delicious gluten-free bread? It all starts with a good gluten-free sourdough starter!
Why use a gluten-free sourdough starter?
Gluten-free bread suffers from one big issue… the lack of gluten! Gluten provides the structure that is usually replaced by starches and additives in gluten-free bread. However, starches and additives aren’t very tasty.
Gluten-free sourdough starter improves the taste and texture of gluten-free bread by:
- Breaking down whole grain flours so that they become lighter and stickier.
- Providing a nutty flavor that comes from using wholegrain flours rather than bland white flours.
- Adding a delicious sourdough flavor.
Sourdough Feeding:
- If you are baking bread more regularly, you may want to keep your sourdough starter going. If you keep your starter out on the counter then it will need daily feeding. Feed it half of its volume in water and flour. For example: if you have 1 cup of starter, then you will need to feed it approximately 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of flour daily. (The exact proportion of flour and water will depend on the type of flour used.)
- If you store your starter in the refrigerator then it will need feeding every 5 days.
- The sourdough starter may need more feeding in the summer when it’s warm and less feeding in the winter. Judge how much feeding is required by smelling the starter. After a few weeks, you’ll get to know the sour smell of a hungry starter.
- Sourdough starter is very forgiving. While weighing ingredients with a scale and precise measurements is popular, it’s not necessary. As long as you feed and stir your starter every day, it will be fine.
- In the summer I only bake bread about once a month, so I often start my starter from scratch. It only takes me a few days to catch a vigorous starter because, after years of baking sourdough bread, my house is full of the yeasts and bacteria needed for sourdough.
Types of Flour
I have been gluten-free since 2009… so I’ve had a lot of time to experiment with different gluten-free flours. At this point, I mostly use GF oat flour, because I like the flavor and stickiness.
However, you should make your sourdough starter with the type of flour you prefer to bake with. Each flour develops its own unique sourdough starter, and it’s best to consistently feed your starter with the same type of flour.
For example, switching a starter from buckwheat to rice is about as efficient as just starting a rice starter from scratch.
Here are some more details on a few different types of flour:
- Buckwheat and teff (affiliate link) are great at catching a sourdough starter. They both naturally contain strains of yeast, so it only takes about 1-2 days to get a good vigorous starter, even if it is your first time. This is why they are traditionally used for quick ferments like buckwheat crepes and injera.
- Brown rice, oat flour, millet, quinoa and sorghum (affiliate link) all take a bit longer to catch a starter. Expect to spend 5-7 days to get things going. They’ll never really bubble up the side of the jar. The starter is ready when it smells sour and there are bubbles on the top.
- White rice is the trickiest, in part because of the lack of vitamins and minerals. It will take at least a week to get bubbling. However, it also is the most like a wheat-based starter. Because it contains a lot of carbs, it will get really bubbly.
Fun Sourdough Facts:
Sourdough comes with a host of myths and legends, that aren’t always true. Here are a few fun (and true!) sourdough facts.
- The properties of your sourdough starter are based on the local strains of yeast and bacteria. This variability in yeast influences the flavour and leavening time, which is why every region of the world will produce a different type of sourdough bread.
- Some areas have famous strains (Montreal, San Francisco) but most regions should be able to make a decent sourdough starter.
- It only takes about 24 hours for a store-bought (or friend’s shared) starter to be taken over by local strains of yeast and bacteria. If you’re new to sourdough, it can take 2 weeks of feeding to build up a commercial sourdough starter. Because the air quality in your home matters more than the yeast in the starter, it just takes that long to build up the wild cultures in your home.
- Unfortunately, poor indoor air quality (due to pollution or mold issues) might result in a bad tasting or underactive culture. Alternatively, if you have a HEPA air filter in your home then it will difficult to maintain a sourdough culture. In either case, I recommend making a shortcut sourdough starter.
- Gluten-free sourdough culture has the tendency to get a pink hue based on the type of flour. While it’s not a good thing… it’s not bad unless it smells bad. The colour should go away as your starter becomes more active. Don’t use a bad-smelling or moldy starter… if it’s gone bad, then you have to throw it away and start over. (Note: for some reason my buckwheat sourdough always turns a bit pink-ish, but other flours don’t.)
- A gluten-free sourdough starter isn’t as bubbly as wheat sourdough. It doesn’t have the gluten structure to hold the bubbles and grow up the side of the jar. I usually judge when it’s ready by smell (sour) and texture (some air and bubbles on top). See the picture above for a few really active gluten-free starters. They don’t look anything like a wheat starter.
Gluten Free Sourdough Starter
Learn how to make a healthy gluten free sourdough starter in your own home! It’s the secret to amazing gluten free bread, improving both the taste and the texture. Use your favourite flour: rice, oat or buckwheat.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Sourdough
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1/4 cup whole-grain gluten-free flour (see the section above for details on each type of flour)
- 3 tbsp filtered water (do not use chlorinated tap water)
Instructions
- Start by adding equal parts of water and flour into a glass container. This could be 1 tbsp of flour and water, or 1 cup of flour and water. It really depends on how much starter you need.
- Mix the flour and water together with a fork. Cover the container with a tea towel and leave it to ferment at room temperature (your kitchen counter is perfect).
- Stir with a fork twice a day until it is actively bubbling. Depending on the type of flour you use it can take 2-7 days.
- There’s no need to feed the starter until it has started to bubble. See the section above for information on how to feed your starter for continuous baking.
Notes
- The ratio of flour and water is approximate. For example, buckwheat, oat and white rice absorb more water. Brown rice and teff absorb less water. Adjust the recipe so that you have a thick, yet still pourable consistency. It doesn’t have to be exact and you can adjust the flour/water ratio as you feed your starter.
- Most of my recipes start with 1-2 cups of active sourdough starter, so I recommend making a large amount of starter and keeping it going.
- I recommend using my gluten-free bread flour mix for all of your gluten-free breads, however, don’t use it for your starter. Just use wholegrain flour or white rice flour for your starter.
Keywords: starter, buckwheat, rice, sorghum, millet, quinoa, teff, oat, bread
Hi Emillie,
I am trying to make a starter using your instructions and buckwheat flour. Here was my start: https://photos.app.goo.gl/aHK69eiNLd6pffsGA
After about 60 hours it looked like this: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KLLCs3jEkqR9SRx38.The flour is so grainy and dark. I cannot tell if it is getting bubbly or not. After two day it started to smell rather funky. Since I have zero experience with this I don’t know what to look for or it it’s done. Can you offer any advice? I live in Orlando FL.
What buckwheat flour do you use? How do I know when it’s done…or if it’s even working?
Thanks!
Unfortunately, the second photo doesn’t seem to be working. I’ve never had a fail with buckwheat flour. It usually starts to get bubbly on the side of the jar and the top will puff up. If you stir it, you should be able to see a structure of air bubbles. It should also have a sour smell. My bet is that it’s working. I’ve used all different types of buckwheat, though usually I use light buckwheat because my kids prefer a “whiter” bread. 🙂
What does the pink liquid on the buckwheat sourdough starter mean?
I’m not sure why buckwheat gets a little bit of pink liquid, but it happens to me 9 times out of 10. I usually just stir it in. It shouldn’t be neon pick, or mold like. Just a slight pink tinge on the surface.
It usually only takes 2-3 days to get a bubbly starter with buckwheat. It is different from gluten sourdough because there is no gluten to make large bubbles on the side. You know it’s done when it smells like sourdough.
If it’s your first time making sourdough in your home, you might not have just the right flora. So it can be tricky the first few times. But if you make sourdough regularly, you should be able to get a starter fairly quick.
Hi! The liquid that collects on the top of your starter is by-products of bacterial fermentation. This occurs when the bacteria in your starter starts metabolizing other sugars into alcohols and generally indicates a starter needing feeding. It’s fine to mix it back in.
Thanks for sharing. I guess that’s why we call it hooch. 🙂
Hi! Thanks so much for sharing this. I’m just trying out my first buckwheat sourdough starter. I did 1/4 flour 1/4 water and after about an hour there is a 2ml later of liquid on the top…does it need more flour? Or am I just supposed to leave it and hope for bubbles (at which point you start feeding, I believe?). Thanks!
It sounds like you need a bit more flour. Just add another tablespoon and see if that gives you a thicker starter. How much water is required will depend on whether you’re using dark or light buckwheat. Dark buckwheat has the hull in it, which doesn’t absorb water, but is full of good-for-you fibre!
I am not confident I had any success getting a starter going with buckwheat flour, I have however gotten buckwheat groats to work. Could I use some of the frothy mixture from the buckwheat groats to add to the buckwheat flour to make a starter. Would it be the same?
Sure! That should work out. Especially since it already has a culture that can eat up buckwheat.
This question might sound a bit confusing, but I hope it makes sense! I understand that you ‘feed’ your starter half the volume on the second day. On the third day do you ‘feed’ it the same amount as you did on the second day? Or do you need to ‘feed’ it more because you increased the volume on day 2?
So if on day 1 you mix a quarter cup of flour with a quarter cup of water, day 2 you would ‘feed’ an eighth of a cup of flour and an eighth of a cup of water. On day 3 do you ‘feed’ an eighth of a cup of flour and an eighth of a cup of water? Or do you ‘feed’ 3/16 of a cup of flour and 3/16 of a cup of water?
Looking forward to trying this! Thanks so much for the great recipes!
To be honest, I don’t do anything that precise. I just feed it a good scoop of flour and add water so it’s the right consistency. I also gauge my feeding based on the smell (sourness) of the starter and how much starter I need. However, I’ve been baking with sourdough for a LONG time.
I think a good rule of thumb is to continually feed it a bit more each day (because the volume is increasing). I’ve also designed my recipes to use a large amount of starter both for flavour and because I don’t believe in throwing starter away. If you don’t need a huge amount of starter, then stash it in the fridge. Does that make sense?
Thanks so much for your reply! I’m notorious for overthinking everything! Hahaha! But I have started my starter today with Teff flour so fingers crossed! Thanks again for your reply and you awesome recipes!
Thanks! Fermenting is both an art and a science. Good luck! 🙂
Hi Emilie!
I am about to try this and I’m very exited about it.
I have a doubt. During the 2-7 day period before the sourdough is ready do I need to feed it or just stir with a fork twice a day and start feeding after it’s ready?
I will try with a mixed oat, quinoa, flax seed and chia flour that a friend gave me, do you think it will work?
Thank you 🙂
★★★★★
I recommend making GF sourdough with a single grain. Each grain has it’s own unique set of sourdough bacteria and yeasts. Also, flax and chia won’t feed the yeasts since they don’t have any carbs. Do you have a single grain flour?
Also, many people suggest feeding the starter right away. But really, I don’t see the point in feeding the sourdough starter before it has caught. Once you have some bubbles and a sour smell, then it will need to be fed daily.
Hi Emillie
Started a GF sourdough 2 days ago with a 1/2 cup of Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 GF Baking Flour mixed with Bob’s Red Mill Teff flour (mix was 1:1 Baking flour:Teff) and 1/2 cup of water. Bubbles started next day so I started feeding it 1/2 cup of mixed flours and 1/2 cup of warm water and and had a good frothy mix the next day. Gave it a couple more feeds to build volume, but the smell is not yeasty. It’s more like grass or silage. Plenty of bubbles though. At this moment I have made a lump of dough and I’m just waiting to see if I can get it to rise. It’s in the oven in a bowl covered in a wet tea towel at a bit over 100degF (40degC). Any thoughts on the aroma I’m getting? Here’s a couple of pics of the brew.
Kind regards
Hi Gregory,
I took a look at your photos (before deleting the link from your post as my anti-spam software really didn’t like the added link.) 🙂 The sourdough looks perfect. It smells like dried grass or hay? That might be from the flour combination. I’ve never mixed teff with anything else, so I wouldn’t know. However, GF sourdough never smells as yeasty as if you were using bread yeast. It tends to have a sour-yeast smell that is influenced by the smell of the flour.
I usually use it more for flavour than rise, unless I’m doing a 24 hour rise (like in my vegan gf bread.) Otherwise I either add a bit of commercial yeast, or baking soda to add a bit more poof with only a 2-4 hour rise.
How did your bread turn out?
If I keep my starter in the fridge, do I need to bring it back to room temp to use in a recipie?
I always pull my starter out of the fridge and feed it once or twice before baking with it. That gives it a good boost (it doesn’t really enjoy being in the fridge) and leaves enough extra starter for my next batches of bread. However, if you’re stuck for time, then you can use it straight from the fridge. Just let the bread rise for longer.
Do you pour off half the first day like you would with a gluten starter?
I don’t even do that for my gluten starter! Not sure why such wastage is part of the process? I assume it’s tradition. I just focus on making enough starter for my recipes. And all my recipes call for 1-2 cups of starter. 🙂
I’m on day 5 of my first attempt at sourdough starter- I’ve been using oat flour, and feeding daily with 4 oz water and 4 oz flour. It is very thick, has a nice sour smell but have not had any bubbles. Does this mean its not working? Or is it not bubbling because it is too thick?
Oat is rather heavy and sticky, so I don’t usually get bubbles along the side of the jar, just on top. If it smells sour, then it’s probably good! I recommend a bit of extra water if it’s really thick.
Hi! I’m in a similar boat. I’ve been working on a oat starter for about 3 weeks now. It has a wonderful yeasty smell and does bubble a good bit on top after a feeding, but never really grows. Is this normal and Oat just doesn’t grow like other gf flours? Even though it’s not growing, will it still do the trick in baking? I want it to work bc I love the smell and flavor; it has made great pizza and pancakes so far!
I mostly use oat flour starter and it doesn’t bubble up like traditional starters or rice flour. If it smells good and is bubbly on top, then you’re good to go! I think it’s just the weight and stickiness of the oats that prevents it from bubbling up the side of the jar. It sounds like it’s definitely ready to use. Enjoy!
Hi Sophie,
Did you end up having success? I’m hoping to try this with oat flour.
Hi Morgen, I make sourdough with oat flour for most of my baking. I just like the flavour the best. So it does work out! Just not as quickly as teff or buckwheat. Good luck! Emillie
Hi Emillie! I’m looking for a recipe with oat flour. I’m working on my oat sourdough starter but do you have a good recipe for it?
Hi Hanna, This is the recipe I follow for my oat flour starter. And most of my baked goods on the website are made with oat flour. 🙂 I just like the flavour/texture best. It does take a few days to get a good starter with oat flour. It depends on the strains of yeast in your home and might take a while to cultivate if you’re new to fermenting. The more you ferment the healthier the yeasts/bacteria are in the air of your home.
Hi Emillie,
I too am looking for a recipe with oat flour. I am making an oat flour sourdough starter. The recipe you seemed to reference is not on this page. Thanks!
Hi Paula, This recipe works for any type of GF flour. As I mention in the section on flours, I usually make it with oat (and the photograph is oat). So just follow the instructions with oat flour! Enjoy!
Think quinoa flour would work for this?
Yes! Any flour with complex carbs will work. Just not almond flour or coconut, etc.
Hi! I read a few things about using coconut flour. I started a culture yesterday to try. Then I read this. This won’t work due to it not having carbs? I’m trying to make a low carb start haha.
Hi Kelsey, It won’t ferment the same as flour… because it is grain-free. However, coconut flour does have carbs (fiber and some sugars) so it will ferment. I recommend making a quick sourdough starter “alternative” rather than trying to catch a wild ferment. Here’s my post on how to make a quick starter: https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/quick-and-easy-sourdough-starter/ Milk kefir is probably the best low-carb option because it contains yeast without the sugars of kombucha or water kefir.
Alternatively, I can recommend my fairly low-carb GF sourdough bread. It does use grain for the sourdough, but contains a lot of psyllium husk and flax for structure and fiber: https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/perfect-gluten-free-sourdough-buns/ Cheers!
I’m a little confused. I’ve always heard that you shouldn’t use metal with sourdough. Does the fork not adversely effect your starter?
All ferments are a bit acidic, which is why you should generally avoid fermenting in a metal container. The acidity isn’t good for reactive metal (iron, copper). However, if you use a stainless steel fork it won’t harm the starter nor the fork. Good luck!
Hi Emillie,
I have made an oat starter and kinda just used my gut on the amounts of flour vs water the consistency. It is a thickish paste, goopy, it sticks to my finger nicely, a bit like a thick pancake batter . It has not worked so well, no bubbles, but has a nice sour smell. In the beginning I did not feed it, only a few days later, I did mix it relitively well, dunno about vigerously, it is now 3 weeks old and I have put it in the coldest section of the fridge. I used water straight from the tap which I believe was clorinated. I hope you can help.
P.S. Do you have a nice oat bread recipe I was trying to make oat bread using only oats, that failed miserably. I used now 4.5 cups oat flour and 2 cups of all purpose GF flour: brand ORGRAN (Maize Starch, Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Rice Bran, Vegetable Gum (Thickener): Guar Gum), honey, raw sugar, 4 eggs, half a cup of canola oil, 1 and 3/4 cup of soda water with yeast and it worked well. do you think this would work with oat starter?
Oat flour does take a while to catch a sourdough. However, if it smells sour, then you’ve probably caught a starter! My starter in the photo at the top of the post is made with oat, and you can see it’s not that bubbly. The one at the bottom is rice, which does form more obvious bubbles. 🙂 I mostly use oat for my bread, so all of the bread recipes on my site are oat mixed with other types of gf “flours” to balance the bread. I have tried just oat and it tends to be a bit dense. Just check out the GF sourdough category: https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/category/types-of-ferments/gluten-free-sourdough/
The recipe you posted might work with a sourdough starter. To be honest, GF baking is so specific that I literally test my recipes at least 10 times before posting them. Adjusting things slightly each time. It’s hard to say how the loaf will come out before trying it. 🙂
Hi Emillie
I recently bought a bag of buckwheat flour and would like to try making this bread, however I have difficulty finding filtered water in my country. What other water can I use? I can find drinking bottled water and distilled water.
Do you drink your water? If it’s good drinking water, then it should work for your starter or other ferments. In the US, most urban/suburban water is treated with chlorine and will prevent microbial growth. While other contaminants may also be an issue, if there is no other choice, the chlorine will evaporate if the water is left to sit for half a day before use. Local well water is too variable to know for sure; you’ll just need to try. If no starters or cultures work with your water, you’ll need to filter or buy water. Distilled isn’t a good choice as it is deplete of all minerals that we and microbes need to thrive. Bottled still (non-carbonated) drinking water would be best if you need to purchase water for your starter. Good luck!
Forgot to mention that not all filters will work either. Some contain anti-bacterial components (like silver) which will keep your cultures from growing. I tried a Brita filter pitcher once, and it was a no go. I grew up with Shaklee products, and their filter water pitcher works great.
Thanks for sharing! I wrote a whole post on water… it’s a particular issue in my community which uses chloramination which doesn’t evaporate quite like chlorine. 🙂 https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/filter-water-fermentation/ I haven’t seen the Shaklee filter, so I’ll have to look for that. Cheers.
Thanks for the post and the responses to the comments! I was worried my starter was bad but it seems the sour smell is normal.
Hello! It’s been around 12 hours for my starter and it already seems quite thick (like all the water is gone) and has not risen. there are bubbles on the surface though and it smells kind of buttery. should i add more water and mix?
GF flours vary widely on how much water they absorb. If it looks really dry, then add more water and keep mixing. It should be like a thick sauce. Depending on what flour you use and how much you already ferment, it could take 2-5 days (mixing every day) to get really going. It should smell yeasty and slightly bubbly on top (GF doesn’t tend to get as bubbly on the sides as it doesn’t have the gluten structure to hold the bubbles). Good luck!
I’m trying a starter for the first time using oat flour. It smells sour and doesn’t seem to have gone bad but isn’t very bubbly. Just a few bubbles here and there. It seems to be getting less bubbly everyday. It’s been 6 days since I started it. Any suggestions?
If it smells sour, it’s probably ready. GF oats doesn’t get bubbly and grow quite the way regular sourdough starter does. Try baking with it, reserving a bit of the starter for the next batch. Either feed it and store it in the fridge or feed it and leave it out. And continue to feed it every day. It will continue to get better over the next week. Good luck!
I have been keeping a GF sourdough starter going for years. Sometimes it gets a little lackluster. When that happens I boil a small unpeeled potato in 2 cups of water and purée it all. I use the puréed potato water and a commercial GF Flour (like Bob’s Red Mill) to feed it for a few days until it gets good and sour and bubbly. I’ve always used the commercial flour for feeding but may now try using buckwheat, teff or white rice flour to feed. I just made up a batch of your GF bread flour and will see how I do. I have been trying to make the perfect flour for years. I’ve tried so many different recipes I’ve lost track so my fingers are crossed that yours will be a winner!
I’ve never tried the potato trick, but it would be a great way to add a boost of carbs to your starter! Better than potato starch, which usually has added sulfites to prevent brown… which also slows down the fermentation. Hope you find the flour works for you. I have a different recipe for baked goods, but I like the added protein in my bread. Cheers.
Hello!! If we plan to use all the sourdough at once, do we have to feed it during those first 3-5 first days we are trying to get the sourdough ? We are using buckwheat flour. Thanks
I would make exactly the amount you need for the recipe, then give it a good mix twice a day. It should only take 2 days for buckwheat to be nice, bubbly and sour. Good luck!
I am making a sourdough starter for the first time. I am using buckwheat flour. I decided to start with 1 tablespoon of flour and equivalent water. For the next following days, do I add the same amount of flour and water for next 7 days or do I just discard some of the starter and feed with the same amount? I am confused as some of the other sites talk about taking only a part of starter and feed it everyday.
Kindly advice,
I’m not sure why many the sourdough starter recipes involve lots of feeding then throwing away starter. I think it’s just because of tradition rather than necessity. I generally start with a larger amount of starter, just mixing twice daily until it smells sour. With buckwheat that’s about 1-2 days. Then I start to feed it, just to keep everything happy. Most of my recipes for GF baking use 1-2 cups of starter, because I want a really strong flavour. So hopefully you don’t have to throw any away!
When you’re ready to start feeding just add a bit of water and flour in and mix. No need to halve the starter. If you end up with too much, stash the extra in a jar in the fridge. Then you’ll be ready for the next time you want to bake.
Thank you Emillie. I will let you know how it work out for me.
This is so helpful! Answered my questions!
(You have done an excellent job at responding to people’s comments, as a blog & recipe reader & maker of found recipes I greatly appreciate it!)
Thanks!
I second this!! I’ve read through all the comments and responses and got my questions answered. I too thank you for being so thorough with your responses!
Glad to help!
Hello, I just started my first ever starter with one cup of water and one cup of brown rice flour. My question is do I have to start feeding it daily right away or I wait until it ferments before I start feeding it?
Thank you
I recommend vigorous mixing twice a day (to bring in the yeasts from your home). Then once it starts to smell sour and has some bubbles on top, you can start feeding it. It takes a few days before the flour actually has any culture to feed. If you’re not sure, start feeding after 5 days. Good luck!
Hi. Can i use my buckwheat starter with plain wheat flour to make sourdough bread?
Hi, you can definitely use your buckwheat starter in a wheat loaf of bread… however, starters do best being fed the same type of flour. So I recommend either using the buckwheat starter mostly for flavour (adding yeast to your recipe) or adding some buckwheat flour to the bread to feed the starter. Good luck!
Hi!!
I am wanting to make a starter with buckwheat. Im a bit confused though- if I dont wish to keep it going and just want to use for one batch- do I have to feed it with more flour and water? Or can I use the starter that I originally made and has been sitting for a couple days
Thank yoU!!
Please look at this comment I just added xanthan gum to the recipe
This is so fascinating! My daughter has a wheat intolerance so I am going with rice. Should the glass container have a lid or just the towel? Thank you!
Sourdough starter is actually a free-range culture in the air of your home (rather than in the grain itself, except for teff and buckwheat). It really needs air to catch the yeast and bacterial culture. So just cover it with a towel to keep out fruit flies, cats or other pests. 🙂
I’m living in a hot humid climate, temps this week have been upper 90-105°. With that kind of heat in the house, should I mix more often? Should I keep it in the fridge?
It might catch a bit more quickly. However, sourdough really depends on the yeast and bacteria culture in the air of your home. Once it is going, you might want to store it in the fridge so you won’t have to feed it as often. Just bring it out for a day or two before baking with it. Enjoy!
Hi. In your instructions you say “Feed it half of its volume in water and flour. For example: if you have 1 cup of starter, then you will need to feed it 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of flour daily.” It sounds like what you are actually meaning is, feed it 100% of it’s current volume (1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water = 1 cup of starter). Is this correct? This also means that each time you feed it, you would have to feed it more since it’s volume increases each time. I’m going to try the recipe again, and will keep a tally of the volume each day so I can remember how much to add the following day. I hope this helps me. Last time it became inactive after the third feeding because I wasn’t adding enough. Thanks
Hi Jessie, To be honest, at this point I do most of my feeding by intuition. It’s not exactly straight forward, though I’ve tried to make it easy for people. 🙂 For example, if your house is quite warm, it will need a lot more feeding than if your house is cool. Even more than feeding, it’s really important to give the starter a good mix every day, or even better twice a day. Especially if you are using rice, quinoa or oat flour, as these flours really depend on the yeasts and bacteria in the air in your home for culture. If your home has a hepe filter, or there’s a lot of air pollution, then it can be really hard to maintain a good sourdough starter. If it doesn’t work for you this time, then I recommend trying buckwheat or teff, which come with their own yeast culture. Good luck!
Thanks for the quick reply! I understand there are many factors to success. Can you clarify though if I should be aiming more towards doubling it every day (adding 1 cup of new starter if I have 1 cup already) or feeding it half the existing quantity? This was the part I didn’t understand about how it was written in your recipe. Thanks!
I feed about half the existing quantity… unless I want a lot of extra starter, in which case I might feed it up to double the quantity. Over feeding it just gives you more time until the next feeding, and I usually judge the need to feed based on the smell and how sour it is. If it seems to be getting less sour every day, then you are probably over feeding. And lots of factors affect the need to feed: type of flour, air quality and temperature.
I recently read a facebook post by someone who has also been baking sourdough for a long time. It was all about how forgiving sourdough is. For some reasons sourdough has developed the mystic of being very difficult and particular. But really, for most of us, it’s very easy and flexible. (Much easier to than taking care of a cat!) However, it can be REALLY hard if your air-quality is either: hepe filtered or heavily polluted, which both result in low bacterial culture. Otherwise, you’ll probably be fine feeding a few spoonfuls of flour and water each day. Good luck!
Hi Emillie, thank you posting this. I’ve been trying to figure this out for a while now and stumbled across your post during the pandemic. I have a question about feeding the starter. I’m not clear on when you feed the oat and water starter.
Do you feed it daily from day one, or do you wait until it gets frothier (day 5), use the starter, and theN begin feeding any reserved portion that you are saving for future use?
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I usually wait until it “catches” the sourdough starter, then start to feed it. So around day 4 or 5. Once it has yeast and bacteria, it needs to be fed daily. I know some people feed starting from day 1, but I don’t see the point in feeding a starter that isn’t actually hungry. 🙂
Hi Emillie,
I am not quite understanding your instruction for how to make the starter. Do I need to feed once a day with the half of the quantity I started with? For example if I start with 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 water then I need to feed daily with 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water?
Yes! If you have 1/2 cup of starter, then feed it about 1/4 cup of flour. Then the next day, you’ll need to give it a little bit more than that. However, perfection is not necessary once you’ve got a really active starter. Good luck!
Emillie, thank you for sharing your learnings, insight and inspiration. I love that sourdough might truly be forgiving! I’m here by way of sourdough brownies right now but will graduate to bread if all goes well.
I’m using buckwheat flour and noticed the first ‘sour’ smell the morning of day 2. By nighttime however, the starter had puffed-up to about twice its size. I stirred it down, but there’s now a distinct sweet smell; a bit like corn and not pleasant. I’m wondering if it might recover, or if it’s likely spoiled (maybe too warm in its kitchen spot).
I’ve started another meanwhile (no really, we need those brownies!) but if you do have more wisdoms to share. I’ll keep up with trial and error anyway, also some great tips in the comment threads here!
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Hum… buckwheat does turn into sourdough starter really quick. Maybe try baking with it after 24 hours? I’m not sure about the sweet smell as that hasn’t happened to me. But if it doesn’t smell pleasant then you should definitely not use it.
I’ve got to try those sourdough brownies! I’m a huge chocolate fan. Yum!
So appreciate the reply. As soon as the new one gets its sour smell—brownies!
Thanks for this site. I has been a great help. I was wondering if you can use rolled oats blended to a flour for the starter and ongoing feeding?
Yes! Oat flour is basically just ground oatmeal… and that’s what I use for most of my sourdough baking. Enjoy!
I started my starter with 1 cup brown rice flour and 1 cup filtered water. I mixed it vigorously twice a day. About the 4th day it smelled like Parmesan cheese. I kept stirring hoping for bubbles and a sour smell. Finally after 7 days it doesn’t smell bad and after re reading the post, I should have been feeding it. Can I start feeding now or is it too late and I should just throw it out and start all over?
Start feeding now. It really only needs to be fed once you’ve got a good culture. I’ve found that sourdough is a lot more forgiving than people expect… or maybe that’s because I do gf sourdough starter? Regardless, it can go a bit hungry. Just give it a nice big serving of flour and get ready to start baking!
Hey emilie.. it is day 2 since i started my strater using buckwheat flour. The consistency is not like water i is more watery and there is water above it too should i add more flour?? And bubbles are really small
If you are using dark buckwheat then it will settle. The hull is just quite heavy and dense, it also doesn’t absorb as much liquid as light buckwheat flour. Give it a good stir, if it still seems too thin, then add a bit more flour. Small bubbles are fine. It should smell sour. With GF sourdough, the smell is more important than bubbles. Good luck!
Could I use freshly ground brown rice flour, or do I need to wait for the flour to accumulate yeast?
Freshly ground flour is fine. The wild yeast will come from the air in your home. Rice generally takes a bit longer to catch a good culture. Good luck!
Hi Emillie
Im on day 2 of my buckwheat starter, its looking really good, bubbles and have almost double in size. Is this ready?
Do i continue to just discard and feed it? Once it’s ready, do i feed it without discarding? I know in your instructions you haven’t mention discarding however i have only just come acrossed your recipe after failing with another one and tried the same method (discarding and feeding) except i just used buckwheat and water only this time round and it has made huge progessed in just 2 days. Just wanted to know do i continue to do the same as in discarding and feeding the same amount everyday? Im a little confused on how to maintain the starter once it gets bigger, like how much am i meant to feed it and do i feed it twice a day?
Hi Davy, It sounds like you have a good starter going! I would start feeding it once a day… and I generally don’t discard the starter. Most of my recipes start with a large amount of starter, skipping the whole “feed the starter” step that other recipes use. It’s perfect for avoiding waste. Maybe try baking something with the starter?
If you’re concerned about the starter growing too big and you don’t have time to bake, then give it a good feeding and stash it in the fridge. That will slow it down a bit. 🙂 Enjoy!
Emillie thank you for sharing your recipes.
I have tried a number of flours and starter GF and had to throw all of them due to the pink tinge on them. So now i just do with only 1/4 cup each time to test it.
I have had more success for bubbles to be generated from buckwheat groats. But later it stopped there.
Please let me know if i can use milk kefir or water kefir added to the sourdough process and used buckwheat flour.
Do you have a recipe to do it this way with the help of kefirs.
Appreciate your help during this wave.
Stay Safe!
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Hello, a pinkish tinge is common on GF sourdough starter, particularly buckwheat. It doesn’t mean it’s bad (unless it smells off or has other issues). A pink tinge on a wheat starter is bad. It’s really just about the different wild yeasts and bacteria that live on each type of flour.
I do have a recipe for a quick sourdough starter using yeast-based beverages (like kefir). Though I’ve written it for wheat flour, it works for GF flours. I’m actually GF, so I’ve done it several times with my GF oat flour. https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/quick-and-easy-sourdough-starter/
Be well, Emillie
hello! the reason a buckwheat starter can sometimes have a reddish tinge in that is is a member of the rhubarb family !
Wow! I had no idea! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Emillie for all the tips. I started two days ago and today my starter turned a little bit like blue-ish on one corner of my bottle but it has some bubbles on the top. Is that okay? The flour that I used is millet.
Thanks,
Trini
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Hum… blue-ish like mould? If you want to keep fermenting, remove that area, then see if it comes back. Mould usually gets pretty 3D and fuzzy. Sometimes really hungry sourdough starter can get a slightly brown/black tint of dead yeast. GF sourdough isn’t as bubbly as gluten sourdough because there’s no gluten to hold the bubbles. I usually judge my sourdough by the smell. Hope that helps!
Hi Emilee,
I hope that I will hear back form you. I have been making einkorn sourdough for the past year and want to test my sensitivities so I want to move to make oat flour sour dough. I was wondering before I try it, could I just merge the oat flour into my enikorn for a week or two and hope that it gets taken over??? What are your thoughts. Also I have an electric food mill and have been told to use steel cut or whole oat roast? what are your thoughts on this?
Thank you!!!
Carol Rose
Hi Carol,
Are you wanting to try going GF? I typically bake with GF oat flour. However, if you want to avoid wheat you do need to avoid regular rolled oats or oat flour as they are often dusted in wheat during processing. So if you don’t have access to GF oat flour, then milling your own flour is a good idea. Personally, I prefer oat flour that has been roasted as raw oat flour tends to be bitter.
As for slowly converting your sourdough… I’ve found that most sourdough starters don’t convert well. There is not much advantage in slowly converting to oat flour instead of just starting with oat flour right away. If you’ve already been making sourdough, then it will probably only take you 3 to 5 days to catch sourdough starter. It won’t be as bubbly as your einkorn… because even a little bit of gluten makes a huge difference in sourdough structure. So judge the sourness based on smell, not bubbles or rising.
Good luck!
Hi. After a week of feeding my starter is still not bulby. What can I do?
Hi. After a week of feeding my buckwheat starter is still not bulby. What can I do?
Hi Dajana,
I’m surprised that the buckwheat didn’t sour right away. Here are a few suggestions: 1. Is the flour heavily processed? I’ve never seen that with buckwheat, but other heavily processed flours don’t ferment well. 2. Are you using chlorinated water? If you’re feeding it every day (before it starts to bubble) with chlorinated water, then there’s a chance the chlorine is killing the natural yeasts. 3. Is it your first time doing GF sourdough? GF sourdough is more about a sour smell than bubbles. It isn’t like wheat sourdough. It won’t rise up the side of the jar or form large visible bubbles. In fact, sourdough buckwheat really doesn’t look bubbly at all. It mostly smells sour, which is how I know it’s caught. I’ll post a picture in a few weeks. I’ve tried several times to photograph buckwheat sourdough and failed because it didn’t look like much at all. But now I realize that’s exactly what I need to show! Good luck, Emillie
Hi!
Do you recommend discarding starter before feeding daily?
Also just wondering how much you feed after removing the 1-2 cups for a recipe? Ie if you use 1 cup in the bread, would you feed with 1 cup water, 1 cup flour?
Thanks in advance!
Unless I’m doing a lot of baking, I usually keep 1.5 cups of starter in the fridge. Then the day before I want to bake, I pull the starter out of the fridge and feed it 1.5 cups of water and flour. After baking with the starter, I feed the remaining starter double its volume in flour and water (eg, if 1/2 cup remains, then I’ll add 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of flour) and pop it back in the fridge.
If you are making a recipe that uses a small amount of starter, then follow this method with just a tiny amount of starter (1/4 cup is fine). Don’t throw the extra out! I have recipes for GF sourdough pancakes, cobbler, etc. https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/category/types-of-ferments/gluten-free-sourdough/ Enjoy!
You mentioned not to use tap water…I’m leaving some water out in a closed container for at least 24 hrs to reduce any chlorine. This is the first thing I’m doing before I make my oat starter.
Great! 24 hours is sufficient to reduce the chlorine. Hope your starter catches nicely for you! Expect it to take about a week with oat flour, and maybe it will surprise you by going faster than that. Good luck!
Hello – I have not yet tried the recipe. I wish to use simple, on hand ingedients so I have settled upon oats, flax and brown rice, which I always have on hand. Reading about teff, I might add that one too!!
Would making a starter with any one or combination of these ingredients work? Would it support a good crumb and rise? I have a good oat quick bread but would love a sourdough like loaf and discard english muffins!! My holy grail… queue the angels… The quick bread is dense, does not rise, and even though I used aluminum free baking power, is still a bit metalic.
Thanks for any ideas! SS
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Hi, I recommend choosing your favorite flour (brown rice, oats, teff) and making a starter with that. Then you can use that starter to bake whatever GF baked goods you want. However, use a GF sourdough recipe for the bread. It should include the binders and added ingredients needed to support a good rise. English muffins sound amazing! I’ll put it on my to-do list. Cheers! Emillie
Hi – Thank you for your response and great tutorials!
I am trying to avoid the starches and gums and keep things very clean and simple. (Think blurrie-eyed, before coffee)
Also, the added ingredients stripped of nutrition and are so expensive that it makes a loaf about $10+ each. Trying to make my own to keep the FrankenFoods of the gluten free world out and also save some money. Sadly, my favorite Berkeley bakery is too far to drive to!!
For binders, I was thinking physilium husk, soaked flax water and egg. To support rise, whip the egg whites and fold in like a merange. But then, cannot leave out for long ferment.
Reading a bit more from you, it loks like commercial yeast is needed to get the rise and crumb similar to a wheat sourdough.
Have you tried adding your veggie culturing liquids in for more lacto b… supoort? Will the yeast armies work together or fight it out?
Hi! I usually add either baking soda or commercial yeast to boost the rise, however, a long slow sourdough rise works as well. The trick is that I usually use a lot of eggs, so I don’t like leaving the loaves to ferment at room temperature for long periods of time. 😉 Here are two of my recipes that sound fairly similar to what you are looking for. They are packed with fiber. This bun recipe is super popular. If you don’t want to use starch to form them, just use flour instead. https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/perfect-gluten-free-sourdough-buns/ Here is a loaf version of the buns: https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/simply-delicious-wholegrain-gluten-free-bread/ No starch required since it rises in a loaf pan.
I haven’t mixed brine with sourdough. The salt in the brine might inhibit the yeast in the bread. However, I have used cultured dairy with sourdough.
Cheers, Emillie
Thank you so much!! I will give the recipes a try!
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Hi there,
The recipe says :
1/4 cup whole-grain gluten-free flour (see the section above for details on each type of flour)
3 tbsp filtered water
I’m a bit confused. If i want one cup of starter, should I be following the above recipe or go with equal parts water and flour
Thank you!
Feel free to start with this amount then feed the starter up to 1 cup. Or if you want, you can create a starter with 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup water… which might be close to 1 cup total (likely a bit more). Cheers!