This gluten-free sourdough without psyllium, chia seeds or flax recipe (with video) will surprise you with its simplicity and short list of ingredients! Plus two options are available for you to try!
Many of my gluten-free, vegan bread recipes include 10 ingredients or less. Most mixtures vary in ingredient combinations because each creation is often developed for someone with specific dietary requirements in mind—even though I share them with everyone!
Each loaf is crafted and tested many times to yield the best texture and flavour with the handful of unique ingredients selected (e.i. gluten-free grains, starches, seeds, vegetables, fruits, etc.).
Quick Overview
This bread recipe is perfect for beginner gluten-free, vegan sourdough enthusiasts.
- Combine and mix ingredients, let sit for 1 hour in a bowl
- Transfer mixture to a bread pan, let rise for 1-2 hours
- Preheat oven
- Bake
- Cool
- Enjoy!
Tools
- glass mixing bowl (clear is great)
- ingredients listed in the recipe (see below)
- mixing (spoon) and measuring tools (cups and spoons)
- bread pan (approx. 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches)
- unbleached parchment paper
- large Dutch oven (optional)
- baking stone* (optional)
- baking sheet** (optional)
- oven
Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter
To make this bread recipe, you will need a bubbly wild yeast starter. The bread recipe was tested with a brown rice starter. But if you can’t consume rice, you can try with sorghum flour. It works very well with both.
Brown Rice Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter, Sorghum Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter
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Batter-Like Dough
If you’re wondering about the batter-like dough for this sourdough, don’t you worry as it does bake into a beautiful gluten-free, vegan loaf that shouldn’t be gummy either. It will be a little moist but not sticky feeling.
One might question if the texture is compromised without the gelling and binding agents, but to my surprise, this loaf was very comparable to those with psyllium, chia seeds or flax.
I was pleasantly surprised by how wonderful it is—and, I almost prefer it this way!
My favourite is the option with sorghum flour. The rice flour version (see pictures below) is good but a little more dense and crumbly once baked.
Fresh Recipes
Are you looking for more fresh recipes for the months where local and fresh produce are abundant?
Consider trying this 5-ingredient Easy Asparagus Salad with a 5-ingredient homemade dressing!
YouTube Videos
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On the channel, you will find videos for most of the bread recipes. The videos are for beginners, intermediate to even the more advanced gluten-free, vegan bakers. Join us on a new baking adventure!
If you prefer more plant-based recipes, follow Fresh is Real on Instagram.
It’s where I share shorter videos with the freshest creations. I also post a lot of fresh bread pictures on Instagram! I like giving my followers a heads up when a new and exciting recipe is coming.
And, occasionally you might even get to see a picture of me and what I’m up to. I love and read every message I receive, so don’t forget to comment on the posts or send me a quick note if you have a question.
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| If you’re interested in learning more about gluten-free baking, check out the Good Food Cooking School courses taught by cookbook author Heather Crosby from YumUniversity. I took the Bread Baking and the Classic Cookies 101 course a while back, and it’s what got me hooked on my baking journey. Take a tour to see if her baking courses are right for you! |
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ALLERGEN NOTICE: Make sure the ingredients you purchase are prepared in a facility free from the top allergens you avoid. Gluten-free products should be certified GF and clearly labelled. Consult your medical professional with your dietary questions. Even certified gluten-free ingredients such as GF oats, corn, seeds, etc., can create health problems for individuals following a GF diet. Always consult a medical professional if unsure about ingredients for your needs.
Print
Gluten-Free Sourdough Without Psyllium
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
- Total Time: 3-4 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven Baked
- Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Vegan, Plant-Based, Allergen-Friendly
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
If you can’t consume gluten, psyllium, flax, chia seeds or commercial yeast—this bread recipe is for you! It’s also vegan, allergen-friendly and less than 8 ingredients.
Good gluten-free sourdough bread does not need extra binding ingredients to work. In fact, you might even enjoy this simplified hand-mixed version better as it bakes up less gummy than other types of gluten-free sourdough bread recipes that contain gelling agents.
The mixture for this beautiful bread is batter-like as opposed to dough you can manipulate with your hands. You will get better results with sorghum flour (see option 1), organic is even better, but white or brown rice flour is a comparable alternative (see option 2).
You will absolutely need a bread pan for this recipe as the mixture is like a cake batter. A large Dutch oven is an optional tool with this recipe but highly recommended when baking gluten-free sourdough. It helps to trap the heat and steam during the baking process. This dough will bake up nicely without, but the recipe does yield better results with the Dutch oven.
I’ve tested the options below with a brown rice starter although a sorghum sourdough starter should work equally well.
Tools:
- glass mixing bowl (clear is great)
- ingredients listed below
- mixing and measuring tools
- bread pan (approx. 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches)
- unbleached parchment paper
- large Dutch oven (optional)
- baking stone* (optional)
- baking sheet** (optional)
- oven
Ingredients
Option 1 – Sorghum Flour
- 1–1/2 cups sorghum flour
- 1 cup tiger nut flour
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon fine grey sea salt (up to 3/4 tablespoon)
- 1 cup active brown rice starter
- 1–1/4 cup (up to 1–1/2 cups) filtered or spring water (room temp. or warm)
Option 2 – White/Brown Flour
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup white rice flour
- 1 cup tiger nut flour
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon fine grey sea salt (up to 3/4 tablespoon)
- 1 cup active brown rice starter
- 1–1/4 cup (up to 1–1/2 cups) filtered or spring water (room temp. or warm)
Instructions
Quick Overview
- Combine and mix ingredients, let sit for 1 hour in a bowl
- Transfer mixture to a bread pan, let rise for 1-2 hours
- Preheat oven
- Bake
- Cool
- Enjoy!
Step 1
Important: Before you begin, make sure you have an active gluten-free sourdough starter.
To a large glass bowl, sift and combine all the dry ingredients and mix. Add the gluten-free sourdough starter and 1 cup of water and mix until the liquid absorbs. Proceed to add an additional 1/4 cup of water and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated. If using rice flour (option 2), you will most likely need to add the remaining 1/4 cup of water and mix very well until all the dry ingredients well combined. Note: If making the bread with sorghum flour, 1-1/4 cups of water (up to 1-1/2 cups total) should be sufficient, you might even feel like your dough is way too runny but don’t worry it will be fine. Cover your bowl with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and let sit for at least 1 hour in a warm area or until you start seeing the formation of little bubbles on the side of your clear glass bowl.
Step 2
Line a bread pan with unbleached parchment paper. Tip: Adding a little oil can help to keep the paper in place, but it’s not necessary. Once you have small bubbles forming throughout your dough (observe the side of your glass bowl), transfer the mixture to your lined bread pan. You will loosely cover the mixture in the bread pan and let it rise for another 1-2 hours or until the dough has increased in size. Tip: Take notice of where your dough is at before you cover it to rise. It should increase by 1/2-in up to 1 inch in 1 to 2 hours if placed in a warm area.
Step 3
After one hour or once you notice some rise to your dough, preheat your oven to 450° F. If you have a Dutch oven that is large enough to fit your bread pan into, go ahead and preheat it at the same time as your oven. Tip: You will need to preheat your oven and Dutch oven for at least 30 to 45 minutes before baking your loaf. Continue to let your dough rise while the oven is preheating.
Step 4
Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from your oven, take off the lid and place your bread pan inside and cover. Return to the oven right away and bake for 25 minutes covered. At the 25-minute mark, check on your loaf by removing the cover. At this point, you will continue baking the bread for another 20-25 minutes uncovered for a total of 45-50 minutes.
Step 5
After 45-50 minutes, check on your loaf, the top should be golden, and sound hard and crispy when tapped. Remove the bread pan from the oven. If it slides out of your bread pan easily, do so and let it cool on a wire rack until completely cooled. If the loaf is a little stuck, let it cool for 10-20 minutes before trying to remove it from the pan. Don’t leave it too long as it might get wet from the condensation.
Notes
- Best enjoyed fresh on the same day, after that this loaf is usually best toasted.
- Keep on the counter for 1-2 days wrapped in a clean tea towel.
- My favourite way to toast any of my gluten-free, vegan bread recipes is to use a well-seasoned cast iron pan. Toast nice and slow on a low heat for the best results.
- After a couple of days, you can store the leftovers in the fridge or freezer in a glass container or plastic bag for a little longer. Once refrigerated this loaf will feel dry and hard but once toasted it should be just right to eat.
Additional Baking Tips:
- *Baking stone: If you have a baking stone, place it underneath the Dutch oven when preheating your oven. The extra concentrated heat helps when baking gluten-free sourdough bread.
- **Baking without a Dutch oven or baking stone: If you don’t have a Dutch oven or baking stone, you can bake your loaf using steam. Place a baking sheet on the lower rack and preheat at the same time as the oven. Once you place your loaf pan in the oven, you’re going to add a few ice cubes to the bottom baking sheet and close the oven door right away. The melting ice cubes will create steam.
- To Cover or Not to Cover: If you’re not using a Dutch oven, leave your bread pan uncovered. If you are using a Dutch oven, bake your loaf according to the steps listed above.
Good day,
View CommentI am planning to try this recipe. My starter is about 10 days old. Is that too soon? It is with brown rice flour. My medically complex kiddo’s guts can’t handle a lot of foods and so I have turned to gf sourdough. But psyllium husk is to binding. I have only made a couple recipe with my discards, and he is plugged right up. Yours is the only recipe I can find without psyllium, but I really need bread that can work for his school lunches and not be crumbly and fall apart. We can use some flaxseed meal and chia seed…do you have suggestions for how to incorporate some of these? Will try the recipe this week without any binders while I wait on your response. Thank you so much for this recipe! I was feeling so hopeless until I found it.
Hi Sherry! Sorry for the late reply. Did you end up trying the recipe with your new starter? Ten days is fine if it was showing signs of growth and was bubbly. If you need more help with a recipe for your son let me know.
View CommentHi Abigail! Replacing the tiger nut flour with oat flour should work fine. You can probably increase the oat flour to 1-1/4 cups to replace the tiger nut flour, as tiger nut is a bit heavier than oat flour. As for the water, add enough to create a nice thick soft batter. And if you decide to add one egg, that is fine too, and it will replace a bit of the water. Note that I haven’t tried eggs in this recipe.
View CommentHi Chantal
View CommentI am going to start a sorghum sourdough starter in the morning. Can I use this for one of these recipes or do you have a bread recipe that requires a sorghum sourdough starter?
Hi Marilyn! You can pretty much make any of my GF sourdough bread recipes with a sorghum sourdough starter. https://www.freshisreal.com/category/bread/sourdough-bread-2/
Even if the recipe calls for a brown rice starter, using a sorghum version will be just fine. Just note that you might have to tweak the ingredients a little if you need to swap out rice flour or add another flour to replace the sorghum flour in the recipe. Let me know if you need more guidance.
View CommentMam can u pls guide me i hv sorghum stater so for sorghum flr can i replace any other flour
View CommentHi! Here’s the link to the sorghum sourdough starter: https://www.freshisreal.com/sorghum-sourdough-starter/ It’s the same recipe and process as with brown rice flour 😉
View CommentHi Chantal. I gave up on my sourdough starter as it’s just not for me. Can I make this with commercial yeast?
View CommentOh no! Really? Which flour were you trying to make a starter with? So you want to bake a loaf without psyllium? Or are you looking for a very simplified recipe? Let me know which ingredients you can have, and I can guide you to the right recipes.
View CommentHi Chantal, can I use honey as substitute for coconut palm sugar? should I reduce the amount of water?
Thank you
View CommentHi Linda! Of course, you can! It’s only a small amount so I don’t think it will affect the water amount!
View CommentI’d like to try this recipe (so excited to see it!) but would love to understand WHY and HOW it works, so I’ll have a better idea of what I can change. I’d like to try it with a high-protein seed/grain, like quinoa, instead of the tigernut, and white rice instead of the starch. Do you think that would work? Thank you!
View CommentHi! Quinoa might create a denser texture than tiger nut flour. And is your white rice flour sweet or regular white rice flour? Sweet white rice flour is made from glutinous flour and would probably an ok sub for tapioca flour. Please keep in mind that I haven’t tried this combo and wouldn’t really know the outcome unless I tried it. This recipe is very simplified, to begin with, so if you change the few ingredients it might create a different loaf altogether. Could be great or could be super heavy and dense. I hope this information is helpful!
View CommentThanks, Chantal! Do you have a theory about why the recipe works? I’ve always assumed that GF breads needed binders of some sort to achieve an open crumb, but yours looks so nice and light!
I love your videos, by the way –SO helpful. Thank you!
View CommentMy dough did not rise at all. I’m curious what I did wrong. I used a 100% sorghum starter which is a week and a half old. It smells good and bubbles nicely in the jar after each feeding. I then followed the recipe using sorghum flour and Tigernut flour as the recipe states and followed all the other directions. After I mixed the dough and left it for 4 hours, it did not rise at all. Any suggestions as to what I did wrong?
View CommentHi Joy! It could be many factors. Was your home colder? Perhaps your starter wasn’t ready. The more you use a GF starter, the more active it will get and yield better loaves. Was your flour fresh? Did you add enough water? Did you choose this recipe because you can’t consume psyllium or flax? Was your oven well preheated and hot when you baked it? A loaf recipe like this one will not rise like a wheat-based loaf, but after a few hours, you should see the dough expand in size. Let me know if I can guide you to other bread recipes that fit your dietary requirements!
View CommentAmazing recipe! The bread turned out wonderfully, with nice air bubbles and a great texture. I used the rice flour option as a basis but used all brown rice instead of the brown/white combination and I also substituted almond flour for the tiger nut flour. I just wanted to mention that in case others needed to make these substitutions as well. Thanks Chantal!
View CommentMerci Elise! Thank you for trying the recipe and sharing your modifications with others. I will be posting another sourdough recipe soon that you should be able to adapt in a similar way. It’s going to be a recipe for the BBQ… check back soon!
View CommentHi Chantal ! Firstly it’s been exciting to make this bread. Did take a few risks, I overdid the number of days by two extra days to build the starter and I guess that’s considerable as we’re experiencing a hot summer in india, which is telling on the sourness of the bread. Next, I don’t have a Dutch oven that would fit into my oven so I used a baking dish with a foil cover and followed your baking instructions. Outcome is great otherwise but I was curious if there’s anyway one can have those bubbles or air gaps in the bread loaf. Mine is intact with good texture but no air gaps. Is there anything I can do to improve on that ? It’s only because that is a characteristic quality of gluten rich bread, the kind we have grown up on. Lastly, I’m really thankful to you for opening my doors to a world of gluten free breads after a hiatus!
View CommentHi Bonny! I just replied to you in a different post. Let me know if you have additional questions once you read it! Thank you so much for your comment and rating!
View CommentGood afternoon!
I’m planning on starting my first GF sourdough starter in the morning and doing research on “the rest of the process”. Has anyone tried this recipe with a GF 1-to-1 flour? We don’t have many (any) other GF flours on hand and can’t get to the store right now.
Thanks!
View CommentKeith
Hi Keith! I would try work with a single flour (e.g. brown rice, sorghum, oat, millet, light buckwheat) when making a new GF starter. I understand there’s a shortage of ingredients right now in various parts of the world. I did see a few people try making a starter with 1:1 flour blends. It’s not ideal but I think it could work. Keep in mind that some 1:1 include starches and gums. If you do try it, keep in mind that the starter might need more water. If you do decide to try it, let us know how it goes. This specific bread recipe was created for people with many dietary restrictions. I’m not sure if it would work with a 1:1 because I haven’t tried it. Do you have psyllium husk or flaxseed meal? Or did this recipe catch your attention because it doesn’t include either? Let me know and perhaps I can make some suggestions.
View CommentHey,, Chantal!
Thanks for the reply! So…quick update. I spent the week using the 1-1 flour to get a starter going (following your PDF directions) and it seemed to go well. I got clear liquid, bubbles and that pleasant sour aroma. I did have to add a little more water than the directions called for a couple of times. It probably amounted to 1/3 cup of water extra over the course of the week.
Today, I followed the recipe above (Opt 2 White/Brown flour). Again, I had to add an additional 1/2 cup of water as I was mixing the ingredients to get all the dry ingredients incorporated. I’ve just pulled the first loaf out of the oven and let it cool! It’s very tasty, but also the inside is quite sticky. It’s baked (so not runny or doughy), just really sticky. Any thoughts?
Overall – I’m SUPER excited about how it turned out and can’t wait to bake another loaf. I think I have enough starter to do that in the morning!
View CommentCan I replace the tapioca with arrowroot flour? I have an sensitivity to tapioca.
View CommentThanks
Hi Sarah! Yes replacing the tapioca starch with arrowroot starch will be fine!
View CommentHi
View CommentI have used oat flour instead of tiger nut flour. I have added the water but it is still very dry. Should I add more water?
Also I am making half the quantity. What temperature and how much time should I keep.🙏🏻
Yes, oat flour is very absorbent. It’s ok if you needed to add more water to make it into a consistency that you can mix. Not sure how it will turn out though but great job for trying! Let me know how it turns out.
View CommentHi, I just tried this recipe and it took 8 hours for the dough to rise an inch. Then it fell flat again in the oven! It’s currently quite cold in my location. I know the my ingredients are all fresh and I did have bubbles in my glass bowl before I transferred to the tin for the final rise. Did I let it prove for too long? Should I try again by letting it prove in a warm oven? Cheers!
View CommentHi Maria! Did you try option 1 with the sorghum flour or option 2 with the white/brown rice flour? I think 8 hours might have been too much. It’s ok if there’s not a significant change in the dough once the batter is in the bread pan. Next time you try, reduce it to 2 hours for the rising time, it should do the trick. It should be fine if you let it rise on your kitchen counter, but if you want to place it in a turned-off oven with the light on that is ok too. Let me know how it goes if you try it again.
View CommentHi Chantal! Thanks for replying. I’m using option 2 with he rice flours. I tried again today and let it rest for only 2 hours on my warm stove. The batter got bubbly but didn’t rise at all. It rose maybe 1cm in the centre after baking so we have some improvement from the first time. Not sure what to try next? I don’t have Sorghum but I have Buckwheat flour. Maybe I should try the option 1 ingredients?
View CommentHi Maria! You can play around with the ingredients you have, but remember, this is a simple recipe. It was initially created for someone with many dietary restrictions. Are you avoiding psyllium because you can’t consume it or you don’t have any? You can use flaxseed meal to help with the structure as well. Let me know which ingredients you have on hand if you want, that way I can make some suggestions.
View CommentMy bread pan won’t fit inside my dutch oven. Can I make it a round loaf in the dutch oven without the bread pan or is it too loose of a dough?
Thank you!
~Katherine
View CommentHi Katherine! It’s a thick batter, so you need a pan to contain the dough. You can use any oven-safe dish. Do you have a small springform pan?
View CommentHi everybody!my version of this amazing recipe looks like this:
1 cup of sorghum flour
1/2 cup of oat flour
1 cup of almond flour
1 cup of tapioca flour
1 tbsp brown sugar (sorry i didn’t have coconut palm sugar)
1/2 tbsp Himalayan pink salt
1 cup of active brown rice starter
1 and 1/4 cup of filtered water (room temperature)
Everything else is pretty much the same, except that I didn’t have a dutch oven, but something like that (thick glass oven dish) and my dough was rising for 1+3ish hours.
View CommentHi Emese! Thank you so much for sharing! I’m sure this information will be helpful to others that might need to tweak the ingredients for their specific dietary needs. Or to match the ingredients they have in their pantry! You’re awesome!
View CommentChantal can you say what tigernut flour does for this recipe and why you chose it?
View CommentHi Nancy! For this recipe, I was trying to keep the ingredients to a minimum. I created this recipe to help a lady bake for her grandson that had many food restrictions. Fresh is Real develops recipes that are mostly plant-based and allergen-friendly, which is why I don’t use the most common allergens. I decided to include tiger nut flour because I didn’t want to add seeds and nuts in this specific bread. Tiger nuts are not nuts; they are little tubers and are often tolerated by many with food allergies or sensitivities. You can use almond flour/meal if you don’t have allergies to nuts. I hope this helps. If you’re wondering about other ingredients, let me know.
View CommentThank you Chantal. I love tiger nuts and have baked with the flour, but it’s expensive and not easy to find, which is why I wondered the reasons for using it. I would like to try other seed flours too and will experiment.
View CommentThanks Chantal. I tried this yesterday, following your recipe exactly except I used ground sunflower seeds rather than tiger nuts.The only other change was that I needed more water than the recipe stated (1-3/4 cup). It turned out beautifully and looks just like yours in the pictures. I decided to weigh all my ingredients and record the amounts for the future. I am wondering why you use cups rather than weights as there can be so much variation cup to cup among the different grains and flours? Thanks for your wonderful recipes!
View CommentHi, can you suggest any substitutions for the tigernut flour please? I’ve already bought lots of different GF flours and don’t want to buy another. Thanks. Margaret
View CommentHi Margaret! If you can consume nuts, almond meal/flour would be a great substitute for tiger nut flour.
View CommentGreat. I’ll try almond so. And thanks for the quick reply.
View CommentI have a silicone bread pan is that okay to use in this recipe?
View CommentHi Yafa! I’ve never tried but I don’t see why not! Give it a try and let us know if it does work as well! Chantal
View Comment