GF Sourdough

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I am taking an herbalist course.  The course focuses on total wellness, not just how to use herbs, and one of the projects is to learn how to make sourdough bread.  I had just started making sourdough bread with rye and wheat, when I realized I had celiac disease, so I had to stop doing that and learn how to do basic baking again with GF flours.  The course was the push I needed to try a GF sourdough. 

All the recipes I have seen for GF sourdough use baker’s yeast in the starter, to get it going, and then they use the starter more as flavoring, rather than as the sole leavening (they use baker’s yeast also).  To my mind, this is not really sourdough!  I want the real thing.  It is so wonderful for you, because sourdough is full of healthy bacteria such as is in yogurt.  Baker’s yeast prevents the growth of these bacteria, because it makes the dough alkaline–they need an acidic environment.

I followed the directions in Nourishing Traditions for making a starter which was to mix 2 cups flour with 2 cups pure water, cover with a cloth, and then feed everyday for a total of 7 days with one cup of water and one cup of flour each time.  I used my GF baking mix.  The eighth day I used 1 1/2 quarts of the starter to make 6 medium size loaves using the following recipe I adapted from my regular bread recipe (egg free):

6 c sourdough starter (feed the starter that is left with one c water and one c flour and continue feeding until ready to bake again)

3 1/4 c cold water

2 c boiling water mixed with 3/4 c ground flaxseeds (let sit 5 minutes until it forms a gel)

12 c GF flour mix

3 TBS salt

6 TBS xanthan gum

Mix together for four minutes then spoon into 6 greased baking pans (pottery ones are the best for this)

Rise overnight or anywhere from 4-12 hours.  It depends on the strength of the starter, and the temperature of your house. 

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hr to 1 hr and 15 minutes 

 

 

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Filed under Celiac Disease, Gluten-Free Recipes, cooking, health, home keeping