Creating a wild yeast gluten free sourdough starter with the help of a sourdough culture, which is basically an established starter, packed in a dehydrated form, made from brown rice. Plus tips on building and maintaining the gluten free sourdough starter with minimal efforts. More tips and troubleshooting with photos: in the blog post above. Also make sure to see the how-to video.
Day 1: In a 2qt jar combine 1 tablespoon of brown rice flour and 1 tablespoon of filtered warm water, and add the packet of sourdough culture, stir well to incorporate. You might need to add another 1 tsp of water, if it feels too thick to mix. Cover loosely with a cloth secured with a rubber band and let it sit at room temperature (75-80°F is ideal) for 24 hours. Cover the jar with a towel if your kitchen is really sunny during the day.
Day 2: Feed the starter with 2 more tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of water, stir. The mixture should have the consistency of a pancake batter. Let it ferment for another 18-24 hours.
Day 3: After 24 hours, no bubbles yet (my kitchen was quite cold) but I fed it with another 4 tbsp of flour and 4 tbsp of water.
Day 4: After 18 hours I could see really tiny bubbles and feel a mildly acidic smell (it’s a sign the starter is hungry) and I fed it again with 1/2 cup flour + 1/2 cup water. As the starter is getting hungrier and growing I noticed that the time between feedings needs shrinking.
Day 5: This time after only 14 hours I could notice more bubbles and more activity (fermentation). I fed it again, with 1 cup of flour + 1 cup of water.
Day 6: After 12-14 hours, the starter developed more bubbles abut it also had some liquid accumulated on top plus a strong acidic smell. This usually means the starter is stressed and it needs more food and fed more often. I couldn’t wake up in the middle of the night to feed it, but it’s ok. In this situation discarding will revive the starter: first get rid of the liquid, and then discard (move to another jar) most of the starter and leave about 3-4 tablespoons. Feed it with 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of water.
Day 7: Just like at the beginning after about 12-18 hours it started to develop small bubbles. I fed it again with equal amount of flour and water – 1/4 cup each. Same day after only 8 hours (at midnight) the starter was showing increased activity and I had to feed it again, this time with 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup of water. I placed it in a warm oven, turned off (not hot, it would kill it).
Day 8: In the morning (after 8 hours) the fermentation process was very active, bursting and bubbling like it was boiling. I discarded again half of it (about 1/2 cup) and fed it with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of flour. I increased the ratio of starter : flour : water (1/2 : 1 : 1) in order to grow faster.
Day 9: After 8 hours: the next feeding was supposed to be during the night and I didn’t bother waking up, and by the morning it started to show signs of deflating again. Less activity, but still: a lot of bubbles and no sign of liquid on top. I discarded 1 cup of starter (aprox. 1.5 remained in the jar) and added 1.5 cup of flour + 1.5 cup of water (1:1:1). And placed it in a dark warm spot.
Same Day: After only 4-5 hours the starter doubled in size, it looked puffed up and very bubbly (see video). That’s how should look a “ready to bake” starter.
Video
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Notes
Tips For Your Gluten Free Sourdough Starter
The way to maintain a healthy starter: is to pour off (discard) some starter each time you feed it. Always maintain this ratio: starter : flour : water (1 : 1 : 1).
The time between feedings: should be 12 to 24 hours not longer for the first 2-4 days and between 4 to 8 hours after.
Gluten Free Sourdough Starter - used in the video can be purchased here, but you can use any other available brand like this one.
How To Store The Starter
If you’re continuing to use and feed the starter daily, just keep it in its original jar. If you decide it is time to take a break for 3-4 days, transfer it to a sealable jar, mix the starter to a slightly stiffer consistency and keep it in a few degrees colder environment. The reduced hydration will slow fermentation activity.
If you’re planning to bake once a week, store in the refrigerator. Feed it (once or twice, it depends how quickly it gets active) the day before you will bake (or at least 5 hours in advance).
For long-term sourdough starter storage (2 week and longer), see blog post.
Don't Throw The Discarded Sourdough Starter
Each time you discard (you will need to do that quite often) gather in a separate jar and keep it the fridge up to 2-3 weeks. Use it in recipes like pancakes, tortillas, crackers, English muffins etc.