Gluten-Free Sourdough Baguette, Rustic and Crusty

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I love a glass of red wine with a spread of cheese and cold cuts, and a nice doughy crusty warm baguette to go with it. I'm dreaming of a lovely French evening with good conversation and delicious bread! Baguette is tricky because it has to be crusty on the outside... enough that you should be able to squeeze the bread and hear it crisp. And it should be soft and fluffy on the inside. And overall smell heavenly! Well I'm about to share all my tips and tricks to achieve a gorgeous and delicious gluten-free sourdough baguette, without psyllium husks, and easily converted to a vegan dough.

three gluten-free sourdough baguette on a rack, the left most one is cut and the crumb is airy while the crust is dark and golden

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
FAQ
Related
Gluten-Free Sourdough Baguette

Ingredients

This recipe is very closely related and uses most of the same ingredients as my gluten-free rustic sourdough, which is my cottage bakery's number one seller! I am however using ingredients with a higher amylose content to bring out the crispiness, and you'll see the baking method is different, again to achieve the perfect crust.

Some of the ingredients you'll need that are worth writing about a little are:

Oat flour: must be certified gluten-free! If you can't tolerate oats, you can use ivory teff flour instead.
Starter: I use a sorghum starter but you can use any active gluten-free sourdough starter. If you're not sure how to make a starter, check out my gluten-free starter guide and if you'd like more information about gluten-free sourdough, I wrote a whole post about the science behind creating a starter.

all the ingredients for the recipe, on a white marble top.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

It takes time to make sourdough! You'll have to start by mixing your levain and letting it come to peak activity, which takes about 8-10 hours. Then:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix all the ingredients.
Mix on medium speed for a good 7 minutes.
The batter is pretty wet, and needs to be refrigerated for 12 hours, which deepens the sourdough flavor profile, lets the flours absorb water, and the cold dough will be more easily handled.
On a lightly gluten-free floured surface, split the dough into two equal parts.
Gently roll to form a baguette; the dough is sticky and your fingers will get dirty, but try not to add more flour.
Lift the shaped baguette into a baguette pan and cover with a lightly oiled plastic wrap.
Let rise for 2 hours, and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Score the dough as shown.
Using a spray bottle or a brush, add a mist of water to the baguettes. Bake 22-24 minutes in a steamy oven. I create steam with a glass tray of ice at the bottom of the oven.

Hint: don't be tempted to add more gluten-free flour to make the dough easier to shape! More flour will dry out these gluten-free sourdough baguettes. The better option is to be okay with having dirty sticky hands during shaping (look at mine in the photos, yikes!) and washing it all away when you're done!

Substitutions

The allergens in this recipe are: eggs, milk.

Dairy-free - the only purpose of the butter is to help "harden" the dough to make it shapeable into a baguette. It does this using saturated fats, so the dairy-free option could use a vegan butter that's coconut based. You could even try lard!
Egg-free - the egg adds structure to the crust. My recipe was created using local eggs, where the whites weigh 30 grams. You can replace the egg white with 30 grams of water instead, but know you'll get a softer bread.

If you need to replace any of the gluten-free flours because of additional dietary restrictions, or availability in your area, please take a look at my gluten-free flour guide: it will help you choose a flour with comparable properties. I'm also happy to answer questions in the comments!

Equipment

This is the baguette pans I use for my bakery (non-affiliate). It really is the best option to make sure the bread bakes evenly as it circulates air all around.

You'll also need a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. It helps mix the bread batter evenly for a long time, which is necessary to properly hydrate the flours.

a baguette on a cooling rack, with 3 buttered slices.

Storage

The gluten-free sourdough baguettes are shelf-stable. In my home, we store them in a bread bag on the counter. They're good untoasted for two days, then if you have leftovers, they're best refreshed in the toaster.

You can also freeze the baguettes: wrap tightly in plastic and store in an airtight container in the freezer. However, they'll lose some of their sour taste.

They're certainly best eaten fresh, when the crust is still warm and crispy.

Top tip

You can play with the "amount" of sourness in the recipe! The longer it ferments, the more sour it is. If you like a milder taste, you can try leaving the dough in the refrigerator for a shorter amount of time, and only letting the bread rise for an hour.

FAQ

What is a gluten-free baguette?

Baguettes are typically made from lean dough, and shaped into long cylinders to maximize the amount of crispy crust. In this recipe, the dough is lightly enriched with an egg white and a small amount of butter, which help shape and lift the gluten-free dough during baking.

How do you convert this recipe to measuring cups?

Gluten-free bread recipes that are well written weigh ingredients. Each gluten-free flour has a different density, and if any ingredient substitution is made, volume measurements will lead you astray. Please take a look at my mass vs. volume measurements in gluten-free baking post.

three gluten-free sourdough baguettes on a cooling rack, dark golden brown crust and a white crumb.

Looking for more bread recipes? Check these out!