Gluten-Free Vegan Sourdough Artisan Bread With a Rustic Look

This recipe for gluten-free vegan sourdough artisan bread yields a delightfully sour rustic looking product, bursting with flavors from a combination of quinoa and certified gluten-free oats. It's hard to describe, but my best attempt is that it is earthy like pine nuts and sour like parmesan cheese. I'm always innovating in the kitchen, and this is 100% my new favorite bread. It's a best-seller of my cottage bakery and it gets really positive reviews!

I perfected the recipe so that it is also vegan, free of psyllium husks and does not require a Dutch oven to bake. This is a keeper that is going to be worth your time!

I bake this almost everyday! This is the perfect dinner bread to slather in butter and dip in a gluten-free stew, or to enjoy in the morning with coffee. Honestly, you don't need a reason to dig into this bread, I certainly don't!

Please note that this recipe is designed WITHOUT psyllium husks, and yields a dough that is difficult to shape, hence the rustic look. If shaping and scoring is important to you, I am working on a recipe with psyllium husks, to be out soon! Or you can also try my gluten-free sourdough baguettes, which are easier to shape!

Before we dig in, I want to thank my friend who owns a cottage bakery, Busy Bee Baked Goods in Indiana, as she gifted me a healthy brown rice starter and shared her tips and tricks, making this recipe development possible!

Ingredients

The most important ingredient in any sourdough recipe is arguably the starter. This recipe does not cover creating a gluten-free sourdough starter. Check out this detailed post on how to create a gluten-free sourdough starter. You can also read my sourdough science article, and if you need help creating a healthy sourdough starter, you can join Gluten-Free DIYers on Facebook.

• Gluten-free sourdough starter (pictured is a brown rice starter)
• Water
• Certified gluten-free oat flour (if you cannot have oats, you can replace it with another high water absorption flour like teff. More options in this flour guide)
• Quinoa flour (essential for the nutty-parmesan flavor)
• Brown rice flour
• Sweet white rice flour (aka glutinous white rice, sticky rice)
• Potato starch
• Salt
• Pectin
• Xanthan gum

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Sourdough takes time to ferment. This recipe from start to finish, assuming you already have a healthy gluten-free sourdough starter, will take at least 24 hours.

Making the levain

Established sourdough starters can be stored in the fridge and fed once a week. The levain is essentially a well-fed starter that you plan on baking with soon. To make the levain, take out your starter from the fridge and feed it at a 1:1:1 ratio, which means equal part starter: gluten-free flour: water.

1. Take your starter out of the fridge for a feeding
2. Weigh out your starter, in my case I doubled the recipe and used 220 grams.
3. Add equal part (220 grams) brown rice flour (or sorghum flour). Please note: I accidentally used Bob Red Mill here which is STONE GROUND. That's not ideal, use a superfine brown rice flour, like Anthony's!
4. Add equal part (220 grams) water.
5. Mix the levain fully. I do this in a large bowl.
6. Transfer the levain to a large glass jar, large enough for the levain to double without spilling.
7. Cover the jar with a cloth lid, and set in a warm place for 8-12 hours. My house is kept at 62F in the winter, so I turn my oven on for 2 minutes and turn it off, to provide a warm place for the levain to grow.

Caring for the starter

Immediately after setting the levain to rise in a warm place, we have to make sure to care for our starter! If your starter needs feeding (smells boozy), you can certainly do that. You should also clean its jar in hot water for good hygiene, before storing your starter back in the fridge.

Making dough mixture

Once the levain has doubled in size (8-12 hours), it's time to mix our gluten-free vegan sourdough artisan bread. Carefully weigh all the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

1. The levain doubles in size! It's ready to use!
2. Add the levain to the dry ingredients.
3. Mix and add water.
4. Mix for 3 minutes on medium. The consistency should be like wet, sticky batter.
5. Add the dough to a bucket.
6. Refrigerate the bucket for 12-18 hours.

Shaping the bread

The next phase in this fun gluten-free vegan sourdough artisan bread adventure is to shape the dough into about roughly 5 inch and 200 grams small loaves.

Remember, this bread contains no psyllium husks, which is great because it tastes amazingly better, and is available to everyone sensitive to psyllium. However, on the downside, it is not "gluten-pleasant" to shape. Please watch the video below so you can get a feel for the consistency. And hey, *wink, wink*, I named these gluten-free vegan sourdough RUSTIC loaves because they aren't meant to be perfect, and that's totally part of their charm.

Proofing the bread

Now that the loaves are shaped, we set them on their baking tray to proof in a warm spot. I have done anywhere between 90 minutes to 3 hours: they puff up about 75%, and the longer they proof, the more sour the flavor, so it's a bit of a personal choice.

I use and recommend a baguette pan (not an affiliate link). The reason I love this pan is because it provides structural support to the very soft dough, and lets air circulate underneath. If you do not have access to a baguette pan, you can DIY one, as seen below. Use foil to make tall sides that the dough can sit in, and line the bottom with parchment paper to avoid sticking.

Baking the bread

When the gluten-free vegan sourdough artisan loaves are nearing the end of their rise, preheat the oven to 425 F (make sure to take the bread out of the oven first if that's where it proofed!)

About 5 minutes before putting the bread in the oven, place a tray with ice and water on the bottom rack (I use a glass baking dish). This serves to create steam, since we're not using a Dutch oven.

Bake 25 minutes at 425 F, then reduce to 400 F and bake an additional 15-20 minutes. This bread is ready when an inserted digital thermometer reads 210 F. I like my bread on the darker, crispier side.

Below you see a comparison picture of baked bread using the baguette tray (on top) and the makeshift tray (bottom loaf). Both work fine, but the baguette tray will bake more evenly and yield a crunchier bread.

Fully cool on a rack before cutting; this is to avoid any gumminess, as gluten-free breads continue to evaporate a lot of water during cooling.

Hint: I use the convection setting of my oven to bake this bread. If you don't have a convection oven, you can rotate the bread every 15 minutes to bake evenly.

Substitutions

For any gluten-free flours or starches substitutions not listed below, you can refer to my Ultimate Flour Guide, or leave a question in the comments!

• Oat-free - I chose oats in this recipe because they absorb a lot of water. Other high absorption gluten-free flours are teff, and cassava.
• Potato-free - if you are sensitive to nightshades, you can substitute potato starch for any (or a combination of) the other starches: tapioca, arrowroot or corn. Note if you use corn, your final bread will be crispy like a baguette.
• Gum-free - I designed this recipe without psyllium husks, but that means we need to use gums. Check back soon, I'll have recipes with psyllium husks and no gum!

Variations

• Mild - quinoa flour really packs a punch in terms of flavor! If this intimidates you, you can try replacing some or all the quinoa with cassava flour or teff flour.
• More proteins - add egg whites! You can use fresh, or carton. The correct way to do this would be to replace water weight with egg whites. For example, my egg whites weigh 30 grams, and so I would replace 30 grams of water with 30 grams of egg whites. Going the egg white route will make the bread more airy, with larger bubbles. I wouldn't use whole eggs here, as it will make the crumb slightly more dense.

Equipment

Besides all the regular kitchen stuff like jars and mixing spoons, you will need the following:

• Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
• Proofing buckets (or a container with a tight fitted lid)
• Baguette pan (or read the instruction section for a DIY version)
• Kitchen scale (non-negotiable, you can read more about why weighing ingredients is essential in gluten-free baking)
• A sharp knife for scoring

Storage

According to this article from McGill University, sourdough breads spoils slower than regular yeasted breads! I store my gluten-free vegan sourdough artisan loaves in a bread bag on the counter for 3 days. After the second day, the texture is better toasted. Beyond 3 days, I recommend freezing. Simply wrap tightly in plastic and store in an airtight container in the freezer. Thaw to room temperature when ready to eat. Keep it in the freezer for up to 2 months.

FAQ

Related

Looking for other gluten-free bread recipes? Try these!

Pairing

My friend wrote a Guinness Irish Stew recipe, which I now make weekly and eat it with my gluten-free sourdough rustic loaf. It's such a bomb pairing! Please note that you need to substitute the Guinness for a cup of coffee with a tablespoon of hot cocoa, and use a gluten-free 1:1 flour to thicken the stew. Those are the only substitutions needed to make the recipe gluten-free, and it's just so good!

Gluten-Free Vegan Sourdough Artisan Bread

This gluten-free sourdough artisan bread recipe is also naturally vegan! It contains no major allergens, and no psyllium husks, making it versatile and available for many dietary restrictions. Plus, it tastes amazing and is sure to please!

5 from 9 votes

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Course: Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten-free, sourdough, vegan

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 23 hours hours

Total Time: 1 day day 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 507.5kcal

Author: Naelle @ GlutenFreeDIYers

Cost: 12

Equipment

• 1 Stand Mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
• 1 kitchen scale
• 1 proofing buckets
• 1 baguette pan please see pictures in the instruction section for a DIY option

Ingredients

  

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Levain

• 110 grams gluten-free starter
• 110 grams brown rice flour or sorghum flour
• 110 grams water

Dough

• 100 grams potato starch
• 80 grams quinoa flour
• 100 grams certified GF oat flour
• 20 grams sweet white rice flour
• 13 grams xanthan gum
• 9 grams pectin
• 15 grams salt
• 288 grams water

Shaping

• 2 tablespoon gluten-free flour use as little as possible

Instructions

Making the Levain

• Mix the starter, brown rice flour and water.
• Put the levain mixture into a glass jar and cover with a tea towel and rubber band.
• Let rise in a warm environment for 8-10 hours.

Making the Dough

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix all the dry ingredients.
• Add the levain and mix.
• Add the water, and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.
• Pour the sticky dough into a proofing bucket, and let rest in the fridge for 12 hours.

Shaping the Loaves

• Please watch the video in the instruction section of this post to see the dough consistency when shaping. It is wet and sticky.
• On a gluten-free floured mat, split the dough into equal portions - 1 recipe makes 4 loaves.
• Using the palm of your hands, gently shape the dough into roughly 5 inch loaves.
• Set the shaped loaf on a baguette tray.
• Cover the loaves with oiled plastic wrap, and set them to rise in a warm environment. You can turn the oven on for 2 minutes and then off, and set the bread to rise there.
• Proofing time can vary from 90 minutes to 3 hours, depending on the environment and desired sourness (shorter proofing = less sour)

Scoring and Baking

• Take the bread out of the turned off oven, and preheat the oven to 425 °F (218 °C)
• Score the bread gently, with a wet blade, as shown in the video.
• Place a baking dish full of water and ice in the oven. This will create steam.
• Once the oven is preheated and steam has been created, place the baguette pan in the oven.
• Bake 25 minutes, and reduce the temperature to 400 °F (204 °C)
• Bake an additional 10-20 minutes.
• The bread is done when it is dark golden, and an instant read thermometer reads an internal bread temperature of 210 °F (99 °C)
• Let the bread fully cool on a cooling rack for at least two hours before slicing.
• Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 507.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 100.9g | Protein: 13.8g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 1578.3mg | Potassium: 528.4mg | Fiber: 12.1g | Sugar: 1.2g | Vitamin A: 0.1IU | Vitamin C: 0.9mg | Calcium: 46.9mg | Iron: 2.8mg