Ingredients: makes 1 bread
- 4 cups of organic gluten free flour of your choice. I use a mix of – 1,1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup buckwheat flour, 1/2 cup tapioca starch, 1/4 cup quinoa flour, 1/4 cup amaranth flour and 1/2 cup ground up sesame seeds – sesame, pumpkin and chia
- ½ cup of gluten free sourdough starter (recipe below)
- 2 tsp kelp salt
- 2 tbsp organic coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp organic melted coconut oil or olive oil
- approx 4 to 6 tbsp of mixed seeds and nuts – flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, almonds
- herbs of choice: oregano, garlic powder – optional
- 1-2 tbsp of crushed cumin, coriander seeds
- some lukewarm water to mix
Method –
Sieve the flour, add salt, sugar, any herbs, seeds if using, mix well. In a separate bowl, place the starter, add oil, add 1 cup of lukewarm water. Slowly add flour, add water as required. Make sure that the batter is a thick batter and should be spoonable. Mix well and cover with a plate. Place in a warm place and let it rise and ferment for 4-8 hrs depending on the warmth, climate. Once it has doubled in volume, transfer to a lined bread tin. Let ferment for 2 hrs or so until it has risen to a nice shape. Place it in the cold oven. Start the oven on bake function on 185 deg C. Once the temperature has reached, bake for 15 min. Reduce the heat to 175 and bake for another 30 – 40 min. Do a toothpick test. Once baked take it our place on rack and let cool. Cover with towel. Place in a tea towel and a plastic bag or box or a bread box. You can also freeze half of the loaf or cut it in slices and freeze.
Serving Suggestions:
- Mashed avocado and micro greens
- butter or coconut oil and miso paste
- butter/coconut oil and honey or jam
- pesto and cucumber
Nutritional Properties:
- Sourdough bread is often easier to digest than bread that is fermented with brewer’s yeast. Researchers believe this could partly be due to sourdough bread’s prebiotic content and probiotic like properties. Prebiotics are non-digestible fibers that feed the beneficial bacteria in your gut, while probiotics are beneficial bacteria found in certain foods and supplements.
- Sourdough bread has a deep flavor and texture due to long fermentation and use of whole grain flours. Even plain white flour sourdough bread has a deeper flavour than its normal counterpart.
- Sourdough bread is believed to contain higher levels of b vitamins, folate and antioxidants than other breads. To begin with whole grain flours contain a good amount of minerals, including potassium, phosphate, magnesium and zinc. However, the absorption of these minerals is limited by the presence of phytic acid or phytate. Phytates are considered as anti-nutrients because they reduce the body’s ability to absorb the minerals present in the grains. The lactic acid bacteria found in sourdough bread lowers the PH of the bread, which in turn helps to lower and degrade the phytates. The end result is a bread with much lower phytate content and therefore higher absorption of minerals and nutrients. Sourdough fermentation also increases folate levels in the bread.
Gluten Free Sourdough Starter Recipe:
- 3 tbsp brown rice flour
- 3 tbsp lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar or honey
Place all ingredients in a 1 litre glass jar. Mix well with a wooden spoon, it should be a thick batter, cover lightly with the lid or cheese cloth and leave in a warm place away from sun for 24 hrs. Next day add same amount of water and flour and leave for another day to ferment. Repeat this for 4-5 days and you will see that it will form bubbles and smell pleasant sweet and sour. It is now ready to use in your bread as per the recipe above.
Check out my recipe for Sourdough Spelt & Rye Bread and Sourdough Pancake
