Texture rich, flavorful and tender, homemade Seeded Multigrain Gluten Free Sourdough Bread is gluten free bread you’ll look forward to eating. Use your Gluten Free Sourdough Starter to make this whole grain gluten free bread and love bread again!
Going Gluten Free
Going gluten free for a trial period in the summer of 2018 meant I had to give up my beloved homemade sourdough. After a few weeks of throwing internal fits, I finally decided to explore gluten free flours, and learn the nuances of gluten free baking. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I finally embraced the challenge.
After much research, creating a gluten free sourdough starter and baking many loaves of gluten free sourdough bread, testing, tweaking and taking notes along the way, I’m sharing my best loaf yet: Seeded Multigrain Gluten Free Sourdough Bread.
Although I’m eating gluten again, this bread remains one of my most beloved recipes on the blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family, friends and V&B readers have.
At a Glance:How to Make Gluten Free Sourdough Bread
This gluten free sourdough bread recipe is simple to make, but you’ll need a gluten free sourdough starter. My starter recipe takes six to seven days to develop, but once you create it and continue to refresh (feed) it, it’ll be on stand-by next time you’re ready to bake!
- First, prepare the soaker by placing the flax, oats, quinoa, and sunflower seeds into a small bowl with temperature water. Allow to sit overnight.
- Second, in a medium bowl, whisk the flours including oat, brown rice, millet, tapioca with psyllium husk powder and salt.
- Third, in a large bowl, whisk your fed and active starter, water, and maple syrup or honey. Add the flour mixture to the starter/water mixture and mix with a fork.
- Fourth, hand mix in the soaker.
- Fifth, transfer the GF sourdough to a prepared loaf pan, while patting and smoothing the top and rounding the edges of the dough.
- Next, cover with a damp tea towel and ferment for 12-14 hours at room temperature.
- Last, bake the loaf for about an hour.
You’ll notice there is no proof for this recipe, meaning it only rises once (fermentation). Once the loaf is shaped and undergoes bulk fermentation, it’s ready to bake.
After baking, the gluten free sourdough needs to cool completely, at least a few hours before you slice into it! Waiting until the following day is even better as it allows the bread time to cure.
Using Other Gluten Free Flours in this Recipe
You can certainly give it a go! I’ve tried subbing buckwheat and amaranth flour for millet in this recipe but the bread wasn’t as tender and light. I’ve found thorough trial and error that millet helps give loft to gluten free bread without adding more starch. Also, amaranth was a little too strong for my taste.
How Gluten Free Sourdough Bread Tastes
In a word, earthy in such a good way! This GF sourdough bread is texture rich due to the seeds/grains, has a mild oaty flavor, and a chewy interior thanks in part to the binding power of psyllium husk powder, with a nice crisp crust (after toasting).
Because this bread is gluten free, egg and dairy free (yes, vegan gluten free sourdough bread!), mostly whole grain, free of fillers and large quantities of starches, you’ll notice the interior is moist/tacky to the touch. So, it needs to be toasted to bring out its best texture. Sometimes I’ll double toast for breakfast toast, aka, avocado with egg toast.
Storing and Toasting
After the bread is completely cool, slice it with a serrated knife. The slices can be stored at room temperature in a closed container for up to three days or frozen for longer storage. For freezer storage, slices can go from freezer to toaster directly – this is also when I’ll double toast a slice.
Traci’s Tips
- Sourdough discard? Save it, put it in a covered container in the refrigerator and then, make these Gluten Free Sourdough Pancakes, Gluten Free Sourdough Waffles, or Gluten Free Sourdough Pizza!
- Dutch oven? I’ve tested this recipe in a Dutch oven in an effort to make a boule. Without walls of a loaf pan to hold the dough together, it spread way too much and was flat. Stick to a loaf pan ( if not experimenting :D ) .
- Shaping and then transferring the dough to the pan is sticky business. I’ve included two ways in the recipe to get the hardest part of the recipe done: a. shaping prior to putting the dough into the pan or b. shaping the dough after putting it in the pan. I prefer method a. as it produces a better shaped loaf – but it’s harder to do. Note the photos show method b.
- With a 119% hydration, this dough is sticky. But I’ve discovered through my testing, gluten free loaves with higher hydration and low starch content have a better rise and produce a more tender crumb.
- One of the flours used in this recipe is oat flour. I DIY oat flour and have a tutorial on the blog if needed.
- Substitutions: I do not recommend subbing any other ingredient for psyllium husk powder. It soaks up the water, gives the bread it’s chew like gluten-full bread has and holds the dough together.
- I’ve tried subbing buckwheat and amaranth flour for millet in this recipe but the bread wasn’t as tender and light. I’ve found millet helps give loft to bread without adding more starch. Also, amaranth was a little too strong for my taste.
- I’ve not attempted subbing a different flour for oat flour.
- Use a scale. In baking, weighing ingredients is important for optimal outcome. I find that especially true in gluten free baking. I recommend investing in a good digital kitchen scale.
Makers Notes
So happy to read y’all are enjoying the bread in the comments below. Please note, I’ve not tried the following substitutions, but want to share what the community has offered. Here are a few community notes that may be helpful when making this recipe:
- Maya commented: “I used sorghum flour for the oats and half buckwheat, half white rice for the millet. It might not have risen as much as your photo, but it still turned out great.”
- Kate said: “It worked great – I substituted the same amount of arrowroot powder for the tapioca flour.”
- Sarah said: “Slice thick and when toasted you get the crusty edges and soft spongy center.”
- Jill said: “…substituted the brown rice, millet, and tapioca for an even exchange of the King Arthur cup for cup gluten free. This loaf came out SOOOOO GOOD!”
- Leah said: “…sorghum for the oat flour and teff for the millet. I got a nice rise and it came out SO good! The teff really gives it a wheaty flavor, almost like pumpernickel. Both times I left out the soaker and it didn’t seem to be a problem.”
Seeded Multigrain Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
For the Soaker:
- 3 Tbs Whole Flax Seeds
- 3 Tbs Whole Rolled Oats, gluten free
- 3 Tbs Red or Tricolor Quinoa, rinsed under running water
- 3 Tbs Hulled Sunflower Seeds
- 1/3 C (80g) Water, room temperature
For the Bread:
- 1/3 C + 2 Tbs (100g) Gluten Free Sourdough Starter, previously fed, and doubled in size
- 2 1/2 C + 2 Tbs (605g) Water, 80F (27C)
- 3 Tbs Maple Syrup, or Honey
- 1 C (145g) Brown Rice Flour
- 1 C (150g) Millet Flour
- 1 1/4 C (130g) Oat Flour, gluten free
- 1/2 C + 1 Tbs (80g) Tapioca Flour
- 2 1/4 Tbs Psyllium Husk Powder, I use Terrasoul Psyllium Husk Powder
- 3 1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt, or reduce to preference *See note on salt adjustment
- 1-2 Tbs Whole Rolled Oats, for sprinkling on top, gluten free
Instructions
For the Soaker:
- Prepare the soaker by placing the flax, oats, quinoa, and sunflower seeds into a small bowl. Pour room temperature water over the top of the soaker. Leave out at room temperature for about 6-8 hours. If you forget to do this, you can pour hot water (hot to touch) over the soaker before you start preparing the ingredients for the bread.
For the Dough:
- Line the inside of a 8.5L x 4.5W x 2.75H inch loaf pan (23cm X 13cm) with criss crossing parchment with enough hangover on all sides to later help shape the dough and to be used as handles for removing the bread from the pan. If you have clips to clip the parchment to the sides, use them.
- UPDATE 5/20: Some makers have commented that they "poured" the dough into the baking pan. Please note that the dough should be of a sticky thickish batter-like consistency where it is scraped into the pan and holds together. The dough should not be pourable. In order to achieve this batter-like consistency, Psyllium Husk Powder is essential. I do not recommend substituting this ingredient. Mix the Dough: In a large mixing bowl, add the starter, water and maple syrup (or honey). Whisk until the starter is incorporated. Set aside.In a medium mixing bowl whisk the brown rice flour, millet flour, oat flour, tapioca flour, psyllium husk powder and fine sea salt. Mix throughly so that when the psyllium husk powder hits the water, it wont clump. To the water/starter mixture add the flour mixture. Use a fork to mix the flour into the water until the dough starts to stiffen, about one minute. The dough will feel like a thick batter. Add the soaker and knead the dough with your hand, incorporating the soaker until the mixture is evenly distributed, about one minute. Use the fork to scrape any excess dough off your hands and fingers. The dough will be very sticky. Set the bowl aside for about 10 minutes to rest. It will stiffen a bit as it rests.
- Shape and Pan the Dough: There are two ways to approach shaping. a. if you're in a hurry or b. if you have a bit more time and patience. Either will work but I find I get a better shape out of b. (note that a. was used in the images seen above). A. Scrape the batter into the loaf pan. Use a moist rubber spatula (remoisten as needed) to gently shape the top nudging the edges of the loaf inward to produce a nice dome shape loaf bread is known for. This takes a little practice and finessing. Just do the best you can. Use the 'handles' of the parchment and pull opposite sides inwards towards the center of the dough, helping to round and shape the edges. Moisten your fingers or small spatula and smooth the top to rid any lumpy areas. B. A bench scraper for this method is needed. Moisten your work surface with a bit of water (I use a spray bottle and sprits it a few times). With moistened fingers, nudge the dough out of the bowl and onto the moist surface. The dough will be very sticky. Re-moisten your hands and pat the dough into a rough rectangle/log a little smaller than the size of the loaf pan using the bench scraper as needed to move the dough. Pat and smooth the edges as needed using wet hands (no flour here), rocking the dough back and fourth to help shape it, smoothing and rounding the top into a rectangular dome. This takes a little practice and finessing, just do the best you can. Using one swift move, scoop up the shaped dough with a bench scraper and transfer it to the loaf pan. Use the 'handles' of the parchment and pull opposite sides inwards towards the center of the dough, helping to round and shape the edges. Do this several times. Moisten your fingers or small spatula and smooth the top to rid any lumpy areas. Use a moist rubber spatula to gently shape the top nudging the edges of the loaf inward to produce a nice dome shape loaves of bread are known for.Now is a good time to refresh (feed) your starter and store it for next time.
- Bulk Ferment: Remove the clips from the pan if using. Cover the dough with a wet tea towel and allow the dough to ferment overnight at room temperature (it's okay if the wet tea towel touches the top of the loaf). Fermentation will take anywhere between 12-14 hours depending on how active your starter is and ambient temperature. In my chilly kitchen at 66F, the dough takes about 14 1/2 hours to rise overnight. There is no proof for this recipe. Go right into baking the loaf after bulk fermentation. The loaf is ready to bake when the dough increases to 1 1/2 times in size and has risen to about 1.1/2" (3.8cm) above the lip of the pan at the center. The dough will spring back when gently pressed on top.
- Bake the Loaf: Place a oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 550F (288C). Lightly spray or brush the top of the dough with water and sprinkle 1-2 Tbs of rolled oats over the top. Decrease the oven temperature to 475F (246C) and bake the loaf 55-60 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread is between 200F-205F. If the bread starts getting too dark on top, tent the bread with foil. The bread pictured here is untented. After 10 minutes out of the oven, transfer the bread to a cooling rack. Cool completely, at least for two-three hours, better if cured overnight, before slicing into it. You'll notice the bread is very hard, but will soften as it cools.
- How to Store and Enjoy!: After the bread is completely cool, slice it with a serrated knife. The slices can be stored at room temperature in a closed container for up to three days or frozen for longer storage. For freezer storage, slices can go from freezer to toaster directly.You'll notice the interior of the bread to be tacky. This is normal. I find this gluten free sourdough needs to be toasted before it's enjoyed… sometimes double toasted to bring out its best flavor and texture.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Made it? Leave a comment below!
The most helpful comment may include recipe rating, feedback, any modifications or helping other commentors.
I love this recipe! Thank you!! I made a few substitutions and my bread didn’t rise and came out a little too doughy… But it still tastes good and I’ll try to make it better next time!
Hiii Nancy! Thank you for your note. SO happy to hear you’re making the recipe work for you and using it to jumpstart your own GF SD adventures! Keep us posted!
Hi I’ve been making this bread now since I
Commented a couple months ago, It absolutely delicious, I eat at least one piece a day and things have changed in my digestive system. I no longer need to take anything for regularity! I do have a question on the starter, do I add sweet rice and buckwheat flour to the starter at the time of making the bread or do I just remove it from refrigeration, warm It up and let it rise from the last feeding and then use it.??, I ask this because the rise I get doesn’t seem to double but is still very good.
Hi Carol! Thank you for your note and sharing your experience with the bread. SO happy to hear the good news(!!). For the starter, you’ll need to feed it, let it double, then mix your bread. I usually feed mine before I go to bed, then mix in the morning (or feed in the morning and mix in the afternoon). If the starter isn’t doubling, you can opt to feed it twice within a 12 hour period. This will strengthen the starter and help it achieve that doubling in size. I hope this helps. Please keep in touch!
I’m really interested in trying out this recipe! I was wondering if the maple syrup / honey is required or if the amount can be reduced. I wasn’t sure if it was added for taste or as a food source for the yeast/bacteria.
Hi Sneha! Thank you for your note. The maple/honey is to add to the bread’s flavor profile, and it also provides a boost to the yeast, by how much I’m not sure since I’ve not tried leaving it out specifically in this recipe.
Thank you for the amazingly detailed instructions on gluten-free starter and bread! My first attempt I used the America’s Test Kitchen all-purpose flour blend + sorghum for the oat flour. I made the mistake of not allowing the starter to fully double, and my bread came out very dense (though still tasty). For my second attempt, I spent 3 days feeding the starter until it was good and ready, and got a much better result. I used your flour suggestions this time with two substitutions: sorghum for the oat flour and teff for the millet. I got a nice rise and it came out SO good! The teff really gives it a wheaty flavor, almost like pumpernickel. Both times I left out the soaker and it didn’t seem to be a problem. Thanks again!
So happy to hear Leah! Thank you for your review, tips and subs! I’ll add them to the list. So happy you’re enjoying the recipe!
I am trying this recipe for a second time but it is soupy like batter. Followed all the measurements by weighing everything. What have I done wrong?
Hi Connie. I’m sorry your batter is soupy. The only other time I’ve heard of a soupy batter is from Elise (a commenter below) who said it was soupy before baking the bread. She wrote again after baking the bread and commented again “it really puffed up” in the oven. The only thing I can think may be a problem is scale calibration. Also, are you whisking the psyllium husk with the flours before adding it to the water/starter mixture?
Is it possible you are using whole psyllium husks instead of ground? That will make a difference in how the dough holds together I have learned.
Thank you for your note Jenny and sharing what you’ve learned!
Hi! Can I sub the whole flax seeds for ground flax seeds or chia seeds?
Hi Chloe! I’ve not tried ground flax, so I’m not sure it would work or not. If you give it a go, please keep us posted. I wouldn’t recommend chia seeds simply because they would change the texture of the bread.
I have baked a lot of gluten free sourdough breads and this one is excellent! The texture is perfection. You don’t even need to toast it like most other gf breads. Plus it’s loaded with nutrients from sunflower seeds, flax, and whole grains. I have celiac disease and really appreciate the notes from the other bakers on substitutions! Many of us celiacs have cross reactivities, allergies, and/or intolerances so this was wonderful to see. Make this recipe and double it. It is that good :) Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Thank you for coming back, leaving a note, and rating! I loved seeing your bread on Instagram <3 !SO happy to hear you're enjoying the bread and that the notes from bakers are helpful! I'll update this section as I receive more notes. Hooray for good bread!
Hi!
I made a loaf of this bread and we had it in the oven for 55 mins and noticed that when we pulled the thermometer out, the inside was still doughy. We put it in the oven for 10 more mins and then 5 mins after that since we were experiencing the same issue (thermometer reading 200 degrees consistently). We pulled the bread out of the oven for fear that it would burn and are hoping it is still cooking. Has anyone else found this issue? Note: the dough was risen perfectly in the pan this morning.
Thank you!
Hi Alanna… I always temp my bread, but I don’t recall if it comes out doughy in this recipe. 200F degrees is spot on! Remember too that while the bread cools, there’s a bit of what’s called overrun, meaning the bread is still baking even after it comes out of the oven. That’s one reason why the bread needs to cool completely before slicing into it. I hope this helps!
The 605g of water seems to be a typo. When I used that measurement I noticed it was really watery. Then I put 2cups and 2tbsp in a bowl and it was 505 grams. Will start over tomorrow. Not confident I will get anything to rise.
Hi Cris! The recipe calls for 2 1/2 C + 2 Tbs of water, not 2 C + 2 Tbs. I reweighed the water to make sure there’s no typo, and as indicated in the recipe, 2 1/2 C + 2 Tbs of water weighs 605g. As indicated in the blog and recipe, this bread recipe purposely has a high hydration because I found after much testing, the dough rose better with more water. I hope this clarifies and you enjoy the recipe!
Today will be my third time experimenting with your recipe. It’s the absolute best gf vegan bread I’ve had. Thank you! I’m going to reduce the water some as each time I’ve made this recipe my “dough” is much more of a thick batter and impossible to shape in a way. I just pour it into a loaf pan and let it rise For 10-12 hours. It comes out perfect at 60 minutes with and internal temp of 210 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s a bit tacky to the touch when I slice it the next day but I freeze the sliced loaf and take what I need and toast before using.
Hooray hooray! Thank you for your note and tips, Aimee! So happy to hear you’re enjoying the bread!
Baked my second loaf of this today, and it turned out well. I waited until it was barely warm, then gave in to temptation and cut a slice. I think it’s a little better than the first loaf, mainly because I used a little less liquid and baked it a little longer. It’s still a bit on the rubbery side, but is closer to a good bread texture and not gummy at all. The details:
This loaf started two days ago when I took my saved starter out of the refrigerator and refreshed it. It hadn’t been long since I’d used it last, and it came back strong, so I decided to use it without further refreshes. Yesterday late afternoon I did all the measuring and started soaking the seeds. I used a somewhat different seed mix, cutting back to 2 tablespoons of flax, using steel cut instead of rolled oats, cutting back to 1 tablespoon of (red) quinoa, chopping the sunflower seeds, and adding 2 tablespoons each of hemp hearts and sesame seeds; I used slightly more water to account for the additional seeds.
Then about 1 AM (I’m a night owl), I mixed the dough, using 190 grams of my starter, which works out to about 118 grams of water the way I mix my starter. I’m not sure of the water content of your starter, so I’m not sure who our hydration levels compare, but based on my first loaf (which was too moist), I cut back to 450 grams of water (about 568 grams including the water in the starter, plus that in the soaker). I cut back to about 2 tablespoons of honey since I don’t like bread to be noticeably sweet. I only had 50 grams of tapioca starch, so made up the starch with 30 grams of arrowroot starch. And I cut back to 3 teaspoons of salt. This produced a very thick batter which after resting a few minutes was more of a soft dough. I spooned this into my parchment-lined pan and, since it wasn’t sticky, smoothed it with the back of the spoon, then covered it and let it stand overnight to rise.
About 12 hours later it had risen nicely, so I started the oven and about 1:35 pm (oven up to 500F) applied the water and rolled oats and put the loaf in the oven. After 45 minutes, I covered the loaf (which had risen just a bit more) with foil and continued baking. I checked the internal temperature three times, taking the loaf out after a total baking time of an hour and 20 minutes at an internal temperature of 210F. It is a little dark, but not burned.
I really like this bread. I think the changes I made were not so extreme as to make it a different recipe, so I rated it.
SO happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing your notes and adaptations. I’m happy to hear it’s easily adjustable!
This was very helpful. I followed your steps on covering up my bread with foil after 45 minutes of baking, and then baking it for another 35 minutes for a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes. I have the best results from that so far. I’ve made this bread over 25 times and I’m quite pleased by how the bread turned out to be. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for the recipe, Traci!
Hi Kevin! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go! So happy to hear the adaptations are working for you!