White Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread (Long Bulk)

This white gluten-free sourdough bread is very versatile and great for anything where you need some good and soft white bread. It is great for sandwiches and panini. The flour blend used is based on white rice and gluten-free oat flour. Check the exact blend at GF bread flour blends.
This is a no-knead recipe, so most of the actions to be taken require little effort and time.

This GF bread requires a long bulk fermentation (or first fermentation), where the dough will be refrigerated after mixing and folding. This is one of the techniques allowing for most flexibility: as the yeast has little momentum at the start of the fermentation, you can decide when to stop the bulk fermentation phase according to your schedule! This dough is also great for pizza.

You can then shape it as a boule, as a sandwich loaf, as a thick baguette, or in any other shape or form, as long as you have an appropriate container to proof the bread.

I also have a version for this bread with a long proof (and short bulk fermentation). You can choose either one of them depending on your schedule.

All fermentation times highly depend on external factors. The most impacting factor is the temperature of your room and your dough. The recipe below is developed in a kitchen with 26.5C, with a dough temperature after mixing of 26.5C. I realise most kitchens are colder. Expect longer fermentation times if the kitchen is cold and learn to get some clues from the dough. However, due to the long bulk fermentation started very early in the process, temperature will be less of a factor. It will be a factor in proofing. For more information on these clues and my approach with fermentation times of gluten-free breads, see the article How I choose how long to ferment and when to shape. 

The printable summary recipe at the end is concise and straight to the point, but see below some advice on each and every step of the process to make it fool-proof to you and to let you understand why we do some steps.

Schedule and ingredients ratios summary

Step-by-step detailed comments and tips

Equipment and Oven Setup

You will need a proofing container of the same shape of the final bread, a clean kitchen towel (or kitchen paper, if it’s all you have), and a way to seal the container (a quick solution is a large freezing bag and a rubber band to seal it).

Bread is generally baked by professionals in very hot steam ovens. Steam is important for the first part of the bake, because it helps maintain moisture on the crust and delays its hardening. If the crust becomes hard too soon, the bread will not get a good oven spring (quick raise in the oven due to last burst of activity by the yeast). We can try to replicate this setup at home with either one of the following:

• Dutch Oven (Method 1 in the recipe below). Starting the bake in a covered and pre-heated Dutch Oven makes sure that the moisture released by the bread stays locked in and works as the steam would in a steam oven. Dutch ovens are also made of cast-iron, which gets very hot and maintains stable heat.
• Pizza Stone + Water Tray (Method 2 in the recipe below). A pre-heated pizza stone will provide a similar surface heat that a Dutch Oven would provide. Alternatively, a good stainless-steel loaf pan can do the job. To provide the steam, we will be using a baking tin or tray (pre-heated) on a lower oven shelf than the pizza stone. When the bread goes in, we will pour some boiling water in the baking tin and close the oven door.

Flour blend

Mix 1 is chosen to get white and soft breads. It is fairly starchy, although I use the oat flour to give compensate for the pure starches in terms of nutrients and proteins. If you use the version without Whey Protein Isolate, make sure to increase the water amount as suggested below in the recipe.

You can check how to make Mix 1 at Gluten-Free Bread Flour Blends.

Autolyse

Autolyse consists in mixing the flour and the water 20 minutes to 1 hour before you mix in salt and yeast. This step is optional, but it will give time to the flour and binders to absorb water, which will help you gauge how wet your dough really is when you will add yeast and salt. Moreover, adding water early activates starch-digesting enzymes (e.g., amylase) which will start converting starch in sugars. These sugars will be then available for your yeast to devour and convert into alcohol.

Mixing

Considering I add all the water in the autolyse step, I combine starter and salt into the dough by using Ken Forkish’s pinch and folding method. The long story short is that I fold the dough over itself, then pinch it with my thumb and index finger, then fold it again, until combined. Watch this video to see how I do it.

Bulk Fermentation

In this recipe, bulk fermentation is done in the refrigerator. I suggest to let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before refrigerating. In this way, you will give the yeast  a head-start and in the meanwhile you can apply a round or two of folds (see step below). If you plan of fermenting for longer than 36h, skip the resting and stick it straight to the fridge! Check How I choose how long to ferment for more tips.

Folding

I added folding as an optional step. Folding is generally done to build structure by “organising” the gluten network. Here, there is no gluten to organise. However, I feel that applying a few rounds of folds (or at least one) manages to build some structure and tension into the dough. Click here to see a video of how I apply folds and learn about folding techniques.

Shaping

Considering shaping is after the refrigerated bulk fermentation in this recipe, let the dough rest at room temperature for 1h before shaping. It will be less rigid and less prone to rip apart. You can shape this bread similarly to how you would shape a wheat-based bread. The dough will never be as tense as in a dough will gluten, but you can build some tension and shape the dough. The principles I follow are: always keep a floured side (side touching the counter), flouring the it as much as you need to prevent it from sticking; always keep the side facing up unfloored (this will make sure it will stick when your try to seal the dough into a shape). Check Shaping Techniques to see some pictures and videos on how to shape boules, panini, baguettes, sandwich loaves.

Below, how to shape a sandwich loaf!

Proofing

Considering the long bulk fermentation, proofing can vary depending on how long the bulk fermentation is and how much your dough has risen in the fridge. If I bulk ferment for 12h-15h, I generally see the dough not rising at all. In that case, 1h at room temp + shaping + 2h to 3h proofing is generally appropriate. When I bulk ferment for 24h+, some bubbles form even during the cold bulk fermentation. In that case, I find that sometimes even 1h at room temperature + shaping + 1h to 2h proofing can be enough.

When you are not sure, err on the under-proofed side. If just a bit under, the oven spring will help get to the right point. The famous “poke test” generally works on psyllium-bound doughs. Poke your dough: if it springs back very quickly, it might be under-proofed; if it does not spring back at all, it might be over-proofed; if it springs back slowly and still leaves a slight indentation, it’s in the sweet spot! Check How I choose how long to ferment for more tips.

Baking

I propose two methods for baking. For method 1, you need a Dutch Oven that is oven-proof to high temperatures (say 250C). For method 2 you need a pizza stone and a baking tray that will be filled with boiling water.

Scaling the recipe up or down

You can scale the recipe up but keep ratios between ingredients constant. I would probably double the ingredients for a sandwich bread baked in a 2lb loaf pan. I keep boules at maximum 350g per boule, to avoid it being too large and difficult to cook thoroughly in 1h.

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WHITE GLUTEN-FREE SOURDOUGH BREAD (LONG BULK)

July 16, 2020

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 1 hr

Total: 24 hr

Difficulty: Medium

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This bread is great as a white bread for sandwiches, but it also makes great boules and batards. Very versatile bread, easy to adapt to almost any schedule.

By: TheObsessedCook

Ingredients

• For the levain/starter*
• 20g GF sourdough starter
• 20g water
• 20g GF flour (the one you feed your starter with)
• For the dough
• 250g Mix 1 GF flour blend
• 333g Filtered Water (374g if using Mix 1 without WPI)
• 50g Mature GF Sourdough Starter*
• 18.75g Psyllium Husks (I use whole, but powdered should give similar results)
• 5.5g Salt (non-iodised, without anti-caking agents)

Directions

• Step 1 STARTER PREPARATION. Combine the starter ingredients together and let the starter rise for about 4h (it can take more or less time, depending on your starter and room temperature). It will be ready when it has risen to its peak (generally they rise by 50%) and it has just started to deflate.
• Step 2 AUTOLYSE. Combine the flour blend and the psyllium husk in a large bowl. Mix extremely well, to make sure the psyllium husk is well distributed in the flour (I generally whisk it for a few seconds). About an hour before the starter is ready, add the water to the flour, combine well and move the dough to a container or bowl. Use a recipient that you can close properly with a top/cover to avoid drying.
• Step 3 MIXING. When ready, pour or spoon 50g of the fed sourdough starter on the dough. Sprinkle the salt on top. Combine until well distributed, by alternating folding the dough over itself and pinching it often and vigorously between your thumb and index finger. (video available, see post)
• Step 4 BULK FERMENTATION. Let the dough ferment at room temperature for 30 minutes, then move it to the refrigerator in a sealed container or bowl (it is important for the dough not to dry out). Ferment in the refrigerator for up to 36h, according to your schedule or your taste.
• Step 5 [OPTIONAL] FOLDING. While the dough goes through the first 30 minutes of bulk fermentation at room temperature, apply two rounds of folds to the dough. Fold with wet hands, without flouring the dough or the counter. (video available, see post).
• Step 6 SHAPING. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for about 1h before shaping. For shaping, dust your counter (or any other surface you feel comfortable shaping the dough on) with rice flour. Gently ease the dough out of the bowl/container and onto the counter. Shape the bread in the desired final shape (boule, sandwich bread, panini, etc.), as described in the article Shaping Techniques (including videos and pictures).
• Step 7 PROOFING. Proof the dough for 1h to 3h at room temperature. If you bulk fermented for 12-15h, keep the proofing closer to 3h. If you bulk fermented for 24h+, keep it closer to 1h.
• Step 8 BAKE [METHOD 1] – DUTCH OVEN SETUP. 1h before baking, put a dutch oven (covered) into your oven and pre-heat it at maximum temperature for 45min to 1h. When the oven is ready, pull the dough out of the fridge and gently ease it onto some parchment paper. The parchment will help you move the dough. Score the bread at a 45 degrees angle with a sharp knife. Pull the dutch oven out of the oven and gently lower the dough into it (holding it by the parchment paper). Be careful not to burn yourself. Bake for 30 minutes covered, with the oven as hot as it gets. Then remove the lid from the dutch oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes more at 220C (bring the temp down if you see the crust darkening too much, but I have found the best flavours when I forget the oven at max and the crust is just shy of being burned).
• Step 9 BAKE [METHOD 2] – PIZZA STONE SETUP. 1h before baking, put the pizza stone on a middle shelf/tray into your oven and pre-heat it at maximum temperature for 45min to 1h. Also add a baking tin or any baking vessel that can stand the heat on a lower shelf/tray of the oven and pre-heat it as well. Get some water to a boil, say 2 cups (I generally use a kettle). Once the oven is hot, pull the tray with the pizza stone out of the oven. If you are able to, ease the bread onto a cutting board and then gently slide it onto the pizza stone. If you are not able to do that, simply ease it onto parchment paper and then move it onto the stone with the paper. Score the bread at a 45 degrees angle with a sharp knife. Move the stone back into the oven. Now swiftly but with extreme care do the following. Pull the oven tray with the baking tin halfway out of the oven (it needs to be stable, or you risk hurting yourself). Pour the boiling water onto the pre-heated baking tin. Push the tray inside the oven and close the door. This will generate steam and avoid the crust to harden before the bread has a chance to get a good oven spring. Cook at 240C or maximum temperature for 25 minutes. Then, remove the water tray and bring the temperature down to 220C. Cook for 35 minutes more (bring the temp down if you see the crust darkening too much, but I have found the best flavours when I forget the oven at max and the crust is just shy of being burned).
• Step 10 DONENESS AND SLICING. The bread will be done when reaching an internal temperature of 99C and when a toothpick you poked the bread with comes out fairly clean. These breads are generally a bit wet. It is beneficial to leave them in the oven with the oven door ajar, for 15/20min while the oven cools down. Wait a minimum of 1h before slicing, but if you let it rest several hours or overnight you will have best results.