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Author:
Franco Salzillo
If you’ve never tried sourdough bread before, know that it’s a life-changing experience, really! This is how people made bread thousands of years ago, so the bread connects you with your ancestors. Forget about instant yeast and baking powder — grow your own sourdough starter and make the best bread of your young baking career!
There’s a catch. Sourdough bread is often made with wheat flour, and it contains gluten. And although that’s not a problem for most people, some can’t eat the protein, so let’s make gluten-free sourdough bread. And there’s more. Since this bread recipe is meant to be enjoyed by everyone, let’s make it vegan as well!
To work on this baking project, you need gluten-free flour; it’s more readily available than ever. You’ll also need to make your own sourdough starter. Grab a cup of gluten-free flour, mix it with water, cover it with a kitchen towel and wait a few days until it starts to bubble. Feed your starter every day. Discard half and add fresh water and flour until you’re ready to make bread.
When the day comes, have in hand more gluten-free flour and salt. We’re going super basic for this one as an homage to the earliest pieces of bread in history — which are also the most versatile and tasty!
You can make this bread in a loaf pan and cut it into slices. It’s easy to eat that way, from breakfast to dinner. Still, you might want to consider making a round loaf in a cake mold. This way, you can eat the bread chunk by chunk. It’s so rustic!
In a mixing bowl, combine the starter and water; combine gently.
Stir in the flour and the salt.
Mix well with a spoon until you get a silky, stiff dough.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Flour a clean surface and knead the dough for 10-15 minutes. Form a ball and return it to the mixing bowl.
Let the dough rise for 1 hour. It will not double, but it should rise considerably.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Grease a loaf pan or line it with parchment paper.
Pour the dough into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes until golden and cooked through.
