Gluten free ‘white bread’ sourdough

Firstly, ensure you’re using a starter that has been fed a few hours before. It should be on the rise and have a domed top when you measure it into the bowl. I’d suggest feeding your starter at 1 or 2pm, and then waiting until the peak of your starter (2-3 hours in a warm place) to make the pre-ferment.

Once the starter is ready to go, mix it with the water and then add the flour to create the preferment. Stir until combined and cover with cling film or a wrap. I hate recommending cling film but it does do a good job here. I do recommend reusing the cling film for bread purposes (and everything else, really).

Leave this in a warm, draft free place overnight. The preferment should look like a starter that has begun to fall after not being fed for a while. The top should have some popped bubbles but it will still look quite watery. Even if you think it has ‘failed’ it should still strengthen both the flavour and the physical dough. If it has absolutely no bubbles, doesn’t look any different and has no sour smell, discard it and start again.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the psyllium husk, water and apple cider vinegar if you can’t get Vitamin C powder (never use them both together). Whisk to combine, and then leave for 5-10 minutes to thicken into a gel.

While you’re waiting, combine the flours, ginger powder, vitamin C powder if you have it and salt in a large glass or plastic mixing bowl.

Once the psyllium gel has thickened well, whisk it into the preferment and oil (if you’re using it) Add this wet mixture to the flours and use a spoon to combine the mixture. It will get to a stage where it looks like a scraggy scone dough – get in there with your hands and squelch it through until you have a hydrated, smooth-ish ball of dough. You could also use a stand mixer and a dough hook, but I find this easier and quicker.

Place the dough onto a lightly floured dry benchtop to shape it as best you can. I have linked a clip of how I shape my loaves in the notes section.

When the dough is shaped, lightly flour your banneton or bowl with white rice flour. Place the nice side of the dough (aka the side with no seams that you’ve chosen as the top of the loaf) down into the banneton. The base of the loaf (with all the seams) should be facing upwards.

Cover the loaf (make it airtight or the dough will dry out) with a lightly oiled shower cap or the cling you used for the pre-ferment. Place the loaf in a plastic bag and place either in the fridge or on the bench to proof. See proofing section for your options. If you proof it on the bench, it will take anymore from 3-6 hours, weather dependent. It might even take more. If you use the fridge, you can leave it overnight.

Around 30 minutes before the loaf is proofed (knowing a good proof is an art you learn with practice, but see notes for tips) preheat your dutch oven at 300-350C/572-662F. Note that some dutch ovens can only go to 300C/572F, so make sure you know which sort yours is. Dough is properly proofed when you poke it and the indent bounces back partially, but not all the way.

When the oven and loaf are both ready, take a rectangular piece of sturdy baking paper and lay it on a damp bench. It needs to be long enough that you can lower the loaf into the Dutch oven without burning your arms. In my experience, dropping the loaf into the Dutch oven results in a flat and gummy loaf.

Invert the loaf onto the centre of the baking paper, leaving the edges for lowering handles. Use a lame (sharp scoring blade) or a sharp knife to make a reasonably deep incision in the loaf. Google ‘bread scoring’ for some pattern ideas, or just keep it simple.

Get all your oven gear ready to work quickly for this next step. Carefully and quickly remove the super hot Dutch oven from the oven. Shut the oven door while you work. Take the lid off and quickly lower in the bread, before quickly replacing the loaf to trap steam.

For a blonder crust, drop the heat back to 220C/428F and bake for an hour. For a darker crust, keep the oven at 300C/572F for 30 minutes, before lowering to 220C/428F for the next 30 minutes.

Once the time is up, remove the lid and continue to bake your loaf for another 20 or so minutes, or until the crust sounds hollow when you knock on it. For a blonder crust, drop the heat back to 180C or 356F.

Once cooked, remove the loaf from the oven and baking paper, placing it on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely (3-4 hours, ideally overnight) before slicing into it, as you can compress all the air in the loaf and end up with extremely gummy bread.

You can store the loaf in a bag or freeze it in slices.