How to Make Gluten Free Sourdough at Home with Yoke Mardewi
Wild Sourdough Founder Yoke Mardewi gives us a step-by-step guide to making gluten free sourdough at home
Hey Gluten Free Fam,
Ever craved a fresh loaf of sourdough, but have been scared off by all the gluten-containing brands that flood the market? Ever wondered what it would be like to make your own loaves in your own kitchen?
Thankfully we’ve found the right expert to guide us through the process. Ben had author, Ted X Speaker and founder of Wild Sourdough Yoke Mardewi on Episode 196 A Gluten Free Podcast to delve into the gluten free sourdough-making process.
Not only is sourdough a high-quality bread you can add to almost any meal, but the fermentation process is known to deliver many gut health benefits.
Setting the Scene for DIY Gluten Free Sourdough Making
From the outset, it’s important to recognise that temperature is critical. As Mardewi explains, cold weather is no friend to the process, affecting how quickly fermentation occurs within the dough.
“(The) best time to start your sourdough starter naturally is when the weather is not so cold,” she outlines on the podcast. “(A) cold temperature will make (the process) slower.”
While timing is essential, the core ingredients give you the foundation. What do you need in the pantry to get the gluten free sourdough started?
“Like normal sourdough, you always start with a whole flour,” remarks Mardewi. “The problem with gluten free flour is that each (option is) lacking something. So I would start with a mixture. I use a mixture of brown rice, buckwheat, sorghum, or whichever you're (not) allergic to… Then mix that with water.”
Basic Principles of Making Gluten Free Sourdough
Once you have a quality mixture of gluten free flour selections, the key is to follow the one-to-one ratio as you combine flour with water.
“You need to get a scale,” Mardewi says. “Then start with one-to-one (ratio). Mix the flour and (by adding) 100 grams (of flour) and 100 grams water.”
As a seasoned sourdough maker who has created her own enterprise in this niche, Mardewi keeps the instructions simple.
“Put (the ingredients) near the heater, but just make sure it doesn't get cooked near the heater,” advises Mardewi. “It will take some time. Do one-to-one (ratio), give it a really good stir, and then just put (on) a loose lid. You do need to put a lid.”
There is one extra addition to the kitchen that is necessary to hold the solution together. By including a rubber band, you ensure consistency and flexibility depending on the shape.
“Get a tall cylindrical glass container, mix it up, and then put a rubber band around it. (A) rubber band is (best) because you (can) move it up and down.”
Applying Patience to Fermentation
By continuing to mix flour with water to the 1-to-1 ratio, your gluten free sourdough begins to take shape
Arguably the biggest issue you will find with gluten free sourdough is the time factor. This is not a quick fix activity, but the results will be worth your effort.
“Let it ferment (for) about three days,” Mardewi recommends. “Dunk it in a bucket of hot water in the sink, just to start it off. Usually within two or three days, it should start to bubble. If you put the rubber band where you start it, then you flatten it (and) you see it start to rise.”
What comes next may surprise you, because much of the early fermentation creates dough you won’t use. Through repetition, the organic quality of the sourdough starts to emerge.
“Then what you need to do is just throw away half of that, just roughly half,” she says. “Then I would only fit (a) small amount. So 30, 40, 50 gram(s) (of) flour and equivalent in water… Then give it a really, really good stir. Repeat the process, but you have to do that for about a week.”
Achieving a Stable Starter for Gut Health Purposes
Although the process can be a bit overwhelming to newcomers, there is purpose to the approach. An expert like Mardewi will tell anyone willing to listen - bacteria and wild yeast sets the stage for a delicious and healthy loaf of gluten free sourdough.
“What you're trying to do there is to create a stable bacteria and wild yeast to inoculate your starter,” explains Mardewi. “By about a week, you get a stable starter. (That) means a balance of wild yeast, because wild yeast is what aerates your starter, what makes it double. You need the lactobacillus to ferment the flour, to make it more gut-friendly, to be better for everything.”
The first week might feel cumbersome, but the author says after those seven days, when you return to feed it, the contents should double within a few hours. By incorporating filtered or tap water that has been boiled and then cooled down, the next step is to use some form of heat source like a microwave. Yet it’s critical not to cook it at this juncture, and to refrain from any refrigeration during the first week.
“First week, you need to warm up because you need to establish a colony of wild yeast and bacteria. (Then) you've got a stable starter.”
Consider Creative Ingredients for Flavour
Now you’ve reached this point of the gluten free sourdough-making process, you can put the dough inside the fridge. Mardewi advises to take the contents out the morning or night before you wish to make the dough.
Thankfully, there are a number of ingredients and extras you can explore to shape the flavour of the dough. This is where your passion and creativity comes into play, including elements that infuse a unique texture to the dough.
“If you're not a purist like me, you can add things like rehydrated organic sultanas or something like that to start off your fermentation,” Mardewi encourages. “Add a bit of sugar, add a bit of honey, that kind of thing. It's better because you’re making bread, not wine.”
The Simplicity and Flexibility of Sourdough
The Ted X speaker understands that people’s interpretation of gluten free sourdough-making can appear too difficult for average families to comprehend. Yet she believes online influencers are largely responsible for this narrative, dismissing the idea that it’s too complex.
“I think what makes it complicated is the bloggers and vloggers and whoever it is that makes it complicated to make money,” she states. “But no, it's actually really, really simple.”
The key for the amateur cooks at home is to recognise that gluten free ingredients won’t hold up as well as their gluten-containing counterparts. With this being said, this is nothing to worry about.
“Gluten Free starter is a bit more fragile than a normal wheat starter,” she outlines. “As long as you use it once or twice a week, the more you use it, the better it is… The other thing that people get really stressed about is that if your starter separate(s), it is totally okay. You just need to stir it. It’s gluten free. It doesn't have the glue (to) stick it together.”
What’s even better is that this process and set of ingredients doesn’t limit you to sourdough. All types of breads come into play, something that should be explored once you’re confident enough to follow the required steps.
“You don't have to make bread,” she argues. “You can make wraps, buns, bagels, pancakes (and) waffles. There's nothing that you cannot do with your starter.”
If you enjoyed these expert gluten free sourdough making tips with Yoke Mardewi, check out the entire episode of A Gluten Free Family. She opens up on her life and background, the mission of Wild Sourdough, the history of the process, her own ADHD and menopause journey, the importance of the gut microbiome for health and a stack of other topics.
