Here's the key... (You can bow at my feet later. I know you want to know)
Sourdough
It doesn't really matter what flours you use... experiment with different blends for a taste that you like. I use a little sorghum flour to enhance taste and mostly bean and tapioca flour. In my opinion, white rice flour imparts nasty flavor to the bread.
How to make Sourdough starter
Mix your flours (2 cups), 1 tsp xanthum gum, 2 tblsp sugar, yeast and potato water in a class or stone bowl.
Potato water is either water left after you've boiled potatos or water + dehydrated potato flakes.
Yeast speeds up the process, but not necessary. You can grow yeast from the natural spores already in your mixture.
Your starter should be thick stew consistency. Let it grow at room temperature. As it grows, feed it equal parts flour and water every 24 hours or so. It will turn sour after a week. I don't like sour, so I always use my starter before then.
You have a good, healthy starter if it smells deliciously yeasty and collapses when you shake the bowl. Stir it down when you feed it.
When you are ready to use the mix, add your additional bread recipe ingredients and flour until the dough is the proper consistency. Add a little extra sugar (1 tsp) to feed my superstition... and the growing yeast.
Put this most excellent dough into your pan or baking stone and let rise for 3-12 hours depending on conditions. Grease the top well and cover with damp cloth and/or plastic to keep in moisture.
After you enjoy the most succulent and pleasing gluten free loaf of bread you've ever had, be sure to email me. For further experimentation, use this sourdough starter to make all your baking doughs: muffins, pancakes, waffles, rolls.
Tips
- if the sourdough smells acrid, toss it. Trust me, stinky GF sourdough is not a good combination.
- add garlic for a delightful bread flavoring
- sugar and spice are nice to improve GF flavor. Experiment with various herbs and spices in small measure to offer a hint of flavor to your breads