Like everybody and their dog, I’ve started a sourdough culture, but mine is a little different: it’s gluten-free sourdough and made with brown rice flour. As it requires daily feeding, I’m constantly looking for ways to use up what I need to siphon off each time I add new flour and water, which in this case was a tasty gluten-free cornbread made left to ferment overnight with some roasted corn flour I bought at Native Seeds/Search in Tucson, AZ more than a year ago (pre-pandemic travel…sigh). (That’s also where I got the heirloom tepary beans I used to make chana-less masala once.)
Where to Buy a Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter
I got my sourdough started the easy way, with a pre-bought gluten-free sourdough culture from Cultures for Health. I’d added it to my most recent order on a whim, so I can’t say how it compares to just making your own. The idea of buying a starter is that it’s already pretty strong and established, so it doesn’t take as long to end up with a good product for baking, which means less wasted flour.
I followed the basic instructions on the package and the website for how to make gluten-free sourdough, I just followed the back I used about 1 cup of my starter, accumulated from siphoning off a bit for a couple days. There’s also handy video:
Gluten-Free Sourdough Cornbread
For this cornbread, you can use whatever sourdough starter you want, or just use unfermented flour and water (50:50) and you’ll have a slightly less fermented and less grassy taste, but a result that’s maybe not as super for your gut microbiome or your digestion. My cornbread turned out with a rippled top, I think because there was a lot of liquid from the sourdough culture, but maybe because it was thin. Either way, it was still tasty.
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn niblets, or canned niblets, drained
- 1 1/2 cups roasted corn flour or any coarseness of cornmeal
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1/2 cup plain almond milk (sweetened or unsweetened)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 tbsp vegan butter, melted, or olive oil
Measure the frozen corn and leave it on the counter while you prep the rest. That’s all the thawing it needs.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and grease and flour a small baking dish (I used one that’s about 8 x 10, but a circular or square 8 x 8 is better), or line it with parchment paper.
Combine the corn flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to mix. Add the gluten-free sourdough starter, almond milk, vinegar and melted vegan butter.
Stir in the corn niblets and pour the batter into the baking dish.
Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the edges of the cornbread are golden brown. If the middle isn’t done when the edges are brown, top the bread with aluminium foil or parchment while it continues baking. The sourdough makes this a tricky one to give a specific bake time for, since yours might be a little more liquid than mine.
Add batter to prepared cake pan and bake on a center rack for 25-35 minutes, or until the edges are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out completely clean.
Let cool a bit, then serve with butter or chili pepper-infused spreads. I’m a big fan of harissa.
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