Homemade Gluten Free Sourdough Bread & Baked Goods - Yes You Can!

I've been on a gluten free (leaning more towards the SCD and paleo diets nowadays) diet for years now. And bread is something I have given up for a long time, except for the occasional crepes, pancakes or flat breads and nut/seed flour based breads that I enjoy because they are filling and nutritious.

Commercial gluten free bread are horrible concoctions straight from a mad scientist's lab. They are expensive and let's face it: replace gluten by loads of starches and gums isn't a healthy solution. Carbs and starches are sugars that your body will store, not burn. I checked several recipes for breadmaking which are also strange concoctions of a myriad of ingredients that in the end give you some kind of dense, starchy, sponge-like brick that I wouldn't dare calling bread! Baking without yeast and eggs can be challenging too.

I was looking for something else: something healthy, nutritious, easily digestible, easy to prepare with few ingredients and most importantly, something properly prepared.

Even though I've cut grains almost entirely from my diet, I always soak them. I've also recently discovered the benefits of lacto-fermentation and now ferment almost anything: juices, teas, pancakes, vegetables...etc. I got used to the sour taste which I now crave (your body knows best what's right for you, you just have to listen).

Most people think that soaking grains & legumes is time consuming and useless. Wrong! This process is absolutely necessary to remove the phytates/anti-nutrients, allow proper cooking and proper digestibility so that your body can fully absorb and use the nutrients in food. Using grains that haven't been sprouted, soaked or fermented will lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, tooth demineralization/enamel loss (which I have experienced), digestive problems and a whole lot of other health problems...

Anyway, I was on a quest to find a way to make natural, fermented/sourdough-like gluten free bread. And I found it! Shanon Kane, who has been suffering from food allergies and digestive disorders, has developed recipes to make gluten free sourdough bread. These recipes are free of gluten, dairy, eggs, yeast, corn, soy and gums. She uses water kefir to boost the fermentation of her sourdough starters, but if you are not dairy sensitive you can use whey, yogurt, kefir or cultured buttermilk as well.

Shannon offers an e-book which you can use to make your own gluten-free sourdough breads, muffins, pancakes and pizza, and contains "extensive and detailed directions to help you get started making your own gluten free starters. It also includes 10 delicious recipes plus a section on pancakes and interesting variations." She also has a few blogs, including the Art of Gluten-Free Sourdough Baking in which she gives a few recipes and explanations regarding sourdough fermentation, applying the principles of Weston A. Price to a gluten free diet.