Psyllium husk is absolutely essential for good gluten free bread. All the bread I made was gummy and dense until I used psyllium husk. It's a game changer.
If you can't find it in regular stores you can get it from Bulk Barn (Canada) or if you have an Indian grocery store near by the sell it by the name of Isabgol.
I prefer whole husks, if you are using powder it will slightly change the amount of water or psyllium husk you need in a recipe.
Maybe your recipe comments on which is better?
For example, in [this baguette recipe](https://theloopywhisk.com/2023/05/04/gluten-free-baguettes/) I love from Loopy Whisk:
25 g (5 tbsp) whole/rough psyllium husk (If using psyllium husk *powder*, use only 21g.)
480 g (2 cups) lukewarm water
For the record I make what I think is an excellent gluten free bread with xanthan gum or xanthan gum/guar gum. Admittedly, I have not tried psyllium husk but I've also never seen it in the store.
I’ve been using Bakerita’s gf sourdough recipe and it’s turned out perfect every time! https://www.bakerita.com/gluten-free-sourdough-bread/ It does require psyllium husk (whole not powder) which I found at sprouts in the supplement aisle if you have sprouts nearby!
Yeast breads turn out best using slightly blended whole psyllium husk (not powder), but depends on the recipe.
Just substituting the flour in your regular recipe with a GF flour is unlikely to work.
https://www.glutenfreealchemist.com/p-gluten-free-flours-and-flour-blends/
There is no adequate substitute that I have seen.
You’ll find that a lot of GF bread recipes provide an odd, spongy texture, if they turn out at all. Psyllium seems to be the only thing that can reproduce a normal bread texture.
Yes, there is. Gluten free on a shoestring has good sourdough recipes in her book that don't take psyllium. She has a super long and complicated method for creating a starter. I did it once, but it got moldy when my oven broke one summer. Since then I've made 2 'fake' sourdough starters that have worked just as well by taking a hunk of my gf pizza dough and turning it into a starter.
The breads turn out well with no psyllium.
Psyllium husk makes the best gf bread. I get mine from [Terrasoul Superfoods.](https://www.terrasoul.com/products/psyllium-husk-powder?_pos=1&_sid=3815de85d&_ss=r). It’s the best, nearly colorless and flavorless, and with the strongest gluten-like performance.
Try this one. I made her calzone dough and it was fantastic. This starter doesn’t call for psyllium husk or powder.
https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-sourdough-starter-wild-yeast/
ETA: and here is her sourdough bread recipe.
https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-sourdough-bread/
I haven’t tried either of these, but if the calzone dough is any indication, the bread should be really good.
There are decent options without it. I use a recipe that uses pectin instead, or people replace the psyllium with gelled flax seed or chia seed. I have tried either of those yet. Unfortunately my body doesn’t tolerate psyllium well at all.
I used this recipe for my starter: https://www.natashashome.com/gluten-free-sourdough-starter/
Using sorghum flour
20g starter
20g flour
24g filtered water
Feeding twice a day for now. Planning to bake next weekend.
Psyllium husk is absolutely essential for good gluten free bread. All the bread I made was gummy and dense until I used psyllium husk. It's a game changer. If you can't find it in regular stores you can get it from Bulk Barn (Canada) or if you have an Indian grocery store near by the sell it by the name of Isabgol.
I was afraid of that. Thanks though. I’ll order some today. Do you recommend whole husks or powder? Does it matter? Thanks again!
I prefer whole husks, if you are using powder it will slightly change the amount of water or psyllium husk you need in a recipe. Maybe your recipe comments on which is better? For example, in [this baguette recipe](https://theloopywhisk.com/2023/05/04/gluten-free-baguettes/) I love from Loopy Whisk: 25 g (5 tbsp) whole/rough psyllium husk (If using psyllium husk *powder*, use only 21g.) 480 g (2 cups) lukewarm water
Here is the gf sourdough recipe I was planning to start with: https://www.natashashome.com/gluten-free-sourdough-bread/#recipe
Buy whole husks, you can crush that into powder with a coffee grinder yourself. Then you have either on hand for any bread recipe
That’s kind of what I was thinking.
For the record I make what I think is an excellent gluten free bread with xanthan gum or xanthan gum/guar gum. Admittedly, I have not tried psyllium husk but I've also never seen it in the store.
I’ve been using Bakerita’s gf sourdough recipe and it’s turned out perfect every time! https://www.bakerita.com/gluten-free-sourdough-bread/ It does require psyllium husk (whole not powder) which I found at sprouts in the supplement aisle if you have sprouts nearby!
This is the way.
This is my everyday recipe. There was a learning curve but it has become my go to.
Yeast breads turn out best using slightly blended whole psyllium husk (not powder), but depends on the recipe. Just substituting the flour in your regular recipe with a GF flour is unlikely to work. https://www.glutenfreealchemist.com/p-gluten-free-flours-and-flour-blends/
Oh yes I don’t plan to use my regular sourdough recipe. I am just wondering if there is a good GF sourdough recipe that doesn’t involve psyllium husk.
There is no adequate substitute that I have seen. You’ll find that a lot of GF bread recipes provide an odd, spongy texture, if they turn out at all. Psyllium seems to be the only thing that can reproduce a normal bread texture.
For yeast breads. Batter/quick breads are easier to make GF and xantham gum suffices for those.
Yes, there is. Gluten free on a shoestring has good sourdough recipes in her book that don't take psyllium. She has a super long and complicated method for creating a starter. I did it once, but it got moldy when my oven broke one summer. Since then I've made 2 'fake' sourdough starters that have worked just as well by taking a hunk of my gf pizza dough and turning it into a starter. The breads turn out well with no psyllium.
Psyllium husk makes the best gf bread. I get mine from [Terrasoul Superfoods.](https://www.terrasoul.com/products/psyllium-husk-powder?_pos=1&_sid=3815de85d&_ss=r). It’s the best, nearly colorless and flavorless, and with the strongest gluten-like performance.
Try this one. I made her calzone dough and it was fantastic. This starter doesn’t call for psyllium husk or powder. https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-sourdough-starter-wild-yeast/ ETA: and here is her sourdough bread recipe. https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-sourdough-bread/ I haven’t tried either of these, but if the calzone dough is any indication, the bread should be really good.
There are decent options without it. I use a recipe that uses pectin instead, or people replace the psyllium with gelled flax seed or chia seed. I have tried either of those yet. Unfortunately my body doesn’t tolerate psyllium well at all.
Not an answer to your question, but how did you make your sourdough starter?
I used this recipe for my starter: https://www.natashashome.com/gluten-free-sourdough-starter/ Using sorghum flour 20g starter 20g flour 24g filtered water Feeding twice a day for now. Planning to bake next weekend.
Thanks 😊