Buckwheat Bread (Gluten Free)

Enjoy this delicious and nutritious homemade buckwheat bread made with a few simple ingredients! It's completely gluten free, plant-based and made without yeast. Slice the bread and serve as a nourishing breakfast, delicious snack or as the base of a sandwich.

This buckwheat bread is made with a natural fermentation process. Basically, this means you are making bread without using industrial yeasts, but rather, bacteria from the environment to ferment. In this recipe, we use apple cider vinegar to help with fermentation, as it's raw and unpasteurized so it provides us with probiotics or beneficial bacteria to ferment.

While it is becoming easier to find food quality, naturally fermented bread to buy, it is unfortunately still difficult to find a gluten-free version. Even if you can find gluten free sourdough bread, this recipe is better than anything you can find at the store. It's easy to make and is healthy, nourishing and delicious.

In this post I teach you how to prepare a delicious homemade gluten-free bread with natural fermentation. The fermentation process requires some time, but otherwise the recipe only requires 10 minutes of hands on prep work.

What is Buckwheat?

Despite having "wheat" in the name, buckwheat is a nutritious grain-like seed that is completely gluten free. It's called a pseudo grain because it has similar characteristics to most grains, but is biologically separate from grains. It has nothing to do with wheat and is a great option for gluten-free baking. Other examples of pseudo grains are quinoa and amaranth.

Ingredients for Buckwheat Bread

• Buckwheat: We use the whole hulled grain. You will notice that it is hulled because it will be light in color.
• Raw-Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar: This is the fermenting agent. If you don't have it or can't get it, you can use a little kefir.
• Himalayan Pink Salt: Or use any good quality sea salt.
• Psyllium Husk: This is a key ingredient to keep bread from crumbling when you cut it, it gives a consistency and provides healthy fiber and prebiotics.
• Coconut oil: You can also substitute with olive oil.
• Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds: These add texture and visual appeal to the bread.

How to Make Buckwheat Bread

Soaking the Buckwheat

The first step to making gluten-free sourdough bread is to soak the buckwheat. To do this, place it in a large bowl and cover it with plenty of water. The grain will absorb the water, so if any point you see the buckwheat go over the waterline, add a little more water so that it always covers the grains.

After soaking time, strain and rinse the buckwheat grains and blend them with the vinegar, dechlorinated water (you can use mineral water or filtered water) and salt in a blender. Blend until you obtain a homogenous texture.

Ferment

Once you have the mixture, it's time to ferment. Pour the contents of the blender into a clean, dry bowl. Cover it with a towel or cloth and let it ferment for about 24 hours. Fermentation time depends largely on the temperature and humidity of the environment. The water and more humid it is, the faster it will ferment. This is why it's possible to ferment in only 12 hours in the summer, while in the winter it may take 30 hours.

How do you know when it's fermented? You'll notice that the dough has bubbles, it may have risen a little, and it will have an acidic aroma. If you don't like the acidic taste of ferments, I recommend that you reduce the fermentation time. Your preference for the acidic flavor and your preferred fermentation time depends upon your taste. Once you make this recipe a few times, you will find the perfect fermentation time for your preferences.

Bake the Bread

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C.) Line a bread pan with parchment paper. Once the dough is fermented, stir in the oil and psyllium husk, then transfer to the prepared loaf pan and bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes. The bread is done when a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool the bread completely before slicing. I know that it's hard to wait when the bread is warm and fresh from the oven, but allowing the bread to rest and cool completely is essential.

The bread will continue to cook with the residual heat in the loaf after you remove it from the oven. Once cool, remove the bread from the pan and place on a wire rack or cutting board. It will be soft and easy to slice.

This bread is the perfect fresh homemade gluten free bread to have on it. It has a compact texture and mild tangy flavor, similar to sourdough, with the distinct flavor of buckwheat. It's perfect toasted and pairs well with avocado, peanut butter or any topping you like.

Storage Instructions

Store the bread in the fridge for up to 3 days or for up to 1 month in the freezer. I recommend cutting the bread in slices before freezing and then you can toast the slices in the toaster 1 or 2 times or in the oven at 350°F (180°C) until golden and crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions