Gluten Free Buckwheat Bread

Finally! In my mind I have been working on this recipe for quite a while. My recent visit to my German hometown with all the delicious, crusty, flavorful varieties of (even gluten free!) bread just jump-started the process. When one of my friends told me how she makes her own bread on a weekly basis, I knew I had to come up with a recipe. Some helpful tips and tricks to achieve the right texture made me feel confident that I could do this. Can you relate to this suspenseful feeling when you try something completely new and put it into the oven? Well, I probably spent a little bit too much time watching the baking process, but I was rewarded with a delicious, gluten free, healthy bread with a wonderful texture and perfect crust. This recipe will definitely be one of my kitchen staples.

You will need:

• A loaf pan about 10 x 4 inches (25 x 10 cm). I used my silicone pan because it never fails to give perfect results.
• I used my stand mixer, but you can also use a wooden spoon to combine everything

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ tsp quick rising active dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp warm (not hot!) water
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 1 lb (450 g) buckwheat flour ( I used ‘Bob’s Red Mill’ organic whole grain buckwheat and ground it myself)
• 2 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 1/3 cup (50 g) unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup (50 g) unsalted pumpkin seeds
• 4 Tbsp coarsely ground flax seed
• 3 Tbsp psyllium seed husks
• 2 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 1/3 cups (550 ml) carbonated water
• extra virgin olive oil for loaf pan

optional:

• pumpkin-, sunflower-, black sesame seeds for topping (see picture in notes)

Preparation:

Dissolve dry yeast in 2 Tbsp warm water and stir in maple syrup. Let sit for about 10 minutes until foam forms on the surface.

Meanwhile, place buckwheat flour, Celtic sea salt, psyllium seed husks, sunflower-, pumpkin-, flax-, and sesame seeds, into a large bowl. I used the bowl of my stand mixer.

Combine everything very well.

When yeast mixture is all foamy and you see that the yeast is active, scrape it into the flour/seed blend. Add carbonated water, and stir very well for about 5 minutes.

Cover bowl with a clean, damp kitchen towel and let rise at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Set oven temperature to 375° F (190° C) after about 50 minutes.

The dough should have risen quite a bit and will look airy like this:

Coat loaf pan with extra virgin olive oil and scrape dough into the pan.

If you want you can sprinkle some seeds on top.

Bake at 375° F (190° C) for 50 minutes. Then, without opening the oven, set temperature to 300° F (150° C) and bake for 15 more minutes.

Remove from oven, let sit for about 5 minutes, then remove from pan.

Let cool down further until you slice it! It’s okay, if the bread is still warm when you slice it. I couldn’t contain myself either. Enjoy!

Serving suggestion with homemade cashew cheeses, veggies, tomatoes, avocado ….

… and here the seeded version:

Notes:

• I think we all agree that bread tastes best on the 1st day. From my experience, the best method to keep bread fresh is freezing. Let it completely cool down, slice it, place it in a freezer bag, and try to remove as much air as possible from the bag. Now you can use the slices whenever you need them. I usually put mine in the toaster to bring back that crisp crust.