After a few minutes shy of finishing my typical hand mix, I looked down at the dark dough oozing between my fingers and thought to myself: “Wow, this looks and smells remarkably wonderful.”
When working again and again with bread dough, you come to expect a certain color palette: deep reds, nut-browns, soft tans, milky whites, and every possible shade therein—for the most part, this palette neatly defines your bread baking world. Even when changing to freshly milled flour or a new type of grain you can usually be assured the color will be along that spectrum. Not so with whole grain buckwheat. Just a small percentage of the milled, dark and menacing grain-like seed transformed the entire dough to something more like itself: a stunning dark gray, almost black, hue. The earthy aroma surfaced memories of fresh cut soba noodles I had in a modest but astounding restaurant in Japan.
I can vividly recount this exposure to buckwheat: it was during my recent trip to Japan when we serendipitously visitedin at the smallest restaurant I’ve ever encountered. In fact, the only indication it was a restaurant was the unpretentious and familiar symbol on the door indicating it as such. No open windows, no lit up flashy signs, no line snaking around the corner. Just a haven inside that sheltered diners from the hustle and liveliness a short distance from their tables. Almost every seat in the restaurant was occupied, and a survey of the diners immediately told me the dish to order was a large bowl of steaming soup.
Raw Sprouted Buckwheat Bread
The small shop was run by an elderly gentleman and his wife who welcomed us inside with a bow and an open hand. After ordering kitsune soba , per their recommendation and the unintentional recommendation of all other patrons, I proceeded to have one of the best meals of my entire trip. The vaguely strong flavor of buckwheat noodles in their delectable broth was nothing like any food I had had before and, to the astonishment of the owner, I ordered a second bowl to split with a friend. That one restaurant visit opened my eyes to this wonderful pseudocereal and piqued my desire to work with buckwheat flour in my own kitchen—and of course in baking bread.
With the arrival of very cold weather here in New Mexico and soups on the regular in my kitchen, I found myself thinking back to that meal and the stage was set for me to begin experimenting with the earthy, dark buckwheat flour.
Sometimes when trying to create a sourdough formula, I find myself in the mood for bread that’s uncomplicated, light as air, crisp, and very crunchy. Other times I want something more elaborate, something deep flavored with many layers of complexity, a touch more sourness, and very flavor-forward. Buckwheat fits perfectly into the latter category, and channeling inspiration from my recent experience in Japan, I knew it would be a perfect fit for this season.
Buckwheat Bread (vegan, Gluten Free)
Originally, I intended on using freshly milled buckwheat in this formula but was unable to find the whole grain variety at my local market—I only found buckwheat groats (hulled buckwheat). Unfortunately, it’s the outer, hard hull in buckwheat that gives the flour its dark appearance. And while I’m not one to usually choose appearances over taste, I found the whole buckwheat to also have an incredible aroma and flavor. I was committed.
When experimenting with the total percentage of buckwheat flour used in this formula, I ran the gamut from one percent all the way up to ten percent. However, because buckwheat has no gluten, at 10% the interior of the loaf was rather dense—it was shocking how big of an impact this small percentage imparted on the structure of the loaf. Additionally, at this percentage, I felt the intense buckwheat flavor was a bit too forward, overshadowing just about everything else. I finally dialed things back to 5% and found the sweet spot: just enough of that earthy flavor without overpowering the rest of the wheat and fermentation flavors.
In addition to buckwheat, and channeling a little of my previous Multigrain Spelt Sourdough formula, I decided to work in a small amount of rye flour. The flavor of light rye compliments the earthy buckwheat without adding any additional bitterness. It also helps slightly increase acetic acid production, adding a little more sourness to the result. I find that the slightly more sour flavor works very well with the overall flavor profile and my desire for a more complex bread.
Sprouted Buckwheat Dehydrated Granola
Since I’m already using buckwheat flour why include sprouted buckwheat groats? I treated the sprouts as more of an “add in” to contribute even more flavor to this bread, much like adding in seeds or nuts. As I mentioned, because I had intended on milling fresh buckwheat for this recipe, I had a sack of (raw) buckwheat groats lying around. I decided to try and sprout them to see just how hard it might be.
Turns out it’s incredibly simple, and my test bakes with added buckwheat sprouts had a subtle sweetness that I just couldn’t part with; I felt their addition only added to the overall appeal to this loaf.
In addition to the added flavor and texture, the act of sprouting seeds begins the transformation from seed to plant. This transformation makes their nutrients more bioavailable to us during digestion, as a sort of “predigestion” where the nutrients in the seed become easier to absorb and utilize by our bodies.
Sprouted Buckwheat Rawnola
First, ensure the groats are not toasted (these will not sprout). Raw groats will have a light color that is almost green, opposed to toasted groats which are darker brown and, well, look toasted.
Second, the warmer the ambient temperature at which the groats are stored the better; sprouting seems to move at a faster pace when groats are kept at around 75°F – 80°F (23-26°C). I got into a routine of preparing groats the evening before a bake, keeping them at a warm temperature so that they would be ready the next day in the afternoon when bulk fermentation rolled around. I would suggest trying to sprout a small amount, say 50 grams, a few days before you plan to bake this recipe to judge just how long it takes for the groats to sprout for you and your environment.
Finally, you can use the refrigerator to stall the sprouting process: if the sprouts are extending shoots too fast, place the jar in the fridge and then pull it out right when bulk fermentation begins. This way the sprouts come up to room temperature by the time they are needed (after the second set of stretch and folds, about 1 hour into bulk).
Best Buckwheat Bread Recipes
My very first time I tried to sprout these groats I saw activity after one day—it’s not a difficult thing, and the fridge is always a great option to help synchronize the timing between dough development and sprouting.
Following the abovementioned process, rinse the buckwheat groats several times and soak them in water for one hour. After this rinse them and place them into a dry jar overnight.
Build the liquid levain (everything listed in the Levain Build section above) in the morning and store somewhere around 77-80°F (25-26°C) ambient.
Nordic Style Sprouted Buckwheat Spelt Loaf
Check on the buckwheat groats: rinse them under water and place them back into their jar, fluff a little with a spoon to ensure they are aerated.
Mix flour and water (reserve 100g water for the mix, later) in a bowl until all dry bits are hydrated. Cover bowl and store somewhere warm (around 75-78°F/23-26°C) for 2 hours.
Dump the dough onto the counter and slap and fold the dough (French fold) for about 5 minutes, just until the dough starts to show signs of a smooth surface. If you aren’t comfortable with slap/fold method or don’t like it, you can do stretch and folds in the bowl until thedough tightens up and becomes harderto stretch out and fold over.
Sprouted Buckwheat Sourdough
When finished with the slap and fold, sprinkle the salt on top of the dough and use the remaining water to help it dissolve. Pinch through a few times and fold the dough over itself to help incorporate. Perform an additional 3 minutes of slap and fold to build even more strength in the dough. It should come together and be slightly smooth but still a tad sticky.
Add the sprouted buckwheat groats to the dough before the second set of stretch and folds. Spread a thin layer (about 1/4 of the total sprouts) on top of the rested dough with wet hands and do one fold. Then, spread another 1/4 of the spouts and fold again. Repeat for four folds using all the sprouts.
Perform a total of 3 sets of stretch and folds during the bulk fermentation, spaced out by 30 minutes. If after the last set of stretch and folds the dough feels overly slack, give it another set of stretch and folds for a total of four. After the final set, let the dough rest for the remainder of bulk.
Ingredient Flourless Buckwheat Bread {v, Gf}
I decided to end the bulk fermentation when I
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