Simple Gluten Free 3 Ingredient Buckwheat Bread
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The spark for trying 3 ingredient buckwheat bread came from online drama. I swear, lately it’s something new every single day.
You guys. Sometimes I feel like we’re back in Junior High again where the mean girls are running the place, and the goofy nerdy trolls like myself are quietly operating in the shadows. It gets old sometimes, but is also hilarious. And I will admit, sometimes I make it worse :D
I digress. I’m becoming one of “those” recipe bloggers where I’m talking about something unrelated but I swear it is!
I saw a reel about a week ago of a girl whining that people are “stealing” her recipe for 1 ingredient buckwheat bread. It was HER brand. How dare they.
The person accused of stealing it kindly said, and I mean very kindly, that “respectively” she’s never heard of this person ever so she didn’t steal her recipe and it was likely a coincidence. You see, this buckwheat bread recipe is a German favorite. Like she didn’t invent it. But she felt like she owned it since she SHARED IT FIRST. Or thought she did.
I think most of the kerfuffle was because her recipes are locked behind a paywall and that’s how she makes her money. Get it girllllll. But, also, sorry…. there’s a billion recipes just like it on the good ole Pinterest.
So me being me… egged on by some of my other creator buddies, we tried it. Because who are you to say I can’t use a recipe similar to yours. And the magic of buckwheat groats RISING without any leavening agents or flour?! MAGICAL!
There’s only so many ways to make bread. And mockery is the best form of flattery. Do your thing and don’t worry about everyone else!
The 3 Ingredient Buckwheat Bread Recipe
I tried this recipe from A is for Apple AU, and tweaked it to my preferences, which turned out surprisingly well. Again… it’s literally just buckwheat groats, water, and salt. Elena actually calls it 1 ingredient buckwheat bread, but I know my trolls would come for me if I said that. Water and salt count, too!
I’m still kinda shocked this bread rose and held together without much more to it and it wasn’t a giant dense brick. Mind you, it wasn’t my fluffy fresh milled yeast sandwich loaves and I wouldn’t trade these for them, it’s an option, especially for those sensitive to gluten. I’m excited to have this in my back pocket to take as part of meals for those that are gluten sensitive.
Obviously, I wouldn’t be able to bake for a celiac, since my oven and kitchen would be considered contaminated.
I’m down to do the research for my gluten free friends! Bread is my love language after all! The next time I make this bread, I would like to try and soak the groats in sweet whey instead of water. Really punch up the protein and nutrients and I think the acid might do something wonderful. Or something awful. I guess we’ll see!
Types of Buckwheat
There are two main types of buckwheat, with one being easier to find than the other (for me anyway).
You have common buckwheat and bitter buckwheat, also known sometimes as baidu buckwheat, which is considered HIGHLY medicinal especially in Chinese medicine.
Common buckwheat is what I used for this recipe and is sweeter than baidu, the groats are larger as well.
Baidu buckwheat is known in Chinese medicine to clear heat, aide digestion, and detoxify. Buckwheat is known for being super high in fiber and promotes good intestinal health. It’s commonly used as a tea form for Chinese medicine. BUT TODAY WE’RE MAKING BREAD OUR MEDICINE MMKKAAAYYYYY?!
It is typically used to promote digestion and improve appetite. And for those that are excessively…. flatulent… start sneaking them some buckwheat tincture. Or gift them some buckwheat bread. It’ll either clear up their gas and bloating or make them poop their pants. Maybe both? Win-win in my book. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD :)
Advice to Be Successful With This Recipe
Do allow the groats to soak AT LEAST 6 hours, but overnight lends to a deeper and richer buckwheat flavor. I dis about 12-14 hours.
If you don’t have intolerances, you can add kefir or whey or even juice in place of the water when blending the groats.
If you don’t own a blender, use a stick blender or food processor to blend the groats. I used a stick blender and it worked perfectly.
Be careful not to over blend the buckwheat groats. Leaving some texture gives you a better bread in the end as opposed to blending to a smooth, liquid yogurt texture. Leave some lumps and bumps.
Don’t skimp on the 24 hour ferment! The ferment gives the dough some rise, flavor, and makes it overall more healthy and digestible. Beware the dough will smell “fermented” after 24 hours, which if you’ve dabbled with sourdough you KNOW. It should smell pleasantly sour and grain-y, not like Grandma’s rotten diabetic foot died in your bowl. (Sorry, not sorry, I’m a nurse lol).
Keep an eye on the dough as it ferments. Depending on how warm your kitchen is, your buckwheat groats may ferment much faster than mine did. So, do check them periodically as over fermentation gives things a really bad flavor and texture.
Get creative with additives like herbs or nuts and seeds on top! I’m planning on trying this as a banana bread and also a cinnamon apple bread at some point. I bet it’s AMAZING.
How to Use This Bread
As bread.
It holds up nicely for sandwiches, toast, french toast, croutons, and more. Seriously, whatever you want bread for, this would work nicely.
I ended up making french toast with most of my loaf because we were craving it. It was delightful!
How to Store 3 Ingredient Buckwheat Bread
Store in an airtight reusable bread bag for 1-2 days at room temperature.
If you don’t plan on eating it within that time frame, after the bread has cooled, slice it and flash freeze flat on a tray and then transfer to a freezer bag. When you want a piece of bread, pull how much you want from the freezer about 30 minutes to thaw.
You can also freeze whole loaves in freezer bags just fine! I know some folks say maybe 3 months in the freezer, but I have left loaves in my freezer for over a year and they’re fine. I’m not sure what’s going to happen in the freezer really, unless yours is dirty and smelly.
Equipment You Might Want
Bread Pan
Glass Mixing Bowl with a Lid
Blender
Fine Mesh Strainer
Ingredients
500 grams buckwheat groats
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 quarts + 1 cup water (divided)
Step 1: Soak the Groats
Start by weighing out the buckwheat groats and then dump them into a fine mesh strainer and rinse them under cool water thoroughly.
Once rinsed, add the groats to a large mixing bowl. Cover with 2 quarts of water and allow to soak overnight, or at least 12 hours.
Step 2: Blend
After soaking, drain the buckwheat in your fine mesh strainer, but DO NOT RINSE. You don’t have to worry about getting all the water out either. Simply dump them into your colander and then toss them in the blender or back into the bowl they soaked in to start blending.
Put the buckwheat into a blender along with 1 cup of water and salt. Don’t skimp on the salt with this. If you don’t add enough, it can be pretty flavorless.
Blend it just until its thickened and slightly runny, like pancake batter. Not completely pureed because you still want a little texture to it.
Add the mixture back to a bowl and cover with a lid. Leave it to ferment on the counter for 24 hours.
The dough should rise to about 1.5 times its size.
Step 3: Bake
Preheat your oven to 375F.
Add the dough to a thoroughly greased loaf pan. Consider lining with parchment too, as this dough is very liquid-y and sticky. Pro tip: wad up the parchment and then wet it down and it will mold to your loaf pan very easily!
Bake for around 80-90 minutes, or til the top is nice and crusty. I did check internal temp as well starting at the 1 hour mark and shot for around 190F.
Step 4: Cool
Remove pan from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
This bread is VERY hard to slice warm, so I recommend allowing it to cool as it does firm up significantly.
Step 5: Store
Once cooled, store your bread a room temperature in an airtight reusable bread bag for 1-2 days.
You can also slice and flash freeze and store the slices in a freezer bag to use as you need them or freeze the loaf whole for later.
Find all my other bread recipes HERE!
Equipment
- Bread Pan
- Glass Mixing Bowl with a Lid
- Blender
Ingredients
- 500 grams buckwheat groats
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 quarts + 1 cup water divided
Instructions
Step 1: Soak the Groats
- Start by weighing out the buckwheat groats and then dump them into a fine mesh strainer and rinse them under cool water thoroughly.
- Once rinsed, add the groats to a large mixing bowl. Cover with 2 quarts of water and allow to soak overnight, or at least 12 hours.
Step 2: Blend
- After soaking, drain the buckwheat in your fine mesh strainer, but DO NOT RINSE. You don’t have to worry about getting all the water out either. Simply dump them into your colander and then toss them in the blender or back into the bowl they soaked in to start blending.
- Put the buckwheat into a blender along with 1 cup of water and salt. Don’t skimp on the salt with this. If you don’t add enough, it can be pretty flavorless.
- Blend it just until its thickened and slightly runny, like pancake batter. Not completely pureed because you still want a little texture to it.
- Add the mixture back to a bowl and cover with a lid. Leave it to ferment on the counter for 24 hours.
- The dough should rise to about 1.5 times its size.
Step 3: Bake
- Preheat your oven to 375F.
- Add the dough to a thoroughly greased loaf pan. Consider lining with parchment too, as this dough is very liquid-y and sticky. Pro tip: wad up the parchment and then wet it down and it will mold to your loaf pan very easily!
- Bake for around 80-90 minutes, or til the top is nice and crusty. I did check internal temp as well starting at the 1 hour mark and shot for around 190F.
Step 4: Cool
- Remove pan from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
- This bread is VERY hard to slice warm, so I recommend allowing it to cool as it does firm up significantly.
Step 5: Store
- Once cooled, store your bread a room temperature in an airtight reusable bread bag for 1-2 days.
- You can also slice and flash freeze and store the slices in a freezer bag to use as you need them or freeze the loaf whole for later.
