Avivah Werner

Easy Buckwheat Chia Bread – gluten free

Written by

Avivah

in

,

I’ve discovered – and been incorporating – a new ingredient into my gluten free cooking: green, unroasted buckwheat!

I used to buy this many years ago and didn’t know what to do with it other than cook it as a rice substitute. It was kind of gluey but my husband liked it….

Well, in recent months I’ve purchased it once again, and have appreciated how versatile it is!

(About cooking it as a rice substitute…not the greatest use of this. Roasted buckwheat is a much better option for that.)

This is a great ingredient to use for making gluten free breads. We’ve found store bought gluten free breads not to be very tasty, and definitely not nutritious, though I use them for convenience. You can find unroasted buckwheat in the health store in the bulk grain section. There are a number of ways to use unroasted buckwheat for baking; here’s one easy recipe that I regularly make. It requires about six minutes of hands-on preparation time; most of the prep is soaking.

Buckwheat Chia Bread

  • 1 1/2 c. green buckwheat
  • 1/4 c. chia seeds
  • 1 c. water
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1 1/2 t. baking powder

Soak the buckwheat in water to cover for a couple of hours but you can leave it overnight if you like. Drain, then rinse.

Separately, soak the chia seeds in one cup of water. Stir it so that all the seeds are submerged in the water. Let it sit for up to twenty minutes until it’s gooey.

Process the soaked buckwheat in a food processor with an S blade. You can process the chia seeds separately and then combine the two mixtures, or just process it at the same time. I generally opt for simpler options so I process it all together. Process until the mixture is smooth.

Add in the salt and baking powder, mix. Pour the batter into pans (I use a silicon loaf pan and a silicon muffin pan). Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celcius for up to an hour and fifteen minutes. A smaller pan and muffins will take less time. Let it cool completely before slicing.

When I use the extra large muffin size pans, I slice each muffin into four slices.

This lends itself to be eaten as an open face sandwich. Below, pizza wheels were very much enjoyed for dinner.

Avivah

Comments

8 responses to “Easy Buckwheat Chia Bread – gluten free”

  1. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    This is amazing! I have a GF child who is egg allergic! Can I do this in a vitamix? I don’t have a food processor

    Reply
    1. Avivah Avatar
      Avivah

      Yes, you absolutely can! You can use an immersion hand blender as well. If your child is egg allergic, I think you’ll find an upcoming post on egg substitutes helpful. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Susan Avatar
    Susan

    It’s easy to cook buckwheat groats, either pre-toasted or green, so they don’t come out gluey. Take a cup of groats and place in a small saucepan over a medium flame. Stir or shake from time to time so they don’t burn but do get hot. While you are doing this, boil two cups of water. When the buckwheat groats are basically hot to the touch, lower the flame all the way and add the boiled water–be careful as you do this, as the water will sputter as it hits the heated pan. Add a pinch of salt, if desired, cover, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. At the end of this time, you should have perfectly separated buckwheat groats. Our grandmothers did it this way, except that when they toasted the groats in the pan they added a beaten egg. I don’t, as I’m vegan, but have been doing it successfully this way for 50 years. Let me know if this works for you!

    Reply
    1. Avivah Avatar
      Avivah

      Thank you for the cooking tip, Susan!

      Reply
  3. dalia Avatar
    dalia

    At home we make buckwheat and teff bread and we let the dough ferment for a day or 2 (depends if summer or winter) and it’s pretty good. I’ll try your recipe as well

    Reply
    1. Avivah Avatar
      Avivah

      Thanks for the suggestion, Dalia! I also sometimes let it ferment, usually because I don’t get around to it fast enough 🙂 but sometimes purposefully.

      Reply
  4. Naomi Avatar
    Naomi

    I made this bread for a workshop I held today, where I wanted the participants to be able to taste my olive oil without washing. It was a big hit.
    They asked for the recipe, so I’m sending them over here.
    Thanks Avivah!

    Reply
    1. Avivah Avatar
      Avivah

      I’m so happy to hear the recipe was enjoyed – thank you for letting me know!

      Local friends made olive oil from their own trees for the first time this year and gave us a bottle – it was delicious. It’s a much richer flavor than even the extra virgin olive oil that I buy in the store. I’m sure yours is similar!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts