Buckwheat sourdough bread
Sourdough seems to be very trendy lately, and while I’m not usually one to hop aboard a fad train, I do actually enjoy sourdough bread. My good friend, who has celiac disease, started making her own gluten free sourdough and has even graciously baked me several loaves, all of which have provided such-needed nourishment to my body and soul while I was pregnant and now nursing. Her bread is so unbelievably delicious, with a texture and crumb so akin to wheat bread, it’s uncanny! And better yet, it’s completely vegan and has no junk ingredients! I fell in love with her sourdough so much that she gave me some of her starter so I could make my own! A few months ago, I had bought all the different flours and ingredients to make this fine bread, then life happened and we got busy and I never got around to baking it. When I finally decided it was time I conquer the sourdough, my husband and I discovered some unwanted furry creatures had eaten through ALL of my flours in our pantry, among all my other snacks and “Mandy-friendly” things. I was livid! We got to the source of the matter and, let’s just say we no longer have squeaky scavengers in our kitchen. My plan was then to wait until all my ingredients were once again on sale at Whole Foods to restock and then try again.
Meanwhile, I happened to acquire a bag of organic buckwheat flour from a friend who was moving out of state and needed to clean out her pantry. I happily took her bag of unwanted flour, and while buckwheat flour is actually not one of the ingredients in my friend’s gluten free sourdough recipe, my culinary gears started turning. I had been wanting to try to recreate my own version of the two-ingredient buckwheat sourdough bread I buy from Whole Foods from a brand called Pacha. I wrote about this bread in one of my previous posts as one product that I highly recommend. It’s made with only two wholesome ingredients: organic sprouted buckwheat that’s been fermented to create a delicious sourdough and sea salt! That’s it! Simple enough that I figured I could try to make my own version at home, since Pacha is a bit pricey and I only buy it when it’s on sale, which is very rare.
So, with only buckwheat flour in our pantry, I decided to give this sourdough dream of mine a try. My mom had even inspired me with her recent sourdough affinity, as she had gotten into this craze just a little while ago. She can tolerate fermented wheat, even with her gluten sensitivity, so she started buying homemade sourdough regularly from a local bakery. That is until she was encouraged by a friend to start making her own traditional wheat sourdough bread at home. And she has beautifully mastered the art. Like mother, like daughter, I took on the challenge.
Of course I had my little helpers in the kitchen with me, so together we learned how to make sourdough. We mixed the buckwheat flour with water and added some salt. We then covered it and let it sit out on the counter for a couple days, trying to find the warmest spots in our kitchen in the midst of this frigid winter so as to allow the dough to ferment. And after much patience and a good 48 hours, our dough started to get fermenty looking and smelling. Fermented buckwheat has a rather pungent smell, more so than fermented wheat flour, so as soon as we could see the spongey-ness building in the dough and smell the fermentation, we knew it was time to bake. We dumped the dough into a loaf pan and baked it at 350F for one hour, and then allowed it to cool in the oven for another 30 minutes, just to ensure the middle of the bread was fully baked. On just our first try, we had successfully recreated our favorite Pacha bread! Taste twin, texture twin! It was delicious! My kids loved it too!
Need I say more? This bread has become a weekly staple in our home. I slice the bread thin, so we can make sandwiches with it, freeze it so it stays fresh, and then take out slices as we need them. My toddlers love peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam on their bread, and we’ve even made grilled cheese sandwiches too!
Don’t worry, I will still eventually use my friend’s sourdough starter to make her gluten free sourdough, but in the meantime, until those ingredients go on sale, I’ll be baking my buckwheat sourdough. Not only is it a much more affordable way to enjoy sourdough than buying our favorite brand, it’s very simple to make! Likewise, it’s delicious and great for the gut. Buckwheat has a very strong flavor, and since there are no other flours or ingredients in this recipe to mellow out the flavor, it’s going to taste very buckwheaty, but I like that taste and so do my kids. It’s what we are used to.
Buckwheat sourdough
500g organic buckwheat flour
sea salt to taste
water
In a large bowl, measure out the buckwheat flour. Add the salt and mix gently to combine. Start with about 300g of water and mix the dough with a wooden spoon. Continue adding small amounts of water until the mixture resembles a very thick pancake batter. It shouldn’t be too thin and watery; if you’ve added too much water, you can add a little more flour to thicken it up. Cover the bowl and allow it to sit in a warm place to ferment. The dough needs to ferment a minimum of 24-48 hours, depending on the room temperature, and possibly longer if it’s cooler. You will know the dough is ready to bake when it has developed a spongey look and consistency and it smells rather sourdoughy. When the dough is ready for baking, preheat the oven to 350F. Dump the dough into a non-stick loaf pan and bake at 350F for 60 minutes. Then, shut the oven off and allow the bread to cool in the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the loaf pan and slicing. The top will be crusty and slightly browned. Slice thin into 20 slices. Eat right away or freeze or refrigerate until ready to eat. The bread will keep well in the freezer for several months, but only a few days in the refrigerator since there are no preservatives in it. Enjoy as sandwiches with peanut butter and homemade jam or open-faced toast!
