This hearty, earthy gluten free buckwheat bread is a delightful change of pace from ordinary bread. Packed with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and flax seeds, it’s a nutrient rich bread that makes amazing sandwiches and delicious slices of toast.
I know what you’re thinking – not another heavy, dense bread. And from the sounds of ‘buckwheat flour bread’, it just sounds like a super dense, tough loaf – something that would result in a brick of a bread loaf. Right?
Well, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this bread – it’s the softest, most flavor-filled buckwheat bread ever.
The reason why has to do with the ingredients… it’s a yeast bread so it’s not as dense as most buckwheat breads. In fact, the yeast helps it stay delightfully soft and rise nice and tall. It’s a simple recipe too – just 2 bowls and a stand mixer. Add in some rise time and bake until golden. Then enjoy thick slices with soup or thin slices for sandwiches.
Is buckwheat flour really gluten free?
Yes, it really is! Don’t let the name fool you – buckwheat flour is actually made from a seed and has no relation to wheat whatsoever. The seeds are ground up making a fine, powdery greyish flour that works really well in breads, pancakes and even muffins.
What else can I use buckwheat flour for?
Some bakers say buckwheat flour can be used as a one-for-one substitute for all-purpose flour, but I have never found that to be a good rule of thumb. Too much buckwheat flour has a tendency to give baked goods an intense ‘outdoorsy’ flavor. So here’s my pro tip for working with it: start small and then increase from there.
These delicious pancakes use buckwheat flour and turn out rich and fluffy every time! And this Irish soda bread benefits from the heartiness that buckwheat flour provides.
Can I make this recipe vegan?
Yes, very easily – the recipe calls for 1 egg, so if you’re looking to make it vegan, just use a flax or chia egg and add it when you’d add the egg in the recipe.
Tips for Making Gluten Free Buckwheat Bread
The ingredients
A nice spread of seeds makes this ingredients list seem really long, but take those away and it’s really a pretty short list. Some yeast, water, maple syrup, carbonated water and of course, buckwheat flour and you are set.
Pro tip: One of the best things you can do for your gluten free baking is to make sure everything is at room temperature (or warmer, in the case of water for proofing yeast). Warmer ingredients blend, mix, fold and combine 10 times better than cold ingredients.
Proofing the Yeast
Proofing the yeast is a simple and easy step that ensures you have fresh yeast. Because the alternative is prepping the whole recipe only to find your yeast is no good AFTER you’ve already mixed the other ingredients. Gluten free flours are too pricey to take that chance!
Mixing
A stand mixer makes mixing these ingredients super quick and easy. Just add the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix gently. Then add the liquid ingredients and mix again for 3 minutes. The batter will be thick and easily scraped into the baking pan.
Rise Time
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- Before rising
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- After rising
Watch the rise time because this bread rises fast and rises tall. 30 minutes is all it takes to go from freshly mixed batter to well risen, ready-to-bake-loaf.
Baking
The bread should bake for about 55 minutes. Towards the end of the baking time, start checking the bread as you may want to cover the top with foil if it starts to get too brown.
Enjoying
Sliced thick or thin, this gluten free buckwheat bread is delicious, hearty and just plain tasty!
Gluten Free Buckwheat Bread
Ingredients
- 3 ½ tsp quick rising yeast instant yeast
- 3 Tablespoons water warmed to 100 F
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 450 g buckwheat flour about 2 ¾ cups
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 50 g unsalted sunflower seeds about 1/3 cup
- 50 g unsalted pumpkin seeds about 1/3 cup
- 4 Tablespoons coarsely ground flax seed
- 3 Tablespoons psyllium husk powder
- 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 1/3 cups carbonated water about 550 ml
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Prepare an 8” x 4.5” pan by buttering it well with vegan butter. Set aside.
- Dissolve active dry yeast in 3 Tablespoons warm water and stir in maple syrup. Let sit for about 10 minutes until foam forms on the surface.
- In a large bowl, measure buckwheat flour, sea salt, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seed, psyllium husk powder and sesame seeds. Stir until combined.
- Add the yeast mixture, the carbonated water and the egg to the dry ingredients. Mix on low-medium speed for 3 minutes, occasionally scraping the bowl down.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and set it in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes.
- Toward the end of the 30 minutes, preheat oven to 375° F.
- Bake the risen loaf for about 55 minutes.
- Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
- Remove it from the pan and let it cool on its side for another 15 minutes. Then flip to the other side for another 15 minutes.
- Slice with a sharp knife and enjoy.
Notes
- Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature (except slightly warmer water for proofing yeast).
- Proof yeast before preparing bread.
- Watch the rise of the bread - it should rise over the pan but not spill over.
- Bake for 55 minutes, covering with foil if needed.
Nutrition
Love bread? Also check out these delicious gluten free bread recipes:
Sue
What does the carbonated water do for the recipe? Would plain well-water work as well?
Christine
Hi Sue,
It adds air to the bread and makes it lighter. I’ve been really happy with the results with the carbonated water, plain water doesn’t add the height that carbonated water does.
Hope that helps.
~Christine
Sue
Thanks, Christine,
Now if it just doesn’t cause gas troubles … I have such a sensitive gut …
I’ll let you know …
Thanks again for your quick reply,,
Sue
Linda L Polk
I’m excited to try this recipe! However, psyllium disagrees with me so I’ll probably substitute, maybe ground chia seed, or a bit more flour, unless you have a better suggestion.
Will rate the recipe after I make it! Can’t wait! Since I can’t have wheat, buckwheat provides the wheaty flavor I crave!
Christine
Hi Linda,
Sure, so the chia seed should work well as a substitute.
~Christine
Terry
This recipe sound great and while I include buckwheat in nearly all of my four mixes, I usually limit it to about 30% maximum of the mix. For this recipe I am thinking of go with a higher percentage as a way of keeping in the spirit of this recipe, but do you see any reason that I could not substitute sorghum fir maybe 30% of the buckwheat?
Christine
Hi Terry,
Sure, so if you’ve seen this chart for flour substitutes, https://zestforbaking.com/guide-to-gluten-free-flour-substitutes sorghum is a close sub for buckwheat.
Let me know how it turns out!
~Christine
Terry
Christine, thank you fir sending a link to the flour protein and fiber chart. I modified the recipe by substituting 50 grams of sorghum, 50 grams of oat flour and 50 grams of millet four for 150 grams of of the buckwheat flour (leaving 300 grams of the buckwheat). I also bumped up the ground flaxseed slightly. Using the fiber and protein chart, I theoretically had an almost exact match for the fiber and protein content of the straight buckwheat mix.
The end result was outstanding. The bread was light and had a fantastic texture and was a little lighter on the buckwheat flavor. I also got a blast out of playing around with the flour combinations to achieve the equivalent fiber and protein content.
Thanks for the advice and the link to the flour chart.
Terry
Sara Romans
Do you have any experience with glutenfree sourdough? I cant have regular yeast. Your recipes are so gr8 but need to implement sourdough as the leavening agent. Thanks for your efforts to make living gluten-free more palatable!
Christine
Hi Sara,
Thanks – and yes, these rolls are amazing 🙂 https://zestforbaking.com/gluten-free-sourdough-bread-rolls
Hope that helps!
~Christine
Devika
Thank you .do you have recipe where potato flour is used …I have got lot of them by mistake I got 4 packs ..none of my friends wants …what recipes will use it .i tried in soup only 1 tsp is required the more I put recipe becomes messed up .
Christine
Hi Devika,
Yeah that’s alot! Unfortunately potato flour is typically used in small amounts. My gluten free flour mix https://zestforbaking.com/how-to-make-gluten-free-bread-flour-mix only used a small amount. But you could make a couple batches of that – it’s a great versatile mix.
Other than that, seal it well and stick it in the refrigerator for longer storage!
~Christine
ramesh
hi , tghank you for the great recipe. i made it last night and was amazed with result. just in your picture it looks green mine was pretty light
Christine
Hi Ramesh,
Great – glad you enjoyed it! Buckwheat tends to give baked goods a very faint green tint – just the way the flour works in the bread 🙂
~Christine
Dee
Made it 2 days ago. Still nice and soft for breakfast today. Fantastic with cheese, cold cuts, jam, butter, on its own. So tasty. The lovely crust, the wheaty, seedy small and the taste. Awesome. Easy to make (I subbed psyllium with ground chia seeds). Spot on instructions. 30 minutes proofing with instant, maybe a tad more with normal but no more than 45minutes. Perfect. New bread in my weekly rotation. And only good stuff in. Absolutely brilliant. Thanks for a great recipe.
Christine
Hi Dee,
Thanks for the wonderful feedback! So glad you enjoyed it!
~Christine
Holly
Hi – this sounds like a yummy recipe! I was wondering if I can double the ingredients and make 2 loaves? Thanks!!
Christine
Hi Holly,
So instead of doubling it, make 2 batches side by side. It’s not as convenient, but doubling just doesn’t work for this loaf.
Hope that helps!
~Christine
Teri
Can I make this without all the seeds, or do I need to sub something for them? (sunflower, sesame and pumpkin)? Thank you
Christine
Hi Teri,
You know, I haven’t made it without them but it should be fine to just eliminate them.
Hope that helps!
~Christine
Teri
Thank you,
Sindhu
Hi,
Any suggestions to adapt this recipe for a bread machine?
Christine
Hi Sindhu,
Thanks for asking – so I haven’t tested it in a bread machine but I’d suggest adding the yeast last (on top the dry ingredients). Let me know how it tuns out!
~Christine
Dottie Odrosky
I love buckwheat and eat pumpkin and sunflower seeds every day on my yogurt, so this recipe really caught my eye. I baked this loaf two weeks ago and had a good result. Sliced the loaf and froze and now toast every morning for breakfast. Very good!
My loaf did not rise quite as high as the one in your picture; my batter seemed quite thick and heavy and I was tempted to add a little water, but did not. (My BW flour is whole grain from a local organic farm.) My eggs are not large so I’m going to use two eggs and after that may add a tablespoon or two more water for my next loaf. Also, when I make BW pancakes I always add some cardamon and like how it enhances the BW flavor and will add this also to my next loaf.
Always appreciate your recipes and effort in developing and have used several before. Dottie
Christine
Hi Dottie,
Thanks so much for the great feedback! Glad you enjoyed it!
~Christine
Kayla
Hi Christine, how do you recommend storing this bread? Does it freeze well?
Christine
Hi Kayla,
Thanks for asking – yes, it freezes well! The best way to store it is to slice it first, then place sheets of wax paper in between each slice and place the entire loaf in a plastic bag and then freeze it. Basically the same as I do with this bread: https://zestforbaking.com/easy-gluten-free-sandwich-bread-recipe
Hope that helps!
~Christine
AMELIA STANESCU
Hi! Can you give an equivalent for fresh yeast at the powder form in this recipe?
Thank you so much!
Christine
Hi Amelia,
Unfortunately I haven’t tested it with fresh yeast so I’m not 100% confident in the equivalent measurements. I would try out a 1 for 1 substitute though.
~Christine
Ashley
Hi! Thanks for this recipe, it looks great. Do you know if there will be any big effect from removing the psyllium husk from the recipe? I have some dietary restrictions and psyllium tends to be a problem for me.
Christine
Hi Ashley,
Thanks! So I haven’t tried it with this substitution, but from what I know from using chia seeds, it should work… try subbing in equal amounts of ground chia seeds.
Hope that helps!
~Christine