Fermented Buckwheat Bread (Gluten-Free Sourdough Without a Starter)

Step 1

Combine buckwheat, water and whey or yogurt in a medium-large bowl and let soak for a minimum of 5 hours or overnight.⁣⁣⁣⁣

Step 2

Strain groats using a mesh strainer over a large bowl. Don’t rinse, but let it drain.⁣⁣⁣⁣ Note: you can save this active soaking liquid for a fermented muffin recipe.

Step 3

Blend strained buckwheat groats with 1 ½ cups warm water and salt until combined, but still chunky. Then pour the batter back into your bowl⁣.⁣ Cover the bowl with a dish cloth and let sit in a warm oven to ferment for 16-24 hours. Leaving the oven light creates more warmth. Batter is ready when it has risen and has some bubbles. The batter will have a fermented smell to it, thats good!

Step 4

When batter is ready and fermented, stir lightly and listen to the crackling sounds. Pour into a bread pan lined with unbleached parchment paper.⁣⁣⁣⁣ Do not preheat the oven. Put bread in the oven and then set temperature to 350℉. Bake for 1 ½ hours.⁣⁣⁣⁣ For a golden, crispier outer crust, turn the temperature up to 425-450℉ after 90 minutes and allow to bake for another 5-7 minutes.

Step 5

Remove bread from oven. Let cool for a few minutes, then remove parchment paper when it’s cool enough to touch. Cool completely on rack before cutting into the bread as it will continue to cook when outside of the oven.

Note

Buckwheat is naturally gluten free and is a great way to get started on a bread-making journey as no sourdough starter is required. Make sure that you use raw buckwheat groats, as opposed to toasted buckwheat or kashi.