Buckwheat flour

[Wandering Bob]

I would like to know if anyone has used buckwheat flour in their breads.

I have found a recipe elsewhere for buckwheat bread but that uses soaked buckwheat, plus a couple of things that I've never heard of, and baking powder. The end result looked interesting - but it's not exactly what I was looking for.

Buckwheat flour (blé noir) seems to be used exclusively here in Brittany for making sarrasin galettes and, in Eastern Europe/Russia, to make blinis. The shelves in my local supermarket are packed with sacks of it - but I've never come across a bread made from - or with - it (and I've gone back and checked my Elizabeth David and couldn't find any historical references to it either).

I know that buckwheat flour is gluten-free so it would be hopeless on its own as a yeast-levened bread. But I had thought that I'd add some, say 50g to a basic 600g loaf, just to see if there was any added flavour or textural change to the bread.

Anyone tried it out?

 

[GadgetGuy]

I've used it before to make buckwheat pancakes.

 

[Morning Glory]

I've used it before in combination with rye flour and white bread flour with success. Not for a while though... I didn't soak it when I used it.

 

[Herbie]

I've used it in a mix with other flours for gluten free bread. This was not successful so I'm planning some pancakes with the rest of the flour.

 

[Wandering Bob]

I've used it before in combination with rye flour and white bread flour with success. Not for a while though... I didn't soak it when I used it.

Thanks @morning glory - that looks like the way to go. It's hard to get rye flour here (surprise, surprise) but I can get a Pain de Campagne bespoke flour which has rye flour in it. I shall cut that with some strong white and some buckwheat flour and make a smallish loaf.

You wouldn't soak buckwheat flour unless you were very bored, or had completely misread a recipe, or had simply lost the will to live.

Maybe buckwheat (rather than buckwheat flour) needs its own thread. I could cross-refer to the buckwheat bread recipe I found earlier - and also examine other ways of cooking it. I once made kasha - a sort of buckwheat porridge - and I'll see if I can track down the details again.

 

[Wandering Bob]

I've used it in a mix with other flours for gluten free bread. This was not successful

@Herbie - 'gluten free' seems to be very popular these days. I've come across gluten-free loaves here in France - and they are very expensive. I'm puzzled as to why there's such a boom - surely there aren't that many gluten-intolerant people around? Does it come from a misguided sense of healthiness? surely there's nothing wrong with gluten in a well-balanced diet? or is it me - have I missed the main part of the conversation (I often do) ? For those of us who aren't gluten-intolerant why would we need to make gluten-free bread? unless we're just playing - which I get.

 

[Morning Glory]

You wouldn't soak buckwheat flour unless you were very bored, or had completely misread a recipe, or had simply lost the will to live.

Maybe buckwheat (rather than buckwheat flour) needs its own thread. I could cross-refer to the buckwheat bread recipe I found earlier - and also examine other ways of cooking it. I once made kasha - a sort of buckwheat porridge - and I'll see if I can track down the details again

OK - good.

 

[Morning Glory]

I'm puzzled as to why there's such a boom - surely there aren't that many gluten-intolerant people around? Does it come from a misguided sense of healthiness?

Correct - its a stupid fad. There is a very a small percentage of the population who are intolerant to gluten and @Herbie's husband is one of them. The manufacturers of gluten free are making a lot of money from gullible people!

 

[Wandering Bob]

OK - good.

Just talked to a foodie neighbour about this …. she's going to give me some buckwheat flour later in the week so that I can have a play.
I'll also talk to her about buckwheat pancakes - the Breton galettes - and see if she's got anything new to add to the story.
And sarrasin (spelling?) - buckwheat - is on today's shopping list so I'll be up + running soon, and will try and post a new thread later in the week.

 

[Wandering Bob]

Correct - its a stupid fad.

Thanks …. I did wonder if that's all it was

 

[Morning Glory]

Just talked to a foodie neighbour about this …. she's going to give me some buckwheat flour later in the week so that I can have a play.
I'll also talk to her about buckwheat pancakes - the Breton galettes - and see if she's got anything new to add to the story.
And sarrasin (spelling?) - buckwheat - is on today's shopping list so I'll be up + running soon, and will try and post a new thread later in the week.

Oh - buckwheat pancakes! I'm sure I have made those or rather, blinis. I've definitely made buckwheat blinis (traditional in Russia). Very easy to make, too.

 

[medtran49]

We've made blinis with it a couple of times, but that's it.

 

[MypinchofItaly]

Buckwheat flour is very used in Italy and I use it too mixed with white flour to make sometimes pasta or even focaccia and breadsticks.

 

[Wandering Bob]

Buckwheat flour is very used in Italy and I use it too mixed with white flour to make sometimes pasta or even focaccia and breadsticks.

Could you please share your recipe for a focaccia that uses a mixture of buckwheat and white flour? I'd be really interested to see it, as I'm sure would lots of others

 

[Morning Glory]

Extending the topic a bit, I just discovered that Tesco's sell buckwheat grain. I will order some next time I do an on-line shop. It could be good for tabbouleh or other grain based dishes.