Gluten Free Buckwheat Bread

Are you looking for a tasty gluten-free bread alternative? This Gluten Free Buckwheat Bread is the perfect option for you.

Bread is always the main issue when someone discovers that they, or their children, have a gluten allergy or intolerance. In so many of our western societies, bread is a staple and accompanies many meals. Suddenly not being able to eat bread can be a very difficult adjustment to make.

When my third child was first diagnosed with gluten allergy in 2015, there were very few gluten-free options available here in France. Those that we did have were particularly tasteless and unpleasant to eat.

Today, things have improved in terms of what is available in the supermarket, we can buy several different types of bread. However, the cost remains horrendous, especially since I am feeding two growing boys. I am also reluctant to give them processed food of any kind and shop-bought bread is still full of preservatives and other additives, even though it is gluten free.

So, I try and make gluten free bread myself. The taste is so much superior that my boys now refuse point blank to eat any bread that is not homemade. I really think that it is the buckwheat that elevates this particular recipe. Rice flour on its own can be quite bland, but blended with buckwheat, makes an incredibly tasty bread.

So, let me convince you to make your own gluten free bread. It is really not as difficult as it sounds, it is a lot cheaper and, of course, so much tastier!

Ingredients Needed to Make Gluten Free Buckwheat Bread

• 200g buckwheat flour
• 200g rice flour
• 100g corn starch
• 400ml water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 10g salt
• 8g instant (dry active) yeast
• 5g xanthan gum
• 30 ml olive oil or avocado oil

Buckwheat Flour

Buckwheat flour has quite a strong flavour. It is used, here in France, to make the traditional Galette Bretonne, a savoury crêpe often served with ham, egg and cheese. I enjoy using it in gluten free baking as I find that it holds together well, the bread is less crumbly when I use it, and it also has a nice deep colour.

Brown Rice Flour

Using 100% buckwheat flour would make the flavour of the bread too strong, so I mix it with brown rice flour which has more of a neutral flavour. If I were to use 100% brown rice flour, on the other hand, the flavour of the bread would be too bland, I always prefer to mix it with other flours.

One of the main advantages of using brown rice flour it its price, it tends to be less expensive than other gluten free flours.

Cornflour/Cornstarch

Cornflour (otherwise known as cornstarch) is used in this recipe to help to hold the bread together. It is a useful thickening agent but it does not add much interest in terms of flavour, that comes mostly from the buckwheat flour.

When making gluten free bread, it is always important to use a starch of some kind and you will notice in the ingredients of supermarket-bought gluten free bread that there is always a starch in the ingredient list. It can be potato starch, tapioca starch… There are lots of different possibilities, but I always go with cornstarch as that is what is most easily available to me here.

[Please note that I have not tested this recipe with any other kind of starch.]

Dry Active Yeast

Yeast is the ingredient that will allow the bread to rise. It feeds on the sugars present in the bread and, in so doing, releases carbon dioxide. The bread then traps the carbon dioxide in pockets and this enables the bread to rise.

There can be some confusion as to whether or not yeast is gluten free. As a general rule, baker’s yeast (active dry yeast or fresh yeast) is gluten free (see this article for more information on this subject), but I would always encourage you to check the ingredients before using a new product.

This recipe calls for active dry yeast as I find it the easiest to use, and the easiest to source here. It does give quite a pronounced flavour to the bread, so you may prefer to use fresh yeast. I have not tested this recipe with fresh yeast, but you can certainly try it, using the packet instructions for 500g of flour. You will need to mix the fresh yeast with the warm water first and let it stand for a while if you do decide to use fresh yeast. Let me know if you try it!

Warm Water

I simply use warm tap water for this, although filtered water may be better if you have it.

Sugar

This is a recent addition to my recipe, but I have realised that adding sugar gives a softer bread and, probably unsurprisingly, my boys enjoy it more. You can replace the sugar for honey if you prefer.

Salt

As with any bread recipe, salt is absolutely essential. Although 10g may seem like a lot, that is the amount that is needed in order to bring the full flavour of the bread out.

Xanthan Gum

Xanthan gum is a useful product in gluten free baking as it helps to hold the bread together. Gluten free flours do not create elasticity like wheat flour does. It is actually the gluten in wheat that creates those elastic strands that then trap the air and help the bread to rise. So, in gluten free baking, we need to find something that can replicate the elasticity of the gluten, and it is xanthan gum that does this job here. If you would like to learn more about what xanthan gum is, and why it is useful, click here.

Oil

Adding oil (avocado or olive oil) will help improve the flavour and the moisture of your loaf of gluten free bread.

How to Make Gluten Free Buckwheat Bread

Add all of the ingredients to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed for 5 mins. You could also do this by hand in a bowl with a wooden spoon.

Leave the dough to stand for around 45 mins in a warm place until it has begun to rise.

Once it has risen, transfer the dough to a greased and floured loaf tin. With wet hands, smooth down the surface of the loaf. Leave in a warm place (for example, on top of the oven while it is preheating) for a further 30-45 mins.

While the dough is rising, heat the oven to 220°C with an empty saucepan in the bottom. Boil the kettle.

Place your bread in the oven and fill the saucepan with boiling water. Bake your loaf in the centre of the oven for 20 mins then remove the saucepan and continue baking for a further 10 minutes. The bread should sound hollow when you tap the bottom of the loaf when it is cooked.

Remove the bread from the loaf tin while it is still hot and leave to cool on a cooling rack otherwise it might start to go soft.

Gluten Free Buckwheat Bread Serving Ideas

This bread is especially good toasted with butter (and jam, if you are like my boys!), it makes great sandwiches and is a perfect accompaniment to many meals, especially things like soups and salads.

Let me know what you served it with, I love to hear from you 😉

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Are you looking for more gluten and dairy free recipes? Check out my gluten and dairy free cakes, gluten and dairy free desserts and gluten and dairy free meal ideas.

I also have lots of sourdough recipes here 🙂