Gluten free buckwheat loaf

Gluten free buckwheat loaf

Beginner to intermediate

You may be familiar with buckwheat as in ingredient in pancakes and cakes. This loaf makes a really substantial offering and the taste and texture are so welcoming to a gluten free loaf. It’s really simple to make and I hope it will be a useful option to people that are gluten free and to those that aren’t. It’s the perfect size and softness for sandwiches.

This makes 2 tin loaves of 1lb tin size or 1 tin of a 2lb loaf

Extra utensils

Optional – Electric hand mixer or free-standing mixer & large bowl

1 litre or bigger jug

2 x 1lb loaf tins or 1 x 2lb loaf tin

Ingredients

450g buckwheat flour – Shipton Mill sell one without may contain statements. Or find it in your local shops.

60g tapioca flour

7g gluten free fast action yeast

2 tsp gluten free baking powder (optional)

25g ground psyllium husk (not the powder variety)

750g tepid water (body temperature mixture of boiled and cold water – almost like you can’t feel it on your finger)

10g maple syrup – optional

20g sunflower oil or olive oil

10g salt

Sunflower or other vegetable oil of your choice to grease the tins

Method

Grease your chosen loaf tins, either 2 x 1lb ones or 1 x 2lb and line with a strip of greaseproof paper along the base and up two sides. This helps with lifting the loaf out after baking.

Weigh the different flours into a large bowl or bowl of your electric mixer. Add the yeast and optional baking powder to the flours and stir to combine well.

Weigh the water into a jug and add the ground psyllium husk. Mix it well with a fork until smooth. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. In this time it will thicken.

Pour the wet mixture into the flours. Add the oil, maple syrup and salt. Then mix well, until all dry and wet is thoroughly combined. You can do this with a wooden spoon or your electric mixer.

Leave the mixture in the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and let it stand for one hour in a warm place, but not too hot or on direct heat.

After this time place half of the mixture in each of the two tins or all of it into the 2lb loaf tin. Smooth over the top gently.

Place a clean tea towel over both tins and allow to rise somewhere warm for half an hour. By this time the top will have risen again. It’s important not to leave it past this point. it has spilled over the top for me in the past if left too long.

About 15 minutes before the end of this prove, preheat your oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6.

To bake, put a small oven proof dish or high sided tin on the bottom oven shelf. Then place the bread in their tin(s) on the middle oven shelf with a gap in between them. Carefully pour just boiled kettle water into the empty tin, on the bottom shelf, to a third of the way up. Shut the oven door and bake for 30 minutes.

After this time turn the oven down to 160°C fan/180°C/gas 5. And bake for 5 more minutes (smaller loaf) or 10 minutes (large loaf). it doesnt matter if the water has evaporated away. The loaf will have a lovely deep golden brown colour.

Once baked put the loaves on a cooling rack and leave to sit there for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins and remove the greaseproof paper. Use a small metal palette knife to ease any sides that may have stuck. Let it cool fully before slicing, if you can wait that long!

This kept really well in an airtight container or wrapped tightly for up to 5 days. It can also be wrapped and frozen for up to a month. And some people like to slice and freeze it.

If you enjoyed this recipe and want to try more, you can order a copy of my recipe book here.

Copyright The Doorstep Baker, Catherine Lloyd-Williams