Buckwheat & Chia Bread
What's great about it
Nothing beats a warm slice of homemade bread. I love pairing this buckwheat and chia loaf with a nourishing soup for lunch, or a purely delicious salad for dinner. It works well for breakfast too, topped with fresh sliced avocado and Persian feta, or my homemade macadamia butter and a little Manuka honey. Instead of using buckwheat flour, I blend pre-soaked buckwheat for a few seconds into a batter, pulsing until it’s a little creamy.
Ingredients
300 g (10 1/2 oz / 1 3/4 cups) whole raw buckwheat groats
60 g (2 fl oz / 1/4 cup) whole chia seed
250 ml / 1 cup water (use half to soak chia seeds and the other half to combine in the food processor or blender)
60 ml (2 fl oz / ¼ cup) olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Method
- Preheat oven to 160°C / 320°F (fan-forced).
- Soak buckwheat in plenty of cold water for 2 hours until softened.
- Soak chia seed in 1/2 cup cold water until gel like – this takes about 30 minutes.
- Drain the buckwheat and rinse through a fine sieve. Make sure all the water is fully drained.
- Place the buckwheat into a food processor.
- Add chia gel, 1/2 cup of water, olive oil, baking powder and sea salt.
- Mix in a food processor for 3 minutes. The bread mix should resemble a batter consistency with some whole buckwheat still left in the mix.
- Spoon into a loaf tin lined with baking paper on all sides and the base.
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until firm to touch and bounces back when pressed with your fingers.
- Remove from the oven and cool for approx. 30 minutes. Remove from the tin and cool completely on a rack or board. The bread should be slightly moist in the middle and crisp on the outside.
- Cool completely before eating.
- Serve delicate slices only when cold with a serrated knife. Delicious lightly toasted on a pan.
Notes and Inspiration
This buckwheat batter also makes the most delicious pancakes or pizza crust.
Add 1 raw grated carrot before baking and use pure carrot juice in place of water in the recipe.
Store in the fridge for unto a week (make sure to wrap it well first)
Freeze if needed.
Delicious toasted on a hot cast iron pan.