Recipe: Gluten free vegan buckwheat bread
RECIPE: GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN BUCKWHEAT BREAD
Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cups almond meal
1 cup buckwheat flour
3 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp psyllium husk
1 cup mixed seeds (I typically use a blend of buckwheat groats, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. A warning (but some comfort) about your sunflower seeds turning GREEN in this recipe! Sunflower seeds contain a substance called chlorogenic acid, which, when exposed to an alkaline substance, turn green. The bicarb soda in this recipe is the substance that reacts with the sunflower seeds to turn them green. It is a totally normal reaction and doesn’t make the food unsafe to eat. If it bothers you though, use different seeds in the bread.)
2 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp rice malt syrup (can substitute maple syrup or honey)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups water – 500 mL
Instructions
Combine the almond flour, buckwheat flour, psyllium, chia, mixed seeds, bicarb and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make sure there are no lumps in the mix.
Take another smaller bowl and combine the water, rice malt syrup and cider vinegar. I find this is easiest to do if you first use a fork to whisk your rice malt syrup and apple cider vinegar into one cup of warm water (not boiling, just hot enough to melt the syrup), then add the second cup of cool water.
Pour the water mix into the dry mix and combine thoroughly. ( It won’t look like a particularly appetizing colour but I promise it does turn brown when baked!).
Cover with a tea towel and allow to sit in the bowl for at least 1 hour. During this time, turn your oven on to 180˚C and also line a loaf tin with baking paper. I used a fairly small loaf tin, about 20cm long (this is so you get a taller loaf).
After an hour or so check on your “dough”. It should have absorbed any excess water, though it will still be wetter than a standard bread dough. It will feel quite sticky to touch.
Scoop the dough into your loaf tin and smooth the top out evenly, smoothing out any air bubbles.
Place in the oven and cook for between 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes. At the 1 hour mark, check on the bread and make sure it is not burning. It should be a very dark brown on the outside, and very firm to touch in the centre when it is done.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely; remove it from the baking tin as soon as it’s cool enough to handle to avoid “sweating” in the tin.
Once cooled, slice and store in the fridge for up to a week or keep in the freezer for longer life.
Enjoy toasted or plain with a slathering of your favourite topping. My favourite toppings currently are toasted with a coating of delicious ghee or almond butter.
