The best at-home gluten-free bread recipe
With the exception of our recent trip to Italy, I have not eaten gluten in about 12 years. When people hear this, they start listing their favorite gluten-y items in dismay, “don’t you miss pizza? Bread? Cake?”. This always catches me by surprise, because the truth is, we eat all of that stuff all the time, we simply do it “our way”. And the end result is something that tastes so good it is easy to forget it is good for you. It also results in things like cake for breakfast, which is always fun. Our recent zucchini bread was unarguably a healthy, super-tasty way to start the day.
Today I am sharing our favorite gluten-free staple, which is something we make a few times each month. As my daughter says, this is our famous buckwheat bread.
If you want a precise recipe, you will want to search around for Sandor Katz’s fermented buckwheat bread. There are multiple variations of this online, all of which are likely a good place to start. I treat this recipe as a “folk recipe”, meaning, it can vary “by eye and feel” each time. I also find that the time of year, temperature, and location I am in all change the bread significantly, calling for on-the-fly adjustments. But fear not, after you make this once or thrice it becomes second nature.
Ingredients: buckwheat groats, water, sea salt
Optional: any seasonings you like
other items: 1/2 gallon mason jar, blender, parchment paper, bread pan, large glass bowl.
The active prep/work time is infinitesimally small. But patience is required, because at three moments in the steps below you need to give the batter tiiiiime. This is my favorite part, actually, the idea that it takes a while and cannot be rushed.
Step 1: Pour buckwheat groats into a large mason jar or other glass vessel. The amount you pour depends on the size loaf you want, or even perhaps how many loaves you want. You will experiment and dial this in with repetition. We usually make 1 large loaf by filling a ½ gallon size (XL) mason jar about half way with groats (maybe a bit less), and then to the top with filtered water. Cover with a light towel to protect from insects, but in general, let it breathe.
Step 2: Wait until the groats have greatly expanded in size, even doubled. I usually wait until the mason jar appears full to the top (whereas it started at half full before expansion). This often takes 8-24 hours before I move on. I like to keep the jar in a pot or other vessel to catch water that overflows out during expansion.
Step 3: Strain (without rinsing) the groats.
Step 4: Add the groats to a Vitamix (or use an immersion blender) along with 200 ml of filtered water (amount varies depending on amount of groats. You can always start with less and then add more water and keep blending as needed. Ultimately, you want the resultant batter to be thicker than water but still pourable. A very slowly-pourable batter is what I aim for. During this step, you should also add a very heavy pinch of sea salt (option to add other spices, for example, ‘everything but the bagel seasoning’, which is one of our favorites, or rosemary and oregano, another favorite for this project).
Step 5: Pour the batter into a large glass bowl (big enough for it to double in size). Cover with a light towel, and let sit out until it doubles in size (this is usually 6-12 hours in my experience).
Step 6: After it rises (you will see small air bubbles if you look at the side of the glass bowl), pour the batter into a parchment-lined breadpan for a “second proof”. Allow it to rest (and rise slightly) in this bread pan for 2 hours prior to baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees as this step nears its end.
Step 7: Right before placing in the oven you have the option to add herbs and spices of your choosing to the top of the loaf.
Step 8: Bake for about 25-45 minutes, depending on volume of batter and depth of bread pan. Tips for identifying doneness:
- no longer liquid if you jiggle or lightly touch the center
- a crust has formed
- the crust has gentle cracks in it, revealing a fluffy interior
As a fail safe, if I am unsure that the loaf is fully cooked, I sometimes leave it in an “off oven” for a while to rest.
In Summary
This loaf is best enjoyed fresh. If we are having a dinner party I will try to start the loaf 2-3 days early, and then try to line up the bake time with dinner service. It is a “living fermentation”, and so, once it rests and settles at room temperature it will actually “lightly sweat water” (normal). I like to store it at room temperature covered with a light towel, and we try to eat it within 2 days. It will definitely mold by day 4 or 5. If we are half way through and it seems like we won’t be able to finish in time, we love slicing and freezing it between parchment for later use.
This is hands down one of the best things cooking in our house on any given month.
We enjoy it with raw butter, or sometimes fresh olive oil and balsamic.
Pro tip: It makes a better open face sandwich than a two-slice sandwich as it “is a lot of bread” in each bite otherwise. It is a little difficult to slice this bread extra-thin.
Another pro tip: Sometimes the batter smells funky/bad. I would encourage you to keep going. Some of the funkiest smelling breads have been the best in the end.
