Thanks Melissa. Just cut another slice and it does seem to be improving, like rye does. Tastewise it’s a success and I even think the process is a success too. But as with all recipes a slight tweak here and there is often needed.
Well I’ve got a loaf to eat up so I think my next attempt will be over the weekend. I’ve some ideas forming. Basic outline is to use this process to make the buckwheat loaf recipe I recommended to you. So something like this…
500g buckwheat flour + 350g water left to naturally ferment.
When ready add in the salt, eggs (beaten) and oil plus anything else.
Gently combine everything and pour into loaf pan.
Bake when ready in a preheated oven.
Hello. Thank you for your beautiful recipe. I’m curious about what might have gone wrong with mine. The inside is a bit gummy and not fluffy. I’m totally accustomed to gluten-free bread so I certainly was not expecting a white fluffy texture. Here’s a photo. I did keep it in the oven overnight with the light on to ferment
and I wonder if perhaps it fermented too much? Also the blender really had to work when I added the soaked buckwheat and fresh water. Perhaps I over blended and maybe instead next time I would blend in 2 batches. I welcome your feedback
I just tried this bread for the first time and would like to check my experience against those of others. The bread turned out pretty beautiful looking, with what looks to me like a pretty normal crumb (pics below). The taste is wild, though–quite funky, as if it were preloaded with ripe Camembert or blue cheese, or rather like it had been baked in their vicinity. Kind of a barnyard funk, in a good way (if you like that sort of thing).
My husband actively dislikes this flavor. His theory is that the wild yeast fermentation brings in brettanomyces (vs sacramyces) yeast. Beats me. I’m wondering whether this strong flavor is common, if length of fermentation was what brought it on, and whether there’s a fix that anyone can suggest to achieve (a) shorter fermentation and (b) milder flavor.
The only thing unusual that happened in my process is that it took forever for this batter to ferment: I had almost no action 24 hrs after setting it on the counter under a tea towel, and then stuck it in the oven with the light on overnight for another ~8-10 hrs to find, finally, a batter that looked like the post-fermentation picture shown in the original recipe. Temperature in the kitchen over the first 24 hours was normal CA central coast summer temp, ranging from low sixties to low or mid seventies.
I think there’s a difference between making this sourdough style buckwheat bread and making one from an established starter. This uses the quick off the mark first flourish of wild fermentation which might very well differ to using a sourdough starter that has been nurtured to favour lactic acid producing bacteria and wild yeasts (which are often the wild variant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae - bakers yeast). And while using a starter you are adding in and fermenting with bacteria and yeasts which can only be found in a starter (they take hold and set up home all the while keeping others at bay) this method might be open to other little critters which you won’t find in a starter.
When one makes a starter it will bubble up relatively quickly but with subsequent feeds will slow down, and sometimes even stop, until it wakes up again. The first bubbling up is mainly bacterial but as the starter matures the yeasts show up in greater numbers in what finally makes a mature starter. This method of buckwheat bread baking makes use of that mainly bacterial initial burst of energy. I think this works well with buckwheat, and wouldn’t be used in more conventional sourdough baking, as it’s a non gluten flour and we are only looking for some rise instead of a rise one would find in an artisanal bread flour sourdough.
I think your loaf looks wonderful. And as for taste… we all have our own Buckwheat has distinct flavour anyway.
Thank you, Abe–that was really clear and informative (and well-spelled: I knew I was going out on a limb with spelling that yeast name!).
As for taste: I’m thinking the flavor might be more palatable for DH if I rebake slices as crackers => platforms for other flavors. I’ll give it a shot, as otherwise I’ll be the only one gnawing away on this loaf for a while.
That’s interesting and I totally know the flavor and aroma you’re talking about! It’s not in this bread when I make it, or at least not strongly, but I’ve had it come through in injera bread (fermented teff) and dosas (fermented mix of ground rice and lentils).
I think your bread looks perfect and so the long process was needed for your mixture, but I suspect that long process is also what brought in that particular bacteria. What I don’t know is why it took so long for your batter to rev up
Thank you, Melissa–a mystery from the very mysterious world of bacteria! I must say I am relieved to know that someone else has experienced this fermentation funkiness, and it encourages me to give this bread another shot.
I love injera and dosas: Have you got recipes for those that you could share?
Hello! Thank you for the recipe. Would skipping the groat soaking and using store-bought buckwheat flour work with this recipe? Or would the fermentation not be effective?
It was an epic fail. I think the problem is the pre-ground buckwheat flour includes the hulls which likely stunted, if not totally halted any significant yeast growth. I proofed it for 48 hours and nothing really happened except an aroma of yeast and barnyard. I’m going to go back to soaking and grinding buckwheat groats. If you figure out a way to do it with the flour I’d love to hear the secret. Thanks.
( your “barnyard” descriptor)
I’m sorry it didn’t work out. I suspect some grains – like you said, the hulls / exterior – are treated with anti-microbial agents and that’s where the problem stemmed from. It’s hard to know which flour will do what, and I don’t know enough about organic rules to say if organic buckwheat flour would work. Quite possibly that’s what you used. This research piece indicates that the industry is trying to lower the bacterial and yeast counts on buckwheat.
Good find! I’ll bet that’s what happened as well. So, back to groat grinding for me.
With my latest batch, I got a fantastic rise but couldn’t get it back after adding the salt and nuts. It never sprang back and resulted in an overly dense crumb. Do you think I could get the dough to ferment if I added the seeds/nuts right after blending?
Sorry for the slow reply on this! I think you could add seeds right after blending but they might all sink? My advice would be aim for less of a first rise. Your batter would then have a little more food left to keep fermenting/rising when in the baking pan after stirring in (gently) those last ingredients.
Made a fermented buckwheat loaf for the first time today. Went almost exactly as described with one exception. At the 24 hour mark, nothing was happening with the volume but there were bubbles forming. Thought its was going to fail, but kept an eye on it and sure enough, over the next couple hours it bloomed from 5 cups to 6 1/2 cups. Used toasted sesame instead of flax seed. Had a slice with butter and honey - outstanding. It’s moist and has that buckwheat flavor that I love. Thanks for the great recipe, I’ll definitely will do this again.
Have a few nice photos of the results but can’t upload as a new user.
I just made this and it turned out SO well! I was a little worried because I let it proof in a plastic mixing bowl rather than glass, and it seemed like it wasn’t really rising much… but once I got it baking it puffed up and cracked perfectly. I used pepitas and sesame seeds on top instead of the flax, and it’s so pretty. Thank you for this recipe! I’ll definitely be making this again!
I happened across this website today that pulled this recipe from Breadtopia and churned out a nutritional chart. I haven’t verified its accuracy, and you have to divide everything by 12 slices since the chart has the entire loaf as a single serving.
Hi Melissa,
I tried this recipe today for the first time. I was excited to see the batter rise during the fermentation process but it didn’t rise so much with the second proofing, 30 minutes in the oven. It smells and tastes similar to smoked gouda, which I love, but not so sure about it for bread :-). Not really loving the flavor and I’m even a little worried about whether its safe to eat. It came out very dense and doughy, almost wet, in the middle. I baked a bit longer than 60 minutes but I didn’t want to keep going because the top had already gotten hard. In fact the crust feels sort of like hard rubber. I fermented for about 20 hours. I keep it pretty warm in my house so the room temp was about 75-76 degrees for about half of that time and around 70 the other half. My oven may have been a little warm on the second prove, as I had heated something in it about 20 minutes prior. Any thoughts on getting a better rise and bake and also on the taste/smell?
I find depending on how well the buckwheat is drained will vary the hydration of the batter by a big margin. One gets far better results when draining the soaked groats as best as you can and slowly adding in the water while putting it through the processor. Stop when you get a very thick batter instead of a thin wallpaper paste. This will give the ‘dough’ more structure and will rise better. I don’t see the added seeds in your loaf either. The flaxseed will also help turn the moisture into a gel which will further improve the structure giving it something more akin to the gluten found in rye. It sounds like your loaf hasn’t baked properly due to overly hydrated. Give it another attempt as described and I’m sure it’ll turn out better. I’d rather avoid bread with off smells but you can try toasting it and see if it improves. In any case I’d give a very gummy wet bread 3 days max! before it starts turning.
Buckwheat has distinct flavour anyway.
