This hearty and tasty homemade buckwheat bread, with a nice nutty flavor, is easy to make and complements any meal. It’s a no-knead recipe that you can mix together quickly and bake any day of the week.
I bake all kinds of bread regularly, from quick 5-minute loaves like spelt bread to more time-consuming sourdough. While I don't make sourdough as often anymore due to time constraints, I still bake easier loaves of bread like today's buckwheat bread almost every week.
These are quick breads you can mix and pop into the oven in no time, perfect for a Sunday when you realize you need bread for your kid's lunch. Just toss the ingredients in a bowl, add water, stir, and let it rise briefly. Then bake for about an hour - you don't even have to preheat the oven, as the bread will rise as it heats up.
The loaf is great to serve with any soup or stew, with jam or peanut butter, perfect for making avocado toast, or these delicious Danish Sandwiches or Cottage Cheese Toasts.
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What is buckwheat?
Despite its name, buckwheat isn’t actually a grain and isn’t related to wheat. It’s a pseudocereal, meaning its seeds are used like cereal grains. Buckwheat is a flowering plant related to sorrel and rhubarb—who knew?
Cultivated for over 8,000 years, buckwheat is sometimes called an ancient grain, like spelt or farro. I discovered it a few years ago and initially used the kernels mainly in soups like this buckwheat soup. Now, I make Polish kasha, buckwheat salad, and buckwheat porridge.
I often use buckwheat flour for pancakes, blinis, and flatbreads. I’ve tried making buckwheat bread with only buckwheat flour a few times, but I prefer combining it with spelt or wheat flour for better results.
Recipe ingredients
Buckwheat flour
Spelt: I used whole spelt flour, but you can use white spelt or a mix. Whole wheat flour works as a replacement too. Try this Spelt Flour Banana Bread, too.
The oats make this homemade buckwheat flour bread even heartier. I use regular oats, nothing special.
Seeds: You can use one type of seed or a mix, and I find that combining different seeds works best. I used sunflower seeds and flaxseeds, but I often add pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds as well. Feel free to mix and match whatever seeds you have, just ensure you stick to the required amount.
Yeast: You can use either fresh or dry yeast. For fresh yeast, use a cube of about 40 g (1.4 oz); dissolve it with sugar in lukewarm water and add to the flour. For active dry yeast, proof it in lukewarm water before mixing it with the flour. Instant dry yeast should be mixed directly with the dry ingredients, then add the water.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make buckwheat bread?
If using fresh or active dry yeast, dissolve it with lukewarm water and sugar in a bowl, stir well, and let it stand for about 5 minutes. For instant yeast, mix it directly with the flour and other dry ingredients.
Step #1: Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Step #2: Add the yeast mixture (for fresh or active dry yeast) to the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly until all the flour is incorporated.
Step #3: Place the dough in a greased loaf pan and let it rise for 15 minutes. Place it in a cold oven, set the temperature to 200°C (400°F), until deeply golden brown.
Step #4: Carefully remove the bread from the pan, place it upside down on a wire rack in the oven, and bake for an additional 10 minutes until golden brown. Let it cool on the rack.
Good to know!
Always use a digital kitchen scale for baking (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab), as cup measurements can be imprecise. For example, 1 cup of spelt flour weighs 120 g (4.2 oz), while 1 cup of buckwheat flour weighs 140 g (5 oz). The way you fill the cups—whether you scoop or sift—can cause significant differences, sometimes up to 50-60 g (1.7-2.1 oz), which can greatly affect your baking results.
Recipe FAQs
The bread should be a deep golden brown on both the top and bottom. To check for doneness, tap the bottom with your knuckles; it should sound hollow.
No, because it contains spelt.
Store it in an airtight container or wrapped in a clean kitchen towel at room temperature for 4-5 days.
You can freeze the whole loaf or individual slices for at least 3 months, probably longer. Thaw it in the fridge or on the counter. You can toast the slices to refresh them a bit, but it's not really necessary.
What to serve with it?
Make sure you have a slice of warm bread with salted butter on it. Heaven!
Do you like this recipe?
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Buckwheat Bread
Equipment
- Loaf pan about 12x5 inches/ 30x12 cm
Ingredients
- 4½ teaspoons instant dry yeast Note 1
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 200 g buckwheat flour 1 ½ cups, Note 2
- 200 g whole spelt flour 1 ½ cup + 2 tablespoons
- 120 g rolled oats 1 ½ cup
- 150 g raw sunflower seeds 1 ⅛ cups
- 75 g flaxseeds ½ cup
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 500 ml lukewarm water 2 cups + 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Mix instant dry yeast, sugar, buckwheat and spelt flour, oats, sunflower and flaxseeds, salt. Read notes if using active dry yeast or fresh yeast.4½ teaspoons instant dry yeast + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar + 200 g buckwheat flour/ 1 ½ cups + 200 g whole spelt flour/ 1 ½ cup + 2 tablespoons + 120 g rolled oats/ 1 ½ cup + 150 g raw sunflower seeds/ 1 ⅛ cups + 75 g flaxseeds/ ½ cup + 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- Add the lukewarm water and stir very well with a spoon, the flour should be properly incorporated.500 ml lukewarm water/ 2 cups + 2 tablespoons
- Let dough rise: Grease the loaf pan. Place the dough in the pan. Let rise for 15 minutes in a warm place.
- Bake buckwheat bread: Place the pan in the cold oven, set the temperature to 400°F/ 200°C and bake for 50 – 55 minutes until golden brown.
- Bake without tin: Remove the bread from the pan and place it upside down back in the oven, directly on the wire rack. Continue baking for another 10 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom side. Let cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- If using active dry yeast, proof it in lukewarm water.
If using fresh yeast, crumble it in a small bowl, add the sugar and the lukewarm water and stir to dissolve. - Measurements: Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab), cup measurement is very unprecise. For instance, 1 cup of spelt flour weighs 120 g/ 4.2 oz while 1 cup of buckwheat flour 140 g/ 5 oz. And depending on how you fill the cups with flour (scoop or sift or whatever), the differences can be enormous, 50 g – 60 g/ 1.7 - 2.1 is a lot in baking.
Mike says
2 teaspoons of salt or 665mg sodium per slice seems like a lot...that's 25% of a person's daily sodium intake in 1 slice of bread!
Adina says
Indeed, that would be too much. However, pay more attention when you read the ingredient list, please. The whole bread contains 2 teaspoons salt, not just one slice. If you leave out the salt, nobody will want to eat the bread.
Jasson says
Very nice recipe chef 👍👌👏. If I whant to make my own buckwheat flour any suggestions, thank you on advance 🌹🌞😎
Adina says
Hi Jasson, thank you for the comment. Sorry, I've never made buckwheat flour. I suppose you can grind untoasted buckwheat in an appropriate kitchen gadget. I use the thermomix to grind wheat or spelt sometimes, but I don't know what other kitchen machines can manage that.
Isabel says
I have made it a few times as I am very happy with the results,
thank you for sharing the recipe with us.
Isabel
Adina says
Thank you for the feedback, Isabel.
Laurie says
This is an question. Can you make this bread with same proportions, but drop the seeds?
Adina Beck says
Hi Laurie. Sorry, I've only ever baked the bread with seeds, so I cannot say how it will be without them.
Jo says
@Laurie, did you try this please? I was going to ask the same question! I love seeds but my husband doesn’t… was going to try milled seeds as a compromise!
Madeline Armstrong says
SO good. I sliced it and froze it, and have been reheating it in the toaster all week. I will be making this over and over again! Thank you for the recipe.
Adina says
So happy to hear it, Madeline. Thank you for the feedback.
Julka says
Delicious. I didn't have any sunflower seeds in so used poppy seeds. Worked well.
Adina says
Super! Thank you for the feedback.
angiesrecipes says
Healthy, hearty and yummy...definitely my kind of bread!