One of my readers recently asked if she could substitute a non-bean flour for the soybean flour in the Gluten Free Sandwich Bread recipe. I did some research and responded back to her that I thought sorghum flour or buckwheat flour would work well as a substitution. Last night, I picked up some buckwheat flour at the grocery store and decided to try it for myself.
The bread turned out really well, but I did have to alter the recipe by adding more brown rice flour and more cornstarch. The color and taste of the bread is reminiscent of whole wheat bread which worked really well with the Tofu Reubens that we had for supper. This recipe is a little different from the original, in that I calculated the exact measurement of each flour ingredient rather than creating a new “flour mix” recipe. If anyone would like me to write a recipe for a mix that uses buckwheat flour instead of soybean flour, let me know in the comments. Enjoy!
Instructions
- 1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 ½ c. water (105 degrees or a little less than hot)
- 1 c. + 4 tsp. brown rice flour
- 1 c. + 4 tsp. corn starch
- 1/2 c. + 1 Tbsp. buckwheat flour
- 1/4 c. masa harina
- 2 tsp. xanthum gum
- 1tsp. salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ Tbsp. oil
- 1 tsp. cider vinegar
- Start by combining the yeast and sugar in a small bowl (I use the smallest in my set of three nested mixing bowls). Add the water while gently stirring the yeast and sugar. Let this mixture sit while you mix the rest of the ingredients – bubbles and foam should form if the yeast is happy.
- Combine the brown rice flour, corn starch, buckwheat flour, masa harina, xanthan gum and salt in the largest mixing bowl and stir well.
- In a third bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and vinegar until the eggs are a bit frothy.
- By this point the yeast mixture should be foamy, so you can pour the two liquid mixtures into the flour mixture. Stir until all ingredients are well mixed and then dump into your bread machine. Cook on the 80 minute setting – the stirring paddle is not necessary.
I’m all for using Buckwheat and Sorghum and such in recipes. I’ve been doing it for years. My wife has a few bread recipes posted that use all sorts of grains, and as for “non-bean-flours”, we actually never use any bean flours at all. I tried Ceci and soy years ago, and just didn’t care for the results, though I have had bread with bean-flour in it that is quite good (i.e., Anna’s Bread mixes).
Hi Mike,
I’m glad to hear that I wasn’t leading anyone astray. I tend to stick with the flours that I can get locally, and haven’t tried some of the basic gluten-free flours like sorghum or tapioca. I just looked at Laura’s bread recipes and they look amazing – such a great texture. I’m going to have to buy some of the flours that she uses and try them out. I’ve also gone back and added a link to the Gluten Free Recipes page into my post so that hopefully some more people will check it out =)
Mary Frances
Hi. I found your blog through a series of others starting with Gluten Free Goddess. I’m very new to the Celiac lifestyle and don’t have the time or money to experiment greatly. I love that you ladies are so savvy in the kitchen and can do it for me! Thank you for your pioneering attitude. 🙂 Now, for being freshly gluten-free… how does this bread taste? Is the texture similar to whole wheat bread as well as the color and taste? Since I’ve just begun perusing the recipes, are there any tried & trues that you love and I should find quickly? I am a casserole queen and need to figure out a good substitute for the “cream of…” soups. Thanks again for so readily sharing your creativity!
Hi JoAnna,
Thanks for commenting! I’m glad that my inability to not experiment in the kitchen will be of help to you =)
This bread reminded me of how whole wheat bread tastes, but it has been so long since I’ve tasted whole wheat bread that I’m not sure what you will think. The texture is like regular homemade bread, but a bit more wet and dense.
I would recommend trying my “Really Good Sandwich Bread” first. It is the closest in taste and texture to what I remember regular homemade bread being like.
As to the recipes, my favorite that is on the blog is the Eggplant Florentine. But, I will be posting some more of our dinner favorites very soon. What are your favorite casseroles? I’m compiling a list of casseroles that I want to degluten, but I could use some suggestions since I haven’t cooked many casseroles in the past few years.
Mary Frances
I was wondering, I heard that spelt is no longer considered gluten-free and noticed it was not used in these recipes. Most of the wheat-free recipes I have experimented with are crumbly even when arrowroot is used. I did notice you use cornstarch by the CUPFUL! Is that what holds it together or the gum? My latest effort with buckwheat using a starter loaf (flax meal,oat flour arrowroot) is tasty, but still crumbly. Total of 5.5 Buckwheat to the rest. comments?
Hi Norton,
There is some controversy over whether spelt is safe for celiacs. My recollection from past reading is that spelt is very closely related to wheat (same genus and species) and that it has many of the same protein structures. For that reason, many people avoid it.
However, Ginger over at Fresh Ginger just finished a spelt challenge and her blood tests and scope turned out fine.
I do use cornstarch by the cupful and I hate that aspect of gluten free backing because I abhor refined grains. But, starches are part of the glue that holds gluten free baked goods together, so I use it and try to put in as many other whole grain flours as possible. Brown rice flour doesn’t absorb a lot of water and it has no stretch. The corn starch helps soak up the water and gives the dough some structure.
Are you adding xanthan gum to your baked goods? Xanthan gum, gelatin, and guar gum can all be used to decrease the crumbliness of baked goods.
I would like to swap the amounts of rice flour with other flours in bread recipes. Right now I am using 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup sorghum flour and 2/3 cup millet flour. I would like to change this to 1 cup sorghum flour, 1 cup millet flour and then 2/3 cup brown rice flour. The remaining ingredients are powdered milk, 1 tbsp xanthan gum ( that I would like to replace with guar gum) and 1 tbsp sucanet. I also replace the vegetable oil with butter. So there you have it. Can I do this with good results? Also I don’t have a bread machine and don’t plan on buying one. I beat the bread ingredients with a kitchen Aid for 5 minutes at med-high, then bake at 350 for 45 minutes. I am at high altitude of 4,500 ft.
Thanks for the help.
Sarah
I would love it if you had time to work out a soy free baking mix. I am allergic to soy and casein (and some other things) in addition to being celiac. Man, I thought I had the GF thing down and then got the test results re: soy, casein, etc. So, for me now, it’s pretty much “cook it if you want it.” Thank goodness I like to cook.
Denise, I do have a soy free baking mix and a bread recipe to go with it. I’ve put a link to it in the sidebar so that it can be found more easily. Feel free to use this flour mix for any of my recipes that call for an all-purpose gluten free flour mix.
3 parts buckwheat flour
3 parts arrowroot or tapioca starch (flour)
2 parts sorghum flour
1 part almond flour
ok, so tell me if im wrong but i wanted to replace the brown rice for the buckwheat, i have a big bag and i want to use it up, but does the buckwheat taste bad? is that why you have put it in the “2 parts” catagory? will all this work together, it looks so “unconventional”, and for my first time! i have never baked before, but i helped mix “ready-make” cake before, and i am seduced by the thought of Gluten-free, Corn-free, Soy-free, and of course Wheat-free pancakes and/or bread!
please respond anyone! will this be a disaster?
also one more thing… what oil is the healthiest choice? i was thinking avocado oil? or grapeseed? i have EV-oliveO but im afaid of the potential carcinogens if the dough or pancakes get too hot? or am i trippin?
@kadi-newbee: You’re right – the buckwheat is only two parts because it has a strong taste that could overwhelm everything else. I’m not saying that it wouldn’t work, but I would go into it knowing that I had no idea what the results would be =)
@kadi-newbee: The healthiest oil would be no oil at all, so for pancakes I would use canola (healthier than butter) and use an oil sprayer to distribute it on the pan evenly. For the bread, I would just go with canola oil because it is less expensive, but that’s just my personal preference. I would think you could use any of the oils in the bread.
oh, maybe the sorghum should be in the 1 parts category? ok, so,
3 parts buckwheat flour
3 parts arrowroot or tapioca starch (flour)
2 parts almond flour
1 part sorghum flour
right?
@kadi-newbee: I’ve never tried it that way, but there’s no harm in baking up a loaf and seeing how it turns out. Based on your results you can start tweaking the recipe to get what you want.
There are two types of buckwheat flower available, a dark and a light. The light is much milder in flavor. Too mild to make scrapple with. Here in PA both are available. The light makes excellent pancakes and waffles when a sourdough is made the previous night. I even made springerle cookies with it last Christmas and they were very good. I made peffernuss with the dark flour and the wheat eaters were after them. Birkett Mills in Pen Yan NY is a mailorder source. It’s a dedicated facility. No wheat is processed in it and they are great people who care about gluten free issues.
I made this with Arrowroot instead of Corn Starch.since I was out. I lost the paddle for my breadmaker and was going to freecycle it. It’s an old Breadman that doesn’t have a time setting, just medium/dark etc settings. I put it on Medium 1 1/2 lb loaf.
This is the best, and I mean THE BEST bread I have had since going GF 8 years ago. It’s even better then my favorite Amaranth Quick Bread. You could give this to any poor gluten eatin’ fool and they wouldn’t know the difference and beguile you with their gluten-y charms for another slice with homemade marmalade. I used my Ginger Limey Lemony marmalade, and the sweet hot citrus flavor was a perfect foil for the dense, dark flavor of the bread. My cravings for buckwheat can now be easily satisfied. Well since I have a dishwasher, anyway, because that’s a lot of bowls!
Guess I’m not freecycling the Breadman after all.
Hi,
Just wondering…
How would I make this sans bread machine?
I don’t have one because I am a college student,
and I am not sure how long/at what temp to bake this!
Thanks,
Lilith
Yes, I would like some recipes with gluten free bread recipes, namely buckwheat and any other gluten free bread mix.
Thank you
What if I don’t have a bread machine? 🙁 What time & temp should I bake in the oven?
my daughter is allergic to wheat and eggs, I dont know what to do to make some kind of bread that she can eat. She loves sandwiches but cant eat them untill I can find a bread she can eat.
I have been cooking gluten free only for few months ,so I am not familiar with lot of ingredients that some gluten free recipes call for
What is exactly masa harina, this bread looks great , I like baking with buckwheat flour, I thought it’s only good for non yeast breads
I can’t wait to try this recipe..
Hi, I am looking for all bread recipes with BUCKWHEAT as the main ingredient; however, I have noticed among the various recipes that buckwheat is a minor ingredient at best and I was wondering as to why that is…
Hi, I don’t have a bread machine, can I use my oven? How long do I bake it for?
I love fresh bread… great stuff ^^
I tried this recipe this morning and just loved it. I made small variations though since my breadmachine has been having “issues” lately. I used the standmixer to mix the dough then put it in a buttered loaf pan. Baked it in the oven at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Turned out perfect. Thanks for posting the recipe on your site. 🙂
can anyone find out the the amounts in cups, tsp etc of the bobs redmeal gluten free hearty grain bread mix. would like to make it on my own without having to purchase it. The company wont help me.