Homemade Soaked Buckwheat Flour

Why go through all the trouble of soaking and drying?

The simple answer is to minimize the phytic acid that naturally occurs in all grain, seeds, nuts, legumes and beans; that way it’s easier to digest and less likely to cause digestive and other issues. If you would like to read further on this subject of benefits of soaking, here is a great article. If you still have digestive problems after soaking grains and such, you probably have further issues that need to be explored; you can read this post for more info.

Why Buckwheat?

Since going gluten-free because of digestive issues, I have explored all sorts of grains and seed alternatives; I found that buckwheat works best for me. You can explore which grain/seed alternatives work best for you. For me, gluten free mixes got to be too expensive to play with and I didn’t always care for the results, especially bloating; when using starches such as rice, potato, or tapioca, I’d bloat really bad. I tried almond flour and it gave me stomachaches. I can eat almonds whole, but almond flour hurts. I tried quinoa, but unless it was toasted, I didn’t like it, but it was still okay. I do also love to use arrowroot starch and sometimes coconut flour. You should try and see what works best for you.

Why you should NOT eat a lot of gluten-free replacement foods:

Going gluten free is usually not a choice; many of us are forced to give up breads for one reason or another. When this happens most likely they want to continue to eat the same amount of “bready” foods as previously and end up gaining weight and/or digestive issues still unresolved. The likely cause is “gluten-free” packaged foods, comfort foods and playing with recipes trying to recreate your favorites.

Some people do however choose to go gluten-free, and those are the ones I find to have more of a success rate with keeping off gluten because they feel better and more success at losing weight.

Please do not overeat on this flour alternative, play with it in recipes and find what works for you. I have many recipes on my blog that can easily be substituted with this flour instead of any of the other flours used. I have lots of success in baking and cooking with this flour. Check out my crepe recipe to find out how to make tortillas (big and small, and sandwich wraps and bread alternatives using whole raw buckwheat graots – soaked overnight and that can be stored in the fridge.

Where to buy buckwheat?

You can find buckwheat in any health-food stores bulk section, through Azure Standards or there are many sources online. Choose organic when possible.

What if you are not “gluten-free”?

You do not have to be gluten-free to enjoy the benefits of this homemade soaked flour 🙂

On to the project…You can multiply the recipe as needed (or as you can handle at a time such as; if you have a large oven or a large dehydrator).

Ingredients:

1 lb. raw buckwheat groats
filtered water, enough to cover seeds by 3 inches
2 Tbs. acid such as fresh lemon juice, homemade whey or apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

Rinse the raw buckwheat in cold water for a couple minutes.
Place them in a glass mixing bowl along with the soaking acid and enough water to cover 3 inches above the buckwheat.
Cover and leave in a warm spot over night or up to 24 hours.
Then rinse well until the slimy water is almost gone, as best as you can (it will not wash off completely but don’t worry, it will dry out).
Line baking trays with parchment paper and place in an oven at 200, but leave the door cracked open using a wooden spoon (or something else). That will let the moisture escape.
Every few hours, pull the baking sheets out and run your fingers through it to turn the buckwheat over.

It should take about 12 hours to be completely dry. When it is, take it out and let it cool completely before storing in a glass container with a lid.

To grind the flour, you can either grind all at once and store it as flour, or store as whole dry seeds and grind as needed. You can use a handheld coffee grinder ($10-20 at almost any store) dedicated to grinding flours, not one that has been used for coffee because that flavor will pass on, or if you have a grain mill for a larger family would be a worthy investment.