December 17, 2011 - 1:37pm
Buckwheat Sourdough
I like experimenting with different flours to see the nuances they bring to breads. Here is a recent bake using a small amount buckwheat flour. It is a large batch that I built for the amount of starter that I had made the night before using the Hamelman method for Vermont SD. It made 4 loaves that averaged about 750 gm after cooling. Besides the beautiful color it brings to a loaf, it adds a nutty flavor that, it turns out, works surprisingly well with brie and camembert cheese spread on it. The crumb is moist and chewy and the crust has a great crunch. If you like dark baked loaves, this one's for you.
Recipe: 
Scored and ready to go: 
Finished loaves: 
Crumb: 
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Comments
These came out great. What impact does buckwheat have on the dough handling or fermentation? -Varda
It was only a small amount of buckwheat, so I think the major impacts were from the whole wheat and the rye. The bulk fermentation was only 2 hrs 40 min, which was about 2/3 of what I expected, so I'm pretty sure the flours influenced that. The handling was more like a 70% hydration dough because of the extra water absorption of the rye and buckwheat, I assume. I made free-standing loaves and proofed without bannetons, so the loaves spread some, but not enough to be a concern. The oven spring was quite good, even after the 18 hour retard, so that was a pleasant surprise.
-Brad
I like buckwheat and I've posted some of my results here thia past year. It's a bit tricky to work with due to the absence of gluten and different absorption characteristics, but worth the effort for the taste it gives. Bread flour is probably a good choice in that regard. Your crumb looks lovely.
Hi Louie,
I agree with you about the taste that buckwheat brings to a loaf. I've seen your posts and want to try some of your suggestions. I kept the %-age low because I found in some of my earlier tries using around 10% buckwheat that the flavor was overwhelming and didn't allow for other flavors to show through. All suggestions are welcome.
-Brad