4-Ingredient Buckwheat Flax Chia Bread {vegan, GF, oil-free}

Healthy and wholesome 4-ingredient buckwheat flax chia bread is a perfect go-with everything bread! It is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, & easy to make, too.

Good morning, everyone! I hope you had a happy Labor Day weekend. Mine was busy, with relatives in town, water-skiing at the lake, and long runs with running buddies.

I also spent time laboring over this amazing buckwheat bread recipe, trying to get it just right. Done!

The Benefits of Buckwheat Chia Flax Bread

This bread earns its ‘amazing’ moniker because it is:

• Only 4 ingredients (other than water & optional salt)
• Flourless
• Oil-free
• Sugar-free (zero grams sugar per serving)
• Gluten-free
• Vegan (egg-free & dairy-free)
• 46 calories per slice
• (Most importantly) incredibly delicious!

Bread Made with with Whole Buckwheat Groats

Buckwheat, one of my favorite grains, is the star of this amazing bread.

Despite the name, buckwheat has no relation to wheat whatsoever. Rather, this naturally gluten-free grain is the seed of a plant related to rhubarb.

It is one of my favorite grains because it is packed with protein, fiber, an also an array of antioxidants (the same that are found green tea and dark chocolate).  It is a wonderful choice for making truly feel-good (in every sense) bread!

Ingredients for Buckwheat Flax Chia Bread

I came across several recipes for simple, whole grain buckwheat bread–all essentially the same– on a variety of websites, which sparked the idea for this bread.

They involved soaking the buckwheat in cold water for 2 to 8 hours and then mixing with combinations of chia seed and, in some cases, psyllium husk. I tried them multiple times, and each was a major disappointment, especially the psyllium husk version which deflated (majorly) upon removal from the oven, was extremely gummy (akin to an extremely under-baked bagel), and decidedly un-breadlike.

So, I went back to the drawing board. And after repeated attempts, I have a winner.

In the end, I nixed psyllium altogether and settled on a combination of:

• Whole buckwheat groats
• Flaxseed meal
• Chia seeds.

 

The combination of chia and flax provides structure (i.e., no post-bake deflation) as well as texture and taste (flax, in particularly, complements the already nutty flavor of the buckwheat). Flax (and chia) have a high oil content, so I was able to nix any added oil, too.

How to Make the Buckwheat Bread

Full disclosure:  I am a fundamentally impatient person. This led me to experimenting with quick-soaking the buckwheat in boiling water rather than soaking the buckwheat in cold water for an extended amount of time.

It worked: the buckwheat begins to break down in about 20 minutes, while still leaving whole (but softened) groats for lots of nubby texture in the finished bread,

Drain the buckwheat and give it a rinse (in a colander) under cool water. Meanwhile, soak the chia seeds and flaxseed meal in a cup of cold water to thicken.

I settled on processing  2/3 of the buckwheat-flax-chia mixture to a finer consistency. This creates a finished loaf that is definitely bread (no crumbling slices); keeping 1/3 of the batter unblended ensures lots of tasty, hearty nubby-ness to the loaf.

Bake the Bread in Small Loaf Pans

This recipe works best if you use 3 small loaf (5×3-inch size) pans as opposed to one large 9×5-inch pan. The 9×5 pan will definitely work (bake for about 85 to 90 minutes), but it may droop a bit at the center once fully cooled. 

As another measure to avoid drooping, the pans are filled close to the top with batter. If yo do not have this size, do not worry–go smaller, including a muffin tin (shorten the baking time). Mostly, you want structure, so opt for small.

The loaves bake at a low temperature: 325F for a 45 to 50 minutes. The result is beautiful, firm, hearty loaves with nutty, toasty flavor. Once completely cooled, they can be sliced thick or very thin. If you want bigger slices, simply slice lengthwise!

The bread takes well to toasting (love), but it is still wonderful un-toasted, too.

I am crazy about this bread and hope that you will be, too! Let me know if you give it a try :).

Happy baking!

More Great GF & Vegan Buckwheat Recipes:

1. Oil-Free Buckwheat Granola
2. 1-Ingredient Buckwheat Bread
3. Vegan Buckwheat Banana Bread
4. Buckwheat Almond Shortbread Cookies
5. No-Bake Buckwheat Granola Bars