Buckwheat Sourdough Flatbread combines two favorite things from my childhood; sourdough bread and buckwheat pancakes. The result is a bread that’s crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, with a distinctly pleasant tang.
Buckwheat is an ancient grain, cultivated over 6000 years ago. It’s not in the wheat family, but rather is a relative of the rhubarb plant. Extremely nutritious and cold hardy plant, buckwheat has a unique tangy flavor. Russia has been the world leader in buckwheat production for centuries. For this bread, I combined buckwheat with another Russian heritage grain, turkey red wheat.
Because this bread uses sourdough starter, or a tiny amount of commercial yeast that you let go sour, it takes up to 5 days to rise. Be patient! The results are worth it, and really, the actual work time is minimal.
By Tammy Kimbler
This flatbread is seriously easy, slow food, but can take up to 5 days to develop, so mix this dough together well in advance and use as needed. When proofed, the dough will store in the fridge for at least a week.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c lukewarm water
1/4 c sourdough starter or 1/4 tsp yeast
1 tbs honey
2 c buckwheat flour
1-2 c spelt, turkey red, kamut or other ancient grain wheat-type flour
2 tsp salt
Instructions:
In a bowl mix lukewarm water, sourdough starter (may come straight out of the fridge–this recipe reactivates the starter as part of the process) or 1/4 tsp yeast and honey. Stir to dissolve ingredients.
Add buckwheat, stirring to combine. There’s no gluten in buckwheat, so it will simply make a batter. Buckwheat can soak up a lot of water, so let the batter sit for 10 minutes to hydrate before adding the flour.
Next, stir in 1 cup of ancient grain, wheat-type flour (the kind with some gluten). You want a stiff batter, but one that you can still stir. We don’t want a ball of dough yet. Add more flour until a stiff batter is achieved. Do not add the salt yet.
Wrap the bowl in plastic wrap, leaving a small vent open for air flow. Leave the dough on the counter until it doubles in volume. This can take up to 5 days, depending on how active your sourdough is. Be patient, it will happen!
Once the dough is double in volume, refrigerate it for up to a week. It will keep fermenting, which adds to the flavor. The dough also works better when it’s cold.
When you’re ready to bake flatbread, heat the oven to 500 degrees. This dough does beautifully on a pizza stone, but you can also bake it on a cookie sheet. It won’t rise as much, but it will still taste great.
Stir 2 tsp salt into your batter. Scoop one cup of batter out onto a well floured surface. Using a dough scraper or very well floured hands, add enough flour to make a loose dough, kneading as you go. The dough is very low gluten, so it will not hold together like regular pizza dough. When it is stiff enough to form a loose ball, it’s ready. The dough will be sticky.
Grease a piece of parchment paper or foil, set on a pizza peal or on a cookie sheet. Gently press the dough out until it’s 1/2 inch thick round or oblong shape.
If using a pizza stone, slide the parchment/dough onto the hot stone and bake for 10-13 minutes until the bottom is crispy and the top begins to lightly brown. If using a cookie sheet, bake it on the top rack of the oven until cooked and light brown, 15-20 minutes. Serve hot or cool on a rack.
Repeat with remaining dough. Once cool, flatbreads will store on the counter top in a container for several days, and they freeze beautifully in a ziplock bags.
Enjoy with cream cheese, olive oil, butter or, my favorite, sour cherry jam.
