Have you ever wondered what buckwheat flour is and how to use it in your cooking? This article will answer all your questions about this versatile flour. What does it taste like? Where to buy it? What to make with it? Some recipes and much more! So, let's dive in to learn more about this nutritious and tasty flour!
I love writing complete guides to specific ingredients. You can also read my post What is Tigernut Flour or What is Fleur de Sel or Whipped Chickpea Juice to learn everything about these ingredients.
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⭐ What is buckwheat
Buckwheat is part of a group of food called pseudocereals (also called pseudograins).
Pseudocereals are plants that produce fruits or seeds which are consumed as grains but that are neither grasses nor true cereal grains. Other common pseudocereals include quinoa, amaranth and chia.
💭 What is buckwheat flour made from
The pyramid-shaped raw buckwheat kernels are harvested and ground into flour.
It can be found in two forms: light (made from hulled buckwheat) or dark (made from unhulled buckwheat).
Dark buckwheat flour contains little black specks that come from the ground seed hull. It has more fiber and flavor. While light buckwheat flour is finer-textured and subtler in taste.
🥣 What to make with it
You can make many recipes with this flour: bread, pancakes, quick breads, soba noodles, traditional Russian blini, crepes...and many other kinds of baked goods.
As it is a gluten free flour, it doesn't work the same way as your regular wheat flour. For this reason, if you don't know how to bake with gluten free flours, I highly recommend following a recipe that uses this flour.
🥄 What does buckwheat taste like
Buckwheat has a unique, strong, rich, nutty flavor with a touch of bitterness. Some people prefer to mix it with a more neutral flavored flour than use it alone because they find it too strong.
🧾 What is sarrasin flour
Buckwheat flour in French is called "farine de sarrasin". So "sarrasin flour" is another name for buckwheat flour.
👩🏻🍳 Where to buy it
Sarrasin flour is extremely common here in France, especially in Brittany. So we can buy it in almost all food stores. But if you live outside of France, availability varies by location. Generally speaking, health food and specialty shops may carry it (though you might want to check with the store before going on a long hike or drive). You can also find it online.
💬 FAQs
No. Despite its name, buckwheat isn’t related to wheat.
The buckwheat plant is actually a pseudograin, not a grain. So yes, buckwheat is naturally gluten free!
Buckwheat being a pseudograin, it is not paleo.
Buckwheat is a pseudograin. For that reason, it is not AIP compliant.
There are many ways to substitute buckwheat flour. Your choice will depend on what you want to do. If you don't like buckwheat's strong flavor, you can use rice flour or corn flour that both have a milder taste. If you want to make something sweet like sweet crepes or a cake, you can use chestnut flour or oat flour. And if you want to use another flour that also has a typical flavor, you can use chickpea flour.
Of course, the weight of buckwheat flour in grams varies according to the size of your cup (Did you know that cups are not the same size worldwide?). So here goes:
1 (250 ml) cup buckwheat flour = 130 grams
1 (236 ml) cup buckwheat flour = 123 grams
📋 Recipes
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Natalie
Hi Bea,
I started AIP around 8 weeks ago, however, before that I used to cook a lot with buckwheat flour. I am hoping that I am able to return to using buckwheat, as I love cooking with it. I am hopeful that by keeping refined sugar and gluten out of my diet, I will be able to add in things like buckwheat and eggs, etc. and stay medication and pain free 🙂
Have you been able to incorporate buckwheat back into your diet?
Thanks,
Nat
Bea C.
Hi Natalie. Yes, I can eat buckwheat while still being medication and pain free. But unfortunately, the fact that I can eat buckwheat, doesn't mean that you will. Like I keep saying "one person's food is another person's poison because we are all different". Good luck with AIP and your reintros. Take care!