This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosures.
Buckwheat Flour is a nutritious naturally gluten-free flour with a very distinctive earthy taste. You can use it in traditional galettes or in baked goods for a unique flavour profile. Here's everything you need to know to use buckwheat flour successfully in your kitchen.
Buckwheat flour is one of the better know alternative flours since it has been used in very traditional recipes from all around the world and between the 18th-19th century had high levels of production.
If you have come across it before it may have been in buckwheat blinis, which are yeasted pancakes from Russia or the French galette, a savoury pancake from Brittany and Japanese soba noodles.
Buckwheat flour is a tasty and beautifully delicate flour with a robust flavour and makes an excellent alternative to plain wheat flour.
Table of contents
Is buckwheat flour gluten-free?
Don’t be alarmed by its puzzling moniker, buckwheat flour is a bit of a misnomer since it has nothing to do with wheat at all so is perfectly safe for those avoiding gluten.
What is buckwheat flour?
Buckwheat flour is ground from Buckwheat which is actually a herb, better related to rhubarb and sorrel. It’s what is commonly referred to as a pseudo-grain since it looks and acts like a grain but is actually a seed rich in complex carbohydrates.
How to make buckwheat flour
Buckwheat flour is made by milling these triangular buckwheat seeds into powder. The resulting flour can be greyish brown in colour and if it hasn’t been ultra refined can also be speckled with black flecks.
What are the benefits of using buckwheat flour?
Nutrition
Buckwheat itself is a very highly regarded ancient grain due to its many nutritional benefits:
- It is a carbohydrate but contains a high level of protein and fibre which aids digestion.
- It is also said to contain disease fighting anti-oxidants and can help to lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
READ MORE >>> Buckwheat Flour: Nutrition Facts & Health Benefits
Flavour
The flavour of buckwheat flour is also highly in its favour. Although buckwheat groats can be a bit of a required taste since they are a little bitter, the flour itself has a strong earthy intense profile which sit well in many baked goods and recipes.
When you are baking with buckwheat flour it is best to use in recipes where you are happy to let the flavour of the flour shine through.
Can I use buckwheat flour instead of plain flour?
Buckwheat flour is not able to mimic the properties of gluten so should not be used in a 1:1 swap with wheat flour.
Buckwheat doesn't rise which is why it is so well suited to pancakes, biscuits or in pastry.
How to use buckwheat flour
Buckwheat flour is often the main flour in blinis, galettes or soba noodles. Although some modern recipes also use wheat flour to stabilise the recipe as buckwheat flour can be hard to work with. It is not as robust as plain flour as it doesn't have the gluten to strengthen it. However, if you require your recipe to be gluten-free then it is possible to use solely buckwheat flour in recipes or you can add a starchy flour like tapioca starch or arrowroot powder to make it easier to work with.
READ MORE >>> Buckwheat Galette with Ham and Cheese
Baking with Buckwheat flour
If you are using buckwheat flour in a cake then the results may be a little heavy or crumbly since it doesn't have the binding properties of gluten. However if you use it in combination with a starchy flour such as sweet rice flour or tapioca flour or even a nut flour like almond flour then you can produce beautiful light fluffy bakes with a good structure.
Since its flavour is so pronounced buckwheat flour is best used in moderation in certain recipes, perhaps in conjunction with other alternative flours. Blend it with more neutral tasting lighter flours. Perhaps in a cake no more than 50% buckwheat flour might be used in the total flour percentage.
Why not try these cakes if you are interested in baking with buckwheat flour?
- Coffee Tres Leches Cake
- Blood Orange Buckwheat Hazelnut Friands
- Apple and Cinnamon Cake with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Buttercream
What flavours pair well with buckwheat flour?
Buckwheat flour can be fun to experiment with since it can completely change the profile of a recipe if used. Although you want to use it in recipes with flavours that can stand up to its intense earthy flavour.
Buckwheat flour pairs ideally with toasty flavours such as:
- chocolate
- coffee
- caramel
- nuts
- spices
These Cookies are a great way to use buckwheat as the flavour balances well with the strong add-ons in the cookie such as the marzipan, chocolate and dried fruit.
Buckwheat flour also goes well with earthy flavours such as:
- mushrooms
- parsnips
- squash
- lighter fruits (berries provide a nice contrast)
Where can you buy buckwheat flour?
Buckwheat flour is very easy to get hold of and you can find it sold in most large supermarkets in the UK. However, always check the packet of your buckwheat flour as although the flour itself is gluten-free it is often processed alongside other flours so cross contamination can occur.
BUY NOW >>> Gluten-Free Buckwheat Flour
How to store it
If you use a lot of buckwheat flour then you can store in a cool dark place for up to 1 month. However, if you would like to store an opened packet of buckwheat flour for longer then the best place is in the freezer where it will keep well for up to 6 months.
Darlene says
Can you please tell me what kind of buckwheat flour that is in your photos? The flour you show is speckled with black. When I mill me own hulled buckwheat the flour is a pure off-white colour. I see the bluish/grey speckled buckwheat flour in the stores. What is the difference. Has the buckwheat been toasted, or is it dehulled. If it's dehulled, will the taste be different?
Georgina Hartley says
It was the Amisa brand of buckwheat flour I used in these photos. It's very nice and quite nutty in flavour due to the little flecks of the buckwheat hull. You can use any buckwheat flour interchangeably in recipes - it just depends on your personal flavour preferences. Yes, the purer off white coloured buckwheat is a bit lighter in flavour.
Jamie says
I’d like to make Apple cinnamon muffins. Could I use some type of mixture with buckwheat flour? I find using almond flour they are too dense and dry. I like them to be moist and fluffy.
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Jamie, absolutely. You could use 50% buckwheat flour and 50% almond flour. The buckwheat flour will give you a lovely taste and will lighten up the almond flour. The almond flour will give the muffins a great structure to stop them crumbling apart. It would be a lovely mix.
Georgina Ramson says
Hello Georgina,
I have anew recipe to try for cookies that call for wheat flour and I am striving to be more gluten free. The recipe calls for sprouted whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour. and the other ingredients include slivered almonds, pine nuts and raisins. the rest of the ingredients are simple but it also wants brown rice syrup for the sweetener.
Do you have any thoughts or advice on substitutions or should I just try it and see how it goes?
Thank you.
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Georgina, I would have to see the whole of the recipe to know what flour blend to use for each of the recipes. But for cookies and cakes I can really recommend my homemade flour blend which is a great all-rounder
morrells says
it was soooooo yummy although we actually ground our own buckwheet into flour
but it was amazing
Georgina Hartley says
That's great to hear!
Hemasree says
Hello, Can i use buckwheat flour along with tapioca flour to make Tarts.
Georgina Hartley says
You would probably need an additional flour along with that, depending on your recipe. Try this pastry recipe >>> Best Gluten-Free Pastry <<< which is excellent for tarts it uses sweet rice flour and tapioca flour but replace the sorghum flour in the original recipe for buckwheat flour - it works really well.
Murray Watson says
Thanks for this. For baking, which is better--buckwheat flakes or light buckwheat flour?
Kind thanks,
Murray
Georgina Hartley says
It depends on what you are baking but buckwheat flour is a great option.
Enid White says
Can buckwheat flour be used to make pastry for mince pies
Georgina Hartley says
Absolutely - that sounds delicious. You would have to blend the buckwheat with a starchy flour though so the pastry has some stretch. Here is my recipe for gluten-free mince pies. If you switch out the sorghum flour in the pastry for buckwheat flour then you will have yourself a winner!! Click here >>> Gluten-Free Mince Pies
Susan says
Hello,
What do you think about adding a cup of sourdough starter(made from wheat flour) to 2 cups buckwheat flour in a recipe for waffles. Could I do one to one trade with the wheat flour in the recipe because of the starter to help bind the buckwheat?
Thanks
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Susan, I use buckwheat with my sourdough waffles (made with the discard) and it works really well. However, I use gluten-free flours so I really don't know about the quantities if it's a wheat flour starter. I would recommend using half buckwheat and half wheat flour for your first batch and see how it goes.
Margaret O'Hare says
Thank you for this article Georgina, also your very informative post on the nutritional content and health benefits. I've come to your site this morning looking to bolster my knowledge about buckwheat, as last night I made homemade soba noodles and was delighted with the results.
I live in north west France and buckwheat flour (Sarrasin or Blé Noir) is ubiquitous. Particularly in traditional crêpes, as well as sablés / speciality biscuits. I don't think I realised just how nutritious and versatile this pseudo-grain is. To my shame as it is milled just down the road from us.
I've always struggled with dried soba and rice noodles, even from lovely brands such as Clearspring. I overcook them and they clump together or they end up brittle and break into small pieces. Since going gluten-free I've been mourning my homemade egg pasta which was a weekly staple. I'd still occasionally pull out the pasta roller for my husband and watch on enviously as he forked into a huge bowl of it swimming in olive oil, parmesan and lemon juice.
So yesterday I had a bit of an epiphany and decided to give homemade fresh buckwheat noodles a go. Oh my goodness, what a revelation. The difference between fresh and dried soba is as stark as the difference between dried and fresh egg wheat pasta. I tried two recipes, one was just 80g buckwheat and an egg, the second was 2:1 buckwheat to arrowroot with pre-soaked psyllium, olive oil and salt. This dough felt beautiful, so plump and bouncy. It rolled out really well and even the dust/ fold / chop into noodles technique I had often admired on documentaries worked a treat. Dropped into a rolling boil they were ready in minutes. Loads of chopped scallions and coriander and…oh my! Looks like we have a new weekly staple. In short, I cannot recommend trying buckwheat noodles / pasta too enthusiastically. I’ll never buy dried again. I’m also going to experiment with sweet rice flour instead of arrowroot. I discovered the advantages of glutinous rice flour through your website and it has been another game-changer in the kitchen for me.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge Georgina.
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Margaret - I'm happy you find this information so useful! Buckwheat flour is an excellent gluten-free alternative flour and the experiments you are doing with the pasta sound so delicious! I absolutely agree that homemade gluten-free products taste so much better than the dried versions. Great to know you are also a convert to sweet rice flour - it's a total revelation isn't it!!
Ella says
Hello,
I usually don't like buckwheat's taste. However i just tried in a quiche and in a herby biscuit, and i couldn't realize it till the end i when i ate the crust of it. The chef told us that they are all gluten free at the beginning. So i wonder, how can it just tastes like some other flour that i can eat? Can buckwheat flour be mixed with other gluten free flours or what?
I really want to eat buckwheat flour but usually the taste is so sharp, thats why i am asking:)
Thank you so much in advance
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Ella, yes you can use blend buckwheat with other flours if you find the taste too overpowering. It can also take a lot of flavour. I use it in the pastry of this Stilton Quiche where it pairs nicely with the other flavours rather than stealing the show. I rarely use buckwheat by itself, mainly because it doesn't have any starch in it so can't hold a cake together without a little help from other flours, then that tempers the flavour. It's really delicious in this Apple and Cinnamon Cake - there are a lot of flavours going on so the buckwheat is a nice background note.
Grant G says
Does buckwheat flour need to be refrigerated?
What is its shelf life once opened?
These points should be listen for every product reviewed.
Georgina Hartley says
Thank you for your excellent feedback - I'll endeavour to include that information for my posts on ingredients.
Reuben Schnaidt says
Thank you. Very informative.
Juanita says
Can I use buckwheat flour instead of groats
Georgina Hartley says
The texture of the flour is a lot finer than the groats so it depends what you are trying to make.
Beth Nordquist says
If you haven't tried *light* buckwheat flour, you must. 🙂 It is milled from groats without the hull, and it is super tender and very mild flavored, as the earthy bitterness of buckwheat comes from the hull. It's been a staple ingredient in my GF baking mixes for years.