Buckwheat Cranberry Pecan Bread (gluten free)

Happy new year! After another short hiatus, it’s good to be back again. I took some time around the holidays to travel for work, travel to see family, and rest up after returning home, but I’m excited to be back and sharing this bread with you now because it’s AMAZING! I’ve been really loving the Aran Goyoaga’s new cookbook Cannelle et Vanille, which I got for Christmas, and I’ve been baking from it a lot already. I highly highly recommend this wonderful book!! So far I’ve made the banana bread, olive loaf, and this buckwheat bread, all gluten free. This one is my favorite and is surprisingly easy to make. It does require a stand mixer, a Dutch oven, and a food thermometer (and a digital scale helps too), though I’m sure you could try making it without those things, I just haven’t experimented with that yet. The original recipe calls for dried apricots and walnuts, but you can use any dried fruit and nuts for whatever variation you like.

Buckwheat Cranberry Pecan Bread

adapted from Canelle et Vanille

• 2 1/4 cups (505 g) whole milk or almond milk, heated to 110 degrees F
• 3 Tbsp (75 g) dark molasses
• 1 Tbsp (12 g) active dry yeast
• 3 Tbsp (30 g) psyllium husk powder
• 2 cups (240 g) buckwheat flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 cup (120 g) tapioca starch
• 1 Tbsp orange zest
• 2 tsp finely grated peeled ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup (100 g) dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup (50 g) coarsely chopped pecans

1. In a large bowl, stir together the milk, molasses, and yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes or until foamy. Whisk in the psyllium husk powder and let the mixture gel for 5 minutes.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, orange zest, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Pour in the yeast mixture and stir with the dough hook on medium until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Add the cranberries and pecans and mix for 1 minute more. The dough should be sticky.
3. Sprinkle your work surface with buckwheat flour and the turn out the dough onto the floured surface. Form the dough into a ball, dusting it with more flour. Dust a large bowl with buckwheat flour and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 45 minutes to an hour.
4. Meanwhile, place a Dutch oven in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. When the dough has risen, carefully place it in the Dutch oven, cover with the lid, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cover, reduce the heat to 400 degrees, and bake for 30 minutes more. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and allow it cool completely before slicing.