Michelle Darmody: Baking with buckwheat
I still remember the first malty taste of buckwheat, writes
When I was younger, we regularly made the journey from Cork to Clonmel as a family. My grandparents lived on the outskirts of Clonmel and we would spend many weekends and holidays with them.
There were many distractions along to road to occupy a car full of children; the giant pencil signpost in Fermoy, the cannon ball stuck in the wall of Cahir Castle — the road meandered through towns and villages then — or a stop off at Trass fruit farm, to pick up a box of sweet-smelling apples, and to wave at the donkey and goat.
I dimly remember once or twice stopping for pancakes, I am not sure where, but I am certain it was on one such journey.
These pancakes were not the same as the pancakes we had pre-lent, with a squeeze of lemon and dusting of sugar.
These pancakes were different, distinctive and savoury. They were made with buckwheat flour and stuffed with melted French cheese and ham.
I still remember the first malty taste of the buckwheat, I loved it. In later years, on school trips to the North of France, I reveled in the very same pancakes, or crêpes; I knew to call them crêpes by then.
Buckwheat has a very unique flavour that works well in breads and cookies.
It is also gluten free so it is excellent for people with gluten allergies.
Its name is a little misleading as it is often thought to be a grain, but it is not, it is the fruit seed from a plant related to rhubarb.
The seeds are rich in many trace minerals, including magnesium and copper and are also a good source of certain vitamins and compound fibres.
A handful of toasted buckwheat seeds are a tasty addition to a morning bowl of granola.
They can be used in savoury cooking as well. Recently I ate in Etto, on Merrion Row, in Dublin. They served these very same toasted buckwheat seeds sprinkled over flame charred white cabbage, which had been drizzled with a mustard dressing. It was delicious.
The second recipe here has some plain flour added but the other too are free of gluten.
Muffins with buckwheat and oats
120g of buckwheat flour
1.5 tsp of baking powder, sieved
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp of vanilla essence
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 medium apple, roughly grated
50g of walnuts, chopped
20g of porridge oats, keep a little back for sprinkling on top
80 mls of honey
30 mls of maple syrup
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and place 12 nonstick muffin-cases into a bun tin.
Sieve the baking powder and flour together. Stir in the ground cinnamon and add the vanilla to the eggs.
Stir the banana, grated apple, walnuts, porridge oats, honey and maple syrup together. Stir in the egg mixture and then the flour mixture until everything is completely combined.
Scoop the mixture into the prepared bun tin and sprinkle the remaining oats on top. Bake for a half an hour or until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for ten minutes then transfer onto a wire rack.
Toasted buckwheat power bars
100g of peanut butter
80g of honey
30g of toasted buckwheat seeds
10g of poppy seeds
120g of porridge oats, toasted
70g of flaked almonds
20g of pumpkin seeds
20g of sunflower seeds
130g of medjool dates, stoned and finely chopped
30g of dried apricots, roughly chopped
50g of coco nibs
Line a 9in-square tin with baking parchment.
Melt the peanut butter and honey together over a low heat in a heavy based saucepan.
Mix all of the other ingredients together in a large bowl except the coco nibs. Stir in the honey mixture and combine everything well. Stir in the coco nibs and transfer the mixture into your prepared tin. Press it down evenly.
Place into the fridge to cool before slicing into bars with a warm knife. I usually get about 12 bars from the mixture. I place a layer of parchment between each bar when storing.
Buckwheat and pecan chocolate chip cookies
150g of golden caster sugar
115g of soft butter
2 eggs, lightly whisked
120g of plain flour
1 tsp of baking powder, sieved
55g of buckwheat flour
70g of pecan nuts, roughly chopped
230g of dark chocolate chips
Heat your oven to 180C and line a flat baking tray with parchment.
Whisk the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs slowly, one at a time, if the mixture begins to separate add a tablespoon of the flour.
Sieve the flour and baking powder together and add it to the mixture. Stir in the buckwheat flour and nuts until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
I make 12 large cookies with this mixture, leaving some room for them to expand on the tray. I bake them for 15
minutes or until they are beginning to turn golden. You could make a larger amount of smaller cookies, if you wish, but reduce the baking time and make sure they are all of a similar size. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
