This activated buckwheat seed and nut bread is my grain and sugar free adaptation of Sarah Britton’s famous Life Changing Loaf of Bread recipe. It’s packed with nutrients, fibre and protein, and really is worthy of the “life changing” name of the original recipe.
Unlike traditional bread, this recipe contains no yeast so there’s no kneading, proving or shaping required. It’s gluten, dairy and egg free which means almost everyone can enjoy it. Best of all, it’s low in carbohydrates and packed with protein and fibre.
Psyllium is the magic ingredient that binds this bread together by combining with water and forming a “glue” of sorts. It’s one of natures most absorbent fibres and is also great for getting the digestion moving.
Soaking the nuts and seeds is optional because after baking their activated nutrients won’t remain so, but the soaking process does make them more digestible by removing the inhibitor enzymes on their skins. Soaking the buckwheat however, isn’t optional unless you want rock hard, teeth breaking bread.
This bread is delicious eaten by the slice straight from the loaf. It’s also great when lightly toasted with a little melted coconut oil or almond butter, or piled up with toppings. Some of my favourite combos are avocado, cherry tomatoes, parsley and radish, and avocado and smoked salmon as per the pictures above.
Because this bread was so ridiculously delicious I also adapted it into hot cross buns which I posted here. These buns are a spicier, sweeter version with sultanas.
A great tip for this activated buckwheat seed and nut bread is once you’ve removed it from the oven and let it cool, slice up half the loaf and pop it into the freezer so you’ll always have some on hand.
Activated Buckwheat, Seed and Nut Bread (Paleo/Vegan)
Adapted from Sarah Britton’s Life Changing Loaf of Bread Recipe
Makes: 1 medium loaf tin
Prep time: 15 minutes Soak time: 2 to 12 hours (optional) Stand time: 2 hours Bake time: 1 hour
1 cup/200g buckwheat groats, soaked
1 cup/85g almonds or hazelnuts
1/2 cup/75g sunflower seeds
1/2 cup/75g pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup/85g flaxseeds
1 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
1 tsp carraway seeds (optional)
4 Tbsp psyllium husks (or 3 Tbsp psyllium powder)
3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/4 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1 1/2 cup/350ml filtered water
To soak the buckwheat, place it in a bowl and cover with filtered water. Leave at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours, then drain and wash well to remove the mucilaginous substance released. If you wish to soak the nuts and seeds do the same but leave the sunflower and pumpkin seeds to soak for 4 to 6 hours and the almonds to soak for 10 to 12 hours.
To make the bread, place all the ingredients into a bowl and stir with a large spoon until evenly mixed. Either use a non stick loaf tin or line one with baking paper. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and leave to stand for a minimum of 2 hours to allow the psyllium and flaxseeds to absorb all the water.
Preheat the oven to 175ºC fan bake. Place the loaf into the centre of the oven and bake for approximately 30 to 40 minutes or until it feels firm and you can easily tip it out of the tin. Place the loaf back into the oven directly on the rack and bake another 30 minutes. It’s ready when it sounds hollow when tapped.
Remove the loaf from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
This bread is delicious eaten freshly sliced or toasted, and will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week. It’s a great idea to keep a stash of this bread in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 3 months. Be sure to slice before freezing!
Wow! The psyllium is enough of a binder for the rather heavy nuts? Amazing! I do wonder if chia paste also work? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Yes psyllium is an amazing binder and pulls this whole loaf together! It’s important to pay attention to quantities though as too much ends up in a rather gluey loaf 😉 Psyllium is also an amazing dietary fiber and is great for keeping things moving in the digestive system.
I’m not sure chia seeds would be powerful enough to hold this loaf together on their own. You could definitely add them or swap them for the flax seeds, but I haven’t tried swapping them for the psyllium. If you do, let me know how it turn s out! Hope that helps 🙂
Woops. Ok to leave seeds and husk mix overnight?
Hi Desiree, yes once you’ve mixed everything together you can leave it to stand for up to 48 hours – so overnight is all good 🙂
Thanks for sharing your variations on this recipe, and I’m glad to find a soaked version. I’d prefer to leave out the flaxseeds due to their fragile oils, which ideally are not heated. Do you think it would turn out all right without this ingredient?
Hi Beth, yes I completely understand about leaving out the flaxseeds. I’ve been experimenting on a version that’s completely dehydrated so that the nuts and seeds all remain raw/activated which would also benefit the flaxseeds. I’ll post it as soon as I’ve perfected it 🙂
Meanwhile, yes you could leave out the flaxseeds as the main “glue” for this bread is formed from the psyllium and water combination. However, the flaxseeds do contribute to the “glue” so I’d replace them with either chia or basil seeds as these have very similar properties. Hope that helps and let me know how it turns out!
This looks awesome.
I am wanting to make this so badly but my toddler won’t eat all the nut/seed chunks – do you think this recipe would still work if I pulsed the nuts/seeds coarsely in a food processor?
Hi Mary, yes this recipe should still work if you pulse the nuts and seeds in a food processor. I’ve made another similar recipe where I did that and it was fine. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Love your take on the life-changing loaf, do you think your recipe might work with (raw, sprouted) buckwheat flour (not soaked) in place of groats? I tend to blend my life-changing loaf ingredients for more of a crumb-like texture in the finished loaf.
Hi Miranda, hmm I haven’t tried it with raw sprouted buckwheat flour. In theory yes it should work, but I’m not sure what quantity to substitute as buckwheat groats are quite a different volume and weight to flour. If you prefer a more crumb textured loaf, you could try blending the ingredients of this loaf before baking. Otherwise check out this recipe for hemp seed bread which has a more crumb-like texture: https://www.swoonfood.com/hemp-pumpkin-sunflower-seed-bread/ Hope that helps!
sounds delish… Question can I use purchased activated buckwheat? and then soak same as recipe? chrs
Hi Glenn, I haven’t made this recipe with already activated buckwheat, but the main reason for soaking it is to ensure it doesn’t end up rock hard by the end of baking so if you soak it as per the recipe its should work. Let me know if you try it!