To introduce the recipe for gluten free buckwheat crust with no additives and gums, I have chosen pink salmon individual quiches. Previously, I have been making these individual quiches with canned salmon and other fillings, using not a very typical recipe for the crust.
The recipe below uses very similar ratios of ingredients, but differs in the choice of flour source. The use of a single flour – buckwheat flour – instead of the mixture of gluten free flours, makes the final product free of any additives and gums flour mix contains.
I have developed the recipe for this type of pastry originally in a sweet version, to have an alternative to a quick puff pastry gluten free. I still use this recipe to bake shells for a variety of sweet pastries.
You can find these recipes here and here.
I also make walnut and sour cherry strudel from this versatile pastry.
Savoury version of this pastry makes wonderful crackers, spiced with any herbs and seeds.
I also used it to make individual quiches with different fillings.
Since the belated discovery of the wonderful quality of buckwheat flour to bind ingredients in gluten free bakes, I started to use this single flour in baking, to make products completely free from any additives and gums, making the product completely natural.
Ingredients:
pastry
enough to make 10-12 individual quiches, I made 6 quiches and a tray of sesame crackers
- 200g buckwheat flour (I used Coles Organic Brand)
- 50g unsalted butter
- 25g (half) egg
- 90ml milk
- 5g salt, 1 tea spoon
- 10g sugar, 2 tea spoons
- tapioca flour to roll
filling
for 6 quiches
- 1 small can of pink salmon
- 3 eggs
- 1 red capsicum
- 1 zucchini
- 2 table spoons flaxseed meal
- 2-3 table spoons of grated carrots (I use my spicy fermented carrots)
- salt pepper to taste
- chosen herbs and spices
Preparation:
- sift buckwheat flour into a wide bowl
- add salt and sugar, mix with a whisk
- add butter and work it into the flour with your fingertips until medium size crumbs
- add milk and egg, mix it in with a knife until all liquid is contained in medium size pieces
- gather the dough together and make a ball
- wrap the dough and rest it for 20-30 min in the fridge (the dough can be kept in the fridge for several days before use)
- cut the ball in half
- use one half to roll and make thin crackers
- make 6 smaller balls and roll them individually on the sheet of baking paper, using tapioca flour to dust
- when inserting the dough for a shell, turn extra dough inside to make sides of the shell double thickness
- grate zucchini, carrots, dice red capsicum
- lightly beat eggs
- use seasoning, add chosen herb and spices (for flavour I use my own fermented carrots and fermented garlic and chilli paste)
- add flaxseed meal, add eggs
- mix everything together
- fill pastry shell nearly to the top
- I used goat cheese leftovers in two quiches
- bake in preheated to 170C fan forced oven for 35min.
- this pastry separates without any problems from non stick baking pans without them being greased, you can use both whole baking pans for tartlets and those with a removable bottom
- for crackers, roll the dough very thin
- brush with egg wash
- sprinkle with salt, white and black sesame seeds and thyme leaves
- cut in individual shapes
- transfer to a lined baking tray
- bake in preheated to 170C fan forced oven for 13 min.
- let quiches rest on a wire rack for 7-10 min
- they are delicious both warm and cold
- quiches can be served with any salad
- they keep well for 2 days, but can be frozen and reheated if stored for longer time
The crust made from buckwheat pasty is very easy to handle, it can be rolled very thin, used without blind baking. It stays dry and nearly crunchy even with quite wet fillings. The taste goes very well with canned fish, including tuna, and also with feta and goat cheese. The choices for fillings are limited only by imagination. Cooked mushrooms, caramelised onions, roasted tomatoes and any roasted vegetables can be used to bake savoury tarts using this crust as a shell. I am now working on a true puff pastry from buckwheat flour. Wish me luck!
Cooking Without Gluten 
I like buckwheat flour too; Sometimes I use all buckwheat, sometimes I use half brown rice flour with it.
I use it with millet flour in 1:1 ration to make shortcrust biscuits. It was delicious. It also goes nicely into a flour mix for wholegrain bread. Thanks for stopping by.
I shall be eagerly awaiting that puff pastry 😄.
Pastry is in the fridge, resting for the second day. Tomorrow I plan to bake 2 types of pastries mushroom and bacon and cabbage. I am very excited in anticipation. I have no idea how it will work out.
Ooh loving the sound of that! Looking forward to the recipe love 😍. Love buckwheat. It’s the best thing for my coeliac sufferer of a hubby.
I became obsessed with buckwheat flour. Baked another version of apple, cinnamon loaf cake only now with dried apricots, new season walnuts and buckwheat flour as a base. Recipe is coming this week.
I shall be eagerly awaiting it 😀
Hi Cathy,
As it often happens, the pastry was not what I have expected. It was a pleasure to work with, it was delicious, buttery and flaky, but not exactly multilayered puff pastry. I made mushroom and bacon pastries, fresh cabbage pastries and sausage rolls. You can see them in Flickr photos, the last 3 of them, which can be found down on the right side after categories list. From dough cut offs I made mini tartlets with mushroom filling. With this result, I will stay with the recipe, but change pastry preparation to simplify it without standard rolling for puff pastry. So I have to make another try before publishing this recipe. In terms of taste, in my opinion, it is better, tastier and more interesting, that any commercial good quality puff pastry I remember from the time before my coeliac diagnosis. This pastry would be ideal for savoury pies and will be simply spectacular to finish baked dishes in individual ceramic pots or cast iron mini cocottes.
Most interesting feature of this dough, that it does not improve resting in the fridge, but is actually better made, rolled and baked fresh. I will discuss it in the post.
Thank you! I’ve wondered myself on the benefits of refrigerating certain gluten free pastries. Last time I made a pie I actually rolled the pastry out to line the base of the pie and refrigerated it like that. Worked out just fine.
I’m looking forward to making your buckwheat pastry. I usually make it with a rice based flour, it tastes delicious but is crunchy and hard to eat. With your buckwheat pastry, do you think you can replace the milk with rice milk or with water for lactose intolerance?
It is surprisingly very flexible dough. The only problem might arise with rice milk, the dough might go softer with time. It happened to me when I used almond milk with another this dough only when using manufactured flour mix, never with buckwheat flour. You can actually try half portion, or even replacing milk with water. What about butter? Can you use it, or you are going to replace it, too?
Yes, I’ll have to replace the butter with sunflower spread. I’ll try using water then. I’m hoping to have a go tomorrow so I’ll let you know how I get on.
Spreads are usually softer than butter, you might need to add less water, though I am not sure. I made this dough as a sweet option for cake with lard and water with gluten free flour mix and rice flour (the original dough I took as the prototype) and it worked well. Buckwheat flour in my opinion can replace commercial flour mixes with gums to keep the dough together.
With the sweet shortcrust it is even possible to go 1:1 buckwheat and millet or rice with no gums. I have switched completely to shortcrust with completely or partially with buckwheat. It works so well for tarts and any biscuits. Good luck with your project!