The weekly rotating loaf from the amazing Matt & Zena at Starter Bread! 

Starter Bread bakes everyday loaves with a wide variety of local whole grains and fresh flours. They use a natural sourdough fermentation to create a staple that keeps well and feeds the mind, body, and soul.

This week we celebrate a non-wheat (but grain-like) ingredient we love getting close with: BUCKWHEAT. This seed has amazing flavor and is a fast-growing, high-biomass crop that is beneficial for pollinators. Buckwheat is a popular staple crop in many cultures around the world and we wonder where we might crave, expect, and raise the roof for more buckwheat in our very young American food traditions.

In addition to stone-milled buckwheat flour (which is purple speckled with black!), we toast whole buckwheat seeds (called groats). We toast a lot of grain week to week, but toasted buckwheat is the most radical transformation of all - so much so that it gets a new name - hello KASHA you aromatic son of a gun - how nice it is to meet you! We partner the kasha with cracked rye for a soaked porridge that begins fermenting a day before the bread is mixed.

photo credit @Sue_Obryan