Buckwheat for Breakfast

Individual buckwheat groats

I finally tried the buckwheat I bought from the bulk bin.  It's usually so much easier to stay in a rut by making a big batch of regular oatmeal rather than figuring out how to make something new.  I definitely wanted to make a small batch in case I didn't like it.

I bought buckwheat groats, the hulled version of the grain.  I have no idea what it would look like with the hull, maybe it's something you only want to feed to farm animals, and I haven't turned into a horse (not yet at least, despite Husband Jeff's whinneys and neighs occasionally when I eat oatmeal).  Each groat is triangular-shaped, like a little pyramid.

Buckwheat is gluten-free even though it has "wheat" in the name, so if that's your thing, you can go for it.  

Ingredients

makes two servings

I was too lazy to look up how to cook plain buckwheat so I checked one recipe and figured I would chance it by cooking them like steel-cut oats, which involves a 2:1 ratio of water to oats.

• 1/2 cup buckwheat groats
• 1 cup water

Directions

I also treated the buckwheat groats like steel-cut oats when it came to cooking.  I used the heat-it-up-and-forget-it method where you bring it to a boil on the stovetop to start the cooking process, turn it off, and letting it sit overnight. It's quicker than standing over the stove working at it but also with maximum hydration.  So when you wake up in the morning, breakfast is waiting.

Groats plus water.

Put the groats and water in a small pot with a lid and bring it to a boil.  Once it reaches a boil, take it off the heat and let it sit undisturbed overnight.

Water absorbed

In the morning, divide it up between two bowls, add your toppings/mix-ins and any sweetener. 

My first bowl of buckwheat!

Verdict

The amount I made was two servings, so I had it for breakfast two days in a row.  I added half a diced peach both days and the last bits of dried cranberries to the first bowl since I'm trying to eat up all the breakfast items I've stockpiled.  I also added my coconut creamer (not really a fan, I think I'm giving up and sticking with the icky store-bought non-dairy creamer) and some regular creamer.

Cooked buckwheat smells similar to quinoa, an earthy scent.

The buckwheat seemed pretty filling (wasn't hungry a couple hours later) and the texture is nice, but I would like it to be more porridge-like, so I'll probably mix it with other things like old-fashioned rolled oats and rye flakes.  I've found I'm really more of a fan of porridge than individual grains. 

One way to jazz it up would be to add some flavors in the cooking liquid, like maybe a mashed banana or dried fruit or replace the water with juice or milk.  I thought about doing that but I wanted to try it unadulterated first to see what I thought.  

Cooked buckwheat seems similar to Israeli couscous, barley, or steel-cut oats.  It's separated grains, not like a porridge.  I didn't really have any idea what it would be like, but if I had thought about it, I would have realized it wasn't going to make a thick porridge since it's similar to steel-cut oats. Buckwheat groats would be good made into a savory salad with chopped veggies like cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, some chunks of feta cheese, with a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice.