Buckwheat Flour
Fagopyrum esculentum
The common Buckwheat or Beech Wheat was cultivated in South East Asia
around 6000 BC. It is a pseudo-cereal crop as it is not a
grass but a herb. The seed has a distinct triangular form (referred
to as a buckwheat groats) and is used for cooked grain, soup,
pancakes, crêpes and in China as tea. Buckwheat noodles are
used in Tibet and in some Japanese cuisine. This plant has
spread to all continents in historic times.
Flour from this seed has a distinct grey colour with dark specks in it. It has been used as a bread additive to wheat flour, but the buckwheat flour does not contain gluten so it is not a suitable flour as the sole ingredient in leavened bread.