Soba Noodles ~ How To Make Organic Buckwheat Noodles From Scratch

~ From Grain To Noodle ~
Warning I used the F-word, Some Mild Cursing, and Anarchy In This Post.

I just read an article about people with a high IQ are really good at cursing, I guess I have a high IQ (not really), but a very low emotional IQ, (giggles).

Since I was a baby I liked to figure out how things work. I wasn't destructive like little boys tearing apart radios. I liked watching the process of creating things.

My Mother and Grandmother both sewed their own clothing and also taught me how to sew. My Grandmother grew her own food, my Grandfather hunted and fished off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, sharing his catch with my Uncles and Aunts. We all went along and helped process the food we gleaned from the wilderness. This was not an uncommon experience for the people in my community either. We all lived close to the land before the 1980s, which manifested from the craziness that grew from the 1960s here in America.

One of my gardens in Eugene Oregon
I grew up in a family that knew how to build their own homes, cars, make their own clothing and food. Grocery stores were helpful but not needed. I may not know my grammar ins-and-outs, but I know how to build a house and grow my own food!

I grew up on a small hill farm in the Northwestern part of Oregon, near Portland. My mother was one of those "crazy horse ladies," and horses were my best friends. We grew and hunted most of our food. Extended family shared resources as well. One family may grow potatoes, another would grow grass for hay and traded their food items for some of the livestock we raised on our farm.

Wild Apple Trees and Oregon's Sky
We lived a symbiotic life style not a consumer life style. Our plants and animals supported us and we supported their continued existence. I will write about our ancient 10,000 year old symbiotic relationship between domestic plants, animals, and humans in another article. Our domestic plants and animals are going extinct faster than our wild animals and plants. No one seems to care or understand this world works through symbiotic relationships, people have been separated from what keeps us alive and thriving. The thread of our existence has been cut for profit and control but what seems to be crazy, insane, hubris filled people. Our world is a symbiotic relationship and without maintaining these ancient relationships we will all become extinct.

I grew up not trusting authority because it has always fucked my people over. Most of you have seen the crazy images of hillbillies and rednecks. We are not like that, well maybe most of us aren't like that. We have been vilified by the media because we do not trust the government and do not need the government to take care of us. Unless you know your history, you will never understand why rednecks, country folk, small farmers, and hillbillies are vilified by the government and media, that is another story to be told at a later date. You know why I didn't mention race? Because we country folk are from every race throughout our world. We are fast becoming extinct along with everything that cannot turn a quick profit.

Now that you understand where I am coming from, you will understand my fascination with making food from scratch. I feel the same way about everything in my life, from relationships to art and everything in-between.

Buckwheat washed and dried, ready for milling.
I buy 20lb bags of buckwheat and store in steel barrel drums,which can be stored for decades without decay.

Buckwheat is not a grain, it is a fruit like seed related to the rhubarb, believe it or not! I've made buckwheat wine, it was a nutty flavor but wine has too much sugar and my body cannot handle table sugar anymore. Sad but true, I really miss wine and booze in general, but I want to stay healthy, the sacrifice was worth it. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is a plant cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop.

Grain Manual Handmill
I can't remember the name of this mill, but there is a huge market online selling grain hand mills. If you are interested, just do a search.

I first wash about 12 cups of buckwheat seed, drain the seed, place it in a organic cotton pillowcase, tie securely, and toss it in my dryer. Make sure the grain has enough room to move around in the pillowcase. I dry at medium heat, your dust trap will get a little dusty. I haven't had a fire from the dust because I keep my dust trap very clean. I worried about that. Even organic buckwheat has a fungicide sprayed on it that upsets my stomach so I wash my grains before grinding. It's a pain in the ass but for a happy healthy digestive system I will do just about anything.

Once the grain is dry, you need to fill the mills hopper and start grinding. Buckwheat is one of the easiest seeds to mill. After grinding your 12 cups of grain, you will need to use a fine sieve to separate the hull from the kernel. I feed the leftover hulls to my chickens.

1. A large stockpot full of boiling water for making dough and cooking noodles.
2. Buckwheat flour and if you are a chicken, some wheat flour.
3. A large spoon to stir very hot water into the flour
4. A large bowl used to knead the dough. I always knead my dough in a large bowl. You will see why later on in my article.
5. A colander
6. A large bowl with very cold water

Making Soba Noodle Dough
The Secrets of Amazing Soba: Behind the Scenes at Miyabi 45th
Buckwheat Nutrition Facts
Here is an easy recipe with buckwheat and wheat flour. If you don't have the patience to fail a few times use this recipe, which is very easy to follow and well written. Using just buckwheat to make a noodle is a fine art, buckwheat makes a very flaky product and you have to make everything just right or the noodle will break easily, fall apart during cooking.

Buckwheat flour is fine enough not to grind a second time, unlike other grains

You need boiling hot water and your buckwheat flour. I am not going to include measurements. You just keep adding water until you cannot stir the dough with a spatula.

I knead my dough on the floor, I can really get my back muscles in play for more strength

The dough mix is going to be hot, but it cools down enough towards the end to knead my dough. Keep adding flour to your mix until you can shape the dough into balls. The Buckwheat seed has no stretch like other grains. That's why most people add flour to their soba noodle recipe, for the stretchy gluten. The hot water will give the grain a slick texture and help the process of kneading and shaping the noodle.

Buckwheat dough and noodles dry out quickly. I cover my dough with a wet cloth while working on making the noodles. You can dry soba noodles as well, but the flour/buckwheat noodle is easier to dry as it won't crumble easily.

Break up your dough into fist size balls, cover dough with a wet towel

Roll out your dough on the thick side if your are making pure buckwheat noodles, it will make the noodle stronger once you cook it. I flatten the dough ball out and roll from the middle of the dough out. You can add some flour under and around your dough ball if they are sticky. It really helps when shifting the dough for cutting.

I roll my dough into thirds and cut thick noodles. Pure buckwheat dough does not cut into thin little noodles if you make it at home. I've tried many times and only had luck with the thicker noodles. Work fast so your noodles won't dry out!

Separate the noodles and sprinkle with flour so they won't stick together.

Immediately add the noodles to boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Strain out and dump the noodles in ice cold water. Let sit for five minutes and continue the process until all the dough has been rolled, cut, and cooked.

Save your water after you finished boiling your noodles, it makes excellent stock for soups!

My noodles are ready to eat and can be stored in a tightly sealed container until needed. I think the noodles will last a couple days in your refrigerator, however I've always used mine the same day I made them. The noodle has a delicate nutty flavor and texture. If made correctly it will cook well when added to other dishes. If made incorrectly the noodle will fall apart, crack, crumble, and turn to mush.

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