IkasRealm
Healthy Kitchen

Gluten-Free Walnut Pumpernickel-Style Bread

26 August 2026 1 min
Dark gluten-free walnut bread sliced on a wooden board

A dark, dense gluten-free loaf inspired by pumpernickel, with buckwheat, oats, cocoa, caraway, blackstrap molasses and walnuts.

True pumpernickel has a specific rye tradition, so a gluten-free loaf cannot literally be pumpernickel. But it can borrow the flavour language: dark grain, long baking, caraway, molasses and a compact crumb. This version uses buckwheat and oat flour, with cocoa and coffee only in small amounts to deepen colour and aroma rather than turn the loaf sweet.

Recipe card

How to Make It

One loaf 20 minutes plus baking and cooling

Ingredients

  • 180 g buckwheat flour
  • 120 g certified gluten-free oat flour
  • 60 g tapioca or potato starch
  • 30 g ground flaxseed
  • 18 g psyllium husk powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp instant coffee (optional)
  • 2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
  • 1 tbsp apple-cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 7 g instant yeast
  • 430–480 ml warm water
  • 90 g walnuts, roughly chopped

Method

  1. 1Line a small loaf tin. Mix all dry ingredients except walnuts.
  2. 2Whisk molasses, vinegar, oil and 430 ml warm water.
  3. 3Combine wet and dry ingredients. The dough should be thick and sticky, not kneadable. Add more water only if needed.
  4. 4Fold in walnuts. Scrape into the tin, smooth the top and leave covered for 35–50 minutes until slightly aerated.
  5. 5Bake covered at 160°C fan / 175°C conventional for 70 minutes. Uncover and bake 20–25 minutes more.
  6. 6Cool completely — ideally several hours — before slicing. Gluten-free dense loaves set as they cool.

Allergen information

Contains tree nuts (walnuts); check individual flour and seed labels.

Ika's Realm notes

  • Serve thinly sliced with cheese, smoked foods, pickles or apple butter. The loaf freezes well in slices.

Key takeaways

  • Dark colour comes from slow baking and molasses-style sweetness, not rye.
  • Dense gluten-free loaves need full cooling before slicing.
  • Walnuts add fat and structure to an otherwise heavy crumb.

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