Soak the buckwheat groats in water for 5-6 hours.

Drain the groats in a colander but do not rinse. The run-off will be very mucilaginous.

Blend the groats and new water in a blender or food processor. You may need to do this in two parts if you use a food processor, so as to not go over the top of the central blade tube and have leakage.

Pour into a glass bowl or large measuring Pyrex, and cover with a towel. This will be about 5 cups of batter.

Set aside for approximately 24 hrs at 67-70 F. Fermentation time is significantly shorter at warmer house temps or in the oven with the light on. Batter expansion is roughly from 5 to 6.5 cups. Do not mix the batter until the fermentation is finished or the batter will deflate, and it will be hard to calculate growth.

At the end of the fermentation, gently mix in the salt and any seeds you wish to add.

Pour the batter into the parchment paper-lined loaf pan, and decorate the top of the loaf.

Let the batter rise for another 30 minutes to an hour in your lit oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 F with pan in the oven.

Bake for approximately 80 minutes (less for a long narrow pan) or until the inside temp is about 200 F.

Remove from the oven and lift the parchment paper out of pan onto a cooling rack. Peel it off and let the loaf cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.