Buckwheat: The Grain That Isn’t Wheat

One of the most misunderstood ingredients… and one of the most rewarding Few ingredients have suffered quite so much from their name. Because despite being called buckwheat, it isn’t wheat. And it doesn’t contain gluten. In fact, it isn’t even a cereal. Buckwheat is what’s known as a pseudocereal, much like quinoa. It has been cultivated across Asia and Europe for centuries, long before anyone talked about gluten-free diets, and has always held a respected place in traditional cooking. It may not be the best-known grain. But it is certainly one of the most remarkable. An ingredient with real character Some ingredients quietly blend into the background. Buckwheat isn’t one of them. It has a distinctive toasted flavour with gentle nutty notes that bring depth and complexity to baking. That’s exactly why we love it. It doesn’t try to imitate wheat. It celebrates being something entirely different. Why we love it At Milola, every ingredient has to earn its place. Buckwheat does so in many ways. Naturally gluten-free: Buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, making it an excellent choice for people living with coeliac disease or anyone wanting to enjoy a broader variety of grains. Rich in fibre: Its natural fibre supports healthy digestion and helps keep you feeling satisfied for longer. A complete plant protein: Buckwheat is unusual among plant foods because it naturally contains all nine essential amino acids. That makes it a particularly valuable source of plant-based protein within a balanced diet. Naturally rich in minerals and antioxidants: Buckwheat provides important minerals including magnesium, iron and copper. It also contains rutin, a naturally occurring antioxidant that has been widely studied for its potential role in supporting cardiovascular health. Much more than a gluten-free alternative For many years, buckwheat has been treated simply as a replacement for wheat. We think it deserves much more than that. Its value doesn’t come from what it lacks. It comes from everything it brings. Flavour. Texture. Character. And a culinary identity entirely its own. How to cook with buckwheat Buckwheat is remarkably versatile. You’ll find it both as whole groats and as flour. It’s wonderful in: Artisan breads. Cookies. Cakes. Pancakes. Crêpes. Warm salads. Soups. Grain bowls. In Brittany, it’s the star ingredient of traditional savoury galettes. In Japan, it is the main ingredient in soba noodles. Across Eastern Europe, it has been enjoyed for generations as an everyday staple. Few ingredients have travelled so widely. Why we use buckwheat at Milola Because it brings exactly what we’re looking for. A delicate texture. A rich, distinctive flavour. And the kind of complexity that makes our recipes taste like something far more interesting than “gluten-free cookies.” We’re not trying to recreate traditional recipes without wheat. We want to create other new ones that are just as good (or better). Buckwheat helps us do exactly that. A small celebration of buckwheat Sometimes the finest ingredients are the ones that never try to be something else. Buckwheat doesn’t try to be wheat. And perhaps that’s its greatest strength. It has nourished people for thousands of years. It has travelled across cultures and cuisines. And it reminds us that true culinary diversity often begins with something beautifully simple. At Milola, buckwheat is part of our recipes because we believe great cooking isn’t about replacing. It’s about discovering.

Brown Rice: The Grain We Thought We Already Knew

One of the world’s most familiar grains… and one of its most overlooked Some ingredients hardly need introducing. Rice is certainly one of them. For thousands of years, it has nourished cultures across every continent. Yet one version of it often receives far less attention than it deserves. Brown rice. And we believe it deserves considerably more prominence. Not because it’s fashionable. But because it preserves much of what makes the grain so valuable in the first place. What makes brown rice different? The difference is surprisingly simple. White rice is produced by removing the outer layers of the grain, brown rice keeps them. That means it retains the bran and the germ, where much of the fibre, vitamins, minerals and naturally occurring antioxidants are found. Although both come from exactly the same grain, their nutritional profiles are remarkably different. Why we love it At Milola, we never choose an ingredient for just one reason. It has to contribute flavour. Texture. And purpose. Brown rice does all three. Naturally gluten-free. Brown rice is naturally gluten-free, making it an excellent choice for people living with coeliac disease or anyone looking to enjoy a wider variety of grains. Rich in fibre. Because it keeps its bran layer, brown rice contains considerably more fibre than white rice. That supports healthy digestion and helps you feel satisfied for longer. Slow, steady energy. Like many whole grains, brown rice releases its carbohydrates more gradually than refined grains. The result is a steadier source of energy throughout the day. Naturally rich in vitamins and minerals. Brown rice provides important minerals including magnesium, phosphorus and selenium, as well as B vitamins that support many essential metabolic functions. Naturally occurring antioxidants. The bran also contains antioxidant compounds that help protect the body’s cells from oxidative stress. A simple flour with extraordinary potential It’s easy to assume the most sophisticated ingredients are always the most interesting. We don’t think that’s true. A beautifully milled brown rice flour can be something rather special. Especially when it comes from exceptional grain and is produced with care. The brown rice flour we use at Milola comes from Valencia, on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. Whenever possible, we choose ingredients that are both exceptional in quality and close to home. Every ingredient in our recipes has earned its place. Why we use brown rice in our cookies Because it contributes far more than structure. It creates a delicate texture. A gentle flavour that allows the other ingredients to shine. And a nutritional profile that reflects the way we believe food should be made. We’re not trying to make “gluten-free products.” We’re trying to create recipes so delicious that gluten simply stops being the most interesting thing about them. In defense of brown rice For many years, brown rice has been seen mainly as “healthy food.” We think it deserves a better reputation. It’s remarkably versatile. Elegant in its simplicity. Nutritious. And capable of bringing real character to a recipe when treated with care. That’s why it appears in so many of our bakes. Because the finest ingredients aren’t always the rarest ones. Sometimes they’re the ones we’ve known all our lives… We simply needed to learn to see them differently.

The Table Where Everyone Belongs

The story behind Milola By Manuela García, Founder of Milola. “I dreamed of creating a place where no one would ever feel left out of the table.” Some moments quietly change the course of your life. Mine happened almost thirty years ago, while I was living in London. For as long as I could remember, I’d lived with fragile health. Allergies. Digestive problems. Constant discomfort. Medication. It had become so normal that I assumed it was simply part of who I was. Until one doctor asked a different question. And changed the way I ate forever. He removed gluten, dairy and several other foods from my diet. Almost overnight, my health improved. But something else disappeared too. A great deal of the joy I had always found in food. When food stops being about sharing Today it’s difficult to imagine what that meant. There was no Google. No social media. No food blogs. Hardly any gluten-free products. The tiny free-from shelf at the supermarket was disappointing at best. At the time, I was working in a beautiful French pâtisserie in Chelsea. Every morning we prepared some of the most exquisite pastries I’d ever seen. And I couldn’t eat almost any of them. That’s when I realised something I’ve never forgotten. Food is never just food. It’s celebration. Family. Friendship. Culture. Travel. Care. And when you can’t fully take part in those moments, it doesn’t simply feel like you’ve changed your diet. It feels as though you’ve been left out of something much bigger. Starting again I became obsessed with learning. I spent hours in libraries trying to understand what gluten actually was. I wandered through London’s markets discovering ingredients I’d never encountered before. I realised the world was so much bigger than wheat. Sorghum in Indian cooking. Millet and quinoa in Latin American cuisine. Teff in Ethiopian food. Buckwheat. Tapioca. Psyllium. Then came the experiments. There were plenty of failures. More than I can count. But slowly, something began to change. The recipes no longer felt like substitutes. They were simply… delicious. The idea that became Milola Eventually I realised I wasn’t trying to make gluten-free food. I was trying to recover something much more important. The feeling of sitting around a table without feeling different. Without explaining yourself. Without compromising. Without settling for a second-rate version of what everyone else was enjoying. That’s how Milola began. Not as a cookie brand. Not as a bakery. But as an idea. To create a place where everyone belongs around the table. Mediterranean at heart I was born on the Mediterranean coast. In a family where every meaningful conversation happened around the table. Where cooking was an act of love. And sharing food was simply how we cared for one another. That’s why I’ve never believed we have to choose between wellbeing and pleasure. I believe the two belong together. It’s the question that still guides every recipe we create. How can something taste genuinely wonderful and also make you feel good? From one small bakery to thousands of tables For many years that idea lived inside a small bakery in Mataró, near Barcelona. Something extraordinary happened there. Every weekend, families travelled from all over Spain. They didn’t come just to buy a cake. They came because, for a few hours, they could stop asking what they were allowed to eat. They could simply enjoy being together. That experience confirmed everything we believed. Today our products are made in a much larger bakery so they can reach thousands of homes. But the idea remains exactly the same. What Milola stands for We don’t believe anyone should have to choose between health and pleasure. Between nourishment and indulgence. Between taking care of themselves and celebrating life. We believe great food can bring all of those things together. Most of all, we believe no one should ever feel like the odd one out around the table. Because being excluded from a generous table is, in many ways, being excluded from life itself. And that’s still the reason we switch on our ovens every single morning.

Millet: The Ancient Grain We Should Probably Be Talking About More

A tiny grain with thousands of years of history Ask someone to name a few grains and you’ll probably hear the same answers. Wheat. Rice. Corn. Oats. Maybe quinoa. But there’s another grain that has nourished millions of people for thousands of years and still remains surprisingly unfamiliar to many of us. It’s called millet. And we think it deserves far more attention than it gets. An old favourite in many parts of the world Millet has been cultivated across Africa and Asia for thousands of years. For generations, it has been an everyday staple for one simple reason: It’s nourishing. Resilient. Versatile. And remarkably enjoyable to cook with. It may not be the world’s most famous grain. But it’s certainly one of its oldest. Why we love it At Milola, every ingredient earns its place. Millet ticks many of the boxes we look for. Naturally gluten-free Millet is naturally gluten-free, making it an excellent choice for people with coeliac disease or anyone looking to bring greater variety to the grains they eat. Rich in nutrients It provides complex carbohydrates, fibre, plant protein and important minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus and iron. It also contains B vitamins and naturally occurring antioxidants. It’s not a miracle food. But it is a genuinely nutritious ingredient that deserves a place in a balanced diet. Easy to digest Its fibre supports healthy digestion and contributes to a healthy gut. Like many whole grains, it also helps keep you feeling satisfied for longer. Slow, steady energy Compared with many refined grains, millet has a relatively low glycaemic index. That means it releases energy more gradually, helping to avoid dramatic spikes in blood sugar after meals. Better for the planet too There’s another reason we’re so fond of millet. It’s an incredibly resilient crop. It needs less water than many other grains. It copes well with drought. And it thrives in places where more demanding crops struggle. As agriculture adapts to a changing climate, traditional grains like millet are becoming increasingly relevant once again. By incorporating millet into our cookies, we also support more environmentally friendly agriculture. How to cook with millet If you’ve never cooked millet before, you’ll probably be surprised by how versatile it is. Try it in: Warm salads. Grain bowls. Soups. Stews. Porridge. Veggie burgers. You can cook it much like rice or quinoa. Its flour also works beautifully in gluten-free breads, cakes and baking. Why we use millet at Milola Because we like our recipes to taste good. Because we want every ingredient in our recipes to contribute something meaningful. Millet brings flavour. A delicate, tender texture. And a unique personality that combines very well with other Mediterranean ingredients. We’re not trying to imitate wheat. We’re far more interested in discovering everything other grains have to offer. A small defence of millet For a very long time we’ve expected one grain to do almost everything. Bread. Pasta. Flour. Cookies. Pastries. Perhaps it’s time to rediscover the extraordinary diversity that has always existed. Not to replace one grain with another. But to welcome more variety back to our tables. Millet has nourished people for thousands of years. We’re delighted that it can now become part of ours too.