Pumpkin Spice Bread - Vegan + Gluten Free
Well it's already past the midway point of October, so you know what that means. We're well into pumpkin spice season. I must admit I am not an “I love pumpkin everything” person. I know, I know, that's practically blasphemous. But that's just me. That being said, one place where I very much love pumpkin, is in my family's pumpkin bread recipe. As a kid my mom would bake and sell pumpkin bread every autumn, and sometimes in between if there was a special request. As my siblings and I got older we would help make bread too and eventually I took over the small bread making business. Quite some time has passed since I have made that pumpkin bread, but when I discovered my four year old son is an “I love pumpkin everything” person I knew it was time to pull this recipe out of the archives. Only there were three little problems. I have gone vegan, I primarily eat gluten free, and I don’t use refined sugar when baking anymore. Well not to worry, with a few switches here and there I was able to recreate this old family favorite into something I feel comfortable eating and giving to my kids. In vegan baking, you can replace eggs using a flax egg. This is a mixture of ground flaxseed and water. This mixture becomes very much like a whisked egg and works as a binder. Switching a recipe from traditional all purpose flour to gluten free is possible if you have a good gluten free flour mix. There are many out there, but not all are created equal. I recommend Trader Joe's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour or mixing up your own, if you're up for that. I have also heard a lot of good things about Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, although I have not yet tried that one myself. And for healthier sweetener options there are a lot, coconut sugar, coconut nectar, maple syrup, and agave nectar are all lower on the glycemic index than refined sugar. This does not make them healthy for you per say, but they won't mess with your sugar levels as much and therefore are a better option if used in moderation.
Without further ado let's delve into this delicious Pumpkin Spice Bread recipe! ¼ cup ground flaxseed ⅔ cup water ⅔ cup coconut oil, melted 1 cup coconut sugar ½ cup coconut nectar {or pure maple syrup} 1 can organic pumpkin {15 oz} 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 3 ⅓ cups all purpose gluten free flour 2 teaspoons baking soda ½ teaspoon gluten free baking powder 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon cloves ½ teaspoon nutmeg ½ teaspoon allspice ¼ teaspoon ginger Optional - ⅔ cup walnuts {other options; pecans, dairy free chocolate chips, dried cranberries} Preheat oven to 350F To make a flax egg, whisk together the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl, then set in fridge for approximately 10 minutes. The mixture should be a similar texture of a whisked egg. While that is setting up in the fridge, add coconut oil, coconut sugar, coconut nectar, pumpkin, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Once the flax egg is ready add that as well and mix all together. In a separate bowl, add gluten free flour, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and stir together. Combine the wet mixture with the dry and stir until well combined. Optional - Add walnuts or other add in and stir. Oil two bread pans {a little coconut oil and a basting brush work well for this}. Pour equal amounts of the batter into the pans Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean.
This bread can be frozen if you're not going to eat all of it within a week. Although this is not something we have a problem with in our house, as this is a major hit with everyone!
Hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as we do!