Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread

You know it’s fall when everything is suddenly pumpkin spice flavored. That definitely doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on all the fun if you’re gluten-intolerant.

Breads and cakes are some of the trickiest foods to bake if you’re making them gluten-free. After much trial and error, I’ve discovered that starch-based all-purpose flours are, not only more expensive but best for cookies and other more dense confectionaries. It’s also good for breading and thickening in cooking recipes. However, if you’re looking to make more fluffy desserts, such as cakes and breads, you’ll produce the best results if you use an all-purpose gluten-free flour that doesn’t list starches as the first ingredient.

Also, make sure the flour has leavening agents listed in the ingredients. These help the cake or bread rise in addition to the baking soda and baking powder you may add in your recipe. So if you’re coming out with overly dense baked goods, the type of flour you’re using may be part of your problem.

This pumpkin bread recipe includes a number of spices. I had no pumpkin spice so I just made my own. If you have pumpkin spice handy, you can replace all the spices with a tablespoon of pumpkin spice and 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon in addition to that.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare baking pan with nonstick baking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix eggs, oil, and pumpkin puree on medium speed.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and sea salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients using a low speed on your mixer. Raise the speed as the mixture combines.
4. Add in almond milk and mix gently. (Optional: Gently fold in chopped walnuts).
5. When pouring batter into the baking pan, make sure to leave about 3/4 inch of space at the top. You may be left with extra batter, but you can use this to make muffins or smaller loaves.
6. Bake for 1 hour or until the center is set. Let the bread cool before removing from the pan in order to prevent the bread from going flat.