Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Gluten and Dairy Free Pumpkin Bread

Oh how I LOVE pumpkin bread. I made some this year using my favorite recipe for the Harvest Feast at my boys’ school. To my surprise my oldest (7) asked me if it has wheat in it. I told him it did and asked if he wanted me to make a wheat free version for him. He said “yeah!” Why was I surprised? Because he is a VERY picky eater and does not usually like to try new things. If you have read through my blog you will know that he is also Autistic. If you know anyone on the spectrum you will know that this IS A VERY BIG THING. I am so proud! He not only tried it, with out having to be coaxed, HE LIKED IT ALOT! Just smelling something new is huge let alone putting it in his mouth!

I have only made this once but I thought there might be a lot of people out there who might like a good pumpkin bread for the holidays. I also have a few notes from my first batch. 1- I am going to cut back on the oil a bit because it took forever to bake and was still very moist almost too moist. So next time I am going to try 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup. 2- My oven isn’t the greatest at maintaining temperature so if you think it looks like it still needs more time…..give it more time. I could have baked mine for a bit longer (that would have helped the moisture issue as well)

Ingredients:

3-1/2 cups Gluten Free Flour Mix

3 cups sugar

1 Tbs xanthan gum

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1-1/2 tsp allspice

1-1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup oil (I am going to cut back to 3/4 c for my next batch)

1 29oz can pumpkin (Libby’s states it is gluten free!) I love Manufacturers that take the time to spell it out. They will forever have my gratitude for it.

4 eggs

1 cup each of Raisins and nuts may be added (walnuts are really good in this bread)

Pre heat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray 2 loaf pans with non-stick spray. Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine the oil, eggs and pumpkin. Mix pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and mix well. It will be thick and heavy. You can mix it in a stand mixer but it will probably be too thick for a hand mixer. A wooden spoon works great too. Bake for 1-1/2 hours at 325 degrees.

Note: I have found that gluten free baked goods are always best when eaten right away. This recipe makes 2 loaves. If you won’t be serving both right away, try freezing half the batter. You can even freeze it directly in the loaf pan you plan to bake it in. You can also try this as muffins or even mini muffins. A favorite thing of mine is to take muffin mix and freeze some so that I can make them up on a Saturday morning in my mini muffin maker.

Happy Holidays!!!

Katrina

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