Heartwarming Pumpkin Bread

I haven't posted since the middle of September! The months are quickly fading and so much has happened since my last post. As many of you know, we are now officially empty-nesters. Our home is quiet but clean. No more kids not picking up after themselves. There are days that I would trade the clean house to have them all home and hear their laughter again.

On October 3rd our daughter got engaged! We are now in the throws of planning a wedding for early April. Her fiance proposed in a rowboat with rose petals falling down, a scuba diver coming up out of the water with the ring, and a repeller coming down from the bridge above with champagne and roses. It was beautiful. We were hiding in the bushes on the shoreline taking pictures and video.

We've had a beautiful fall here on the Palouse. The leaves have changed a myriad of colors and Jack Frost has stayed away long enough for us to enjoy them. I love decorating my home for fall and filling the house with heartwarming aromas.

One of my favorite fall recipes is gluten free Pumpkin bread. I've messed with this recipe a bit and have come up with a great consistency for the batter. The bread turns out really good if you bake it in four mini loaf pans. They are easy to freeze and make great gifts in that small personal size. Enjoy!

Heartwarming GF Pumpkin Bread

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup

1/4 cup oil

2 large eggs beaten

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup pumpkin puree (I used Libby's)

1 1/2 cups Pamala's GF Baking Mix or other GF Baking Mix flour

1/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup millet flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

In a medium size bowl place brown sugar, maple syrup, oil, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin puree.

With beaters or a whisk, mix until well blended.

Add all remaining ingredients and incorporate in pumpkin mixture. 

The consistency should be similar to heavy cake batter.

Place batter in four mini loaf pans that have been 

sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes or 

until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool on a cooling rack before serving. Enjoy!

Can't Make Up My Mind

Ever have one of those days when you just can't make up your mind? Today was one of those. Maybe my fickleness is due to the fact it is Friday and the majority of my usable cognitive brain cells have already been expended, or perhaps I can blame it on menopause.

I changed my blog layout five times today! I'm still not certain this is what I will stay with. So if you have visited a few times and now the page looks different...again, more than likely it's still my blog.

My husband gets mildly frustrated with me when we go to a fast food restaurant where the menu seldom changes and it takes me fifteen minutes to decide what to eat. First off, a gluten allergy limits the menu drastically, which is precisely his point. He says, "The menu hasn't changed and there are only about three things you can eat, so why is it taking so long?" But then the decision focuses on whether or not I feel like a salad (again) or a cheeseburger without the bun. At any rate, he graciously waits while I make up my mind.

Tonight we ate at a restaurant where I enjoyed a nice salmon with creamy mushroom risotto. It didn't take me long to choose and I enjoyed every bite. We also ran into some dear friends; one of the benefits of living in a small town.

I opened up the freezer last night and found some frozen black bananas. I decided to make some mini loaves of banana bread. Here's a tip for you that I found through many years of gluten free baking. I bake with mini loaves, and my quick breads bake up well, with no doughiness in the center. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Banana-Banana Bread


1 cup Pamala's Gluten Free Baking Mix
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/8 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Butter
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg, beaten
3  Bananas-overly ripe mashed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease 2 small mini loaf pans.

In a medium size bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. 

In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. 

Stir in egg and mashed bananas until well blended.

Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until just blended. 

Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Let bread cool in pan for ten minutes , then turn out onto a wire rack.

Place a dab of butter on each slice and enjoy!

Gluten Free Whole Wheat Faux Bread

Scott & I just returned from a wonderful trip to Lake Tahoe, to visit our son Ryan, who is there on a summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ. The beauty of the lake is beyond description. The water was crystal clear and the most beautiful blue I have ever seen in freshwater. God's handiwork was simply breathtaking!

While on our vacation Scott and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary. We enjoyed an evening on the lake with a dinner cruise. 

                                     

The last batch of bread I made I took to Tahoe to share with our son, who is also gluten intolerant, so I was quickly back in the kitchen upon our return, in order to have a piece of toast ready for the morning. This recipe comes in a close second to the soft white bread recipe I shared previously. It uses gluten free beer and molasses to give it a wonderful, almost whole wheat like flavor; that's why I named it Whole Wheat Faux Bread! It tastes great toasted with butter and jam.

(Gluten Free) Whole Wheat Faux Bread

1 Tbsp. Cider Vinegar

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 bottle of beer (gluten free)

2 Tbsp. Molasses

1 Egg

1/2 cup Warm Water (110 degrees)

1 tsp. White Sugar

1 Tbsp. Quick Rise Yeast

1 cup Chick Pea Flour (garbanzo bean flour)

1 cup Brown Rice Flour

1 cup Tapioca Flour

1/2 cup Corn Starch

1/2 cup Millet Flour

3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp. Xanthan Gum

1 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the first five wet ingredients, gently stirring, then set aside. 

Place one tablespoon of quick rise yeast and one teaspoon of white sugar 

into a half a cup of 110 degree water. Set aside to allow yeast to proof.

In a large bowl, place all remaining dry ingredients and mix.

Slowly add in beer mixture and proofed yeast.

Mix with a blender on high speed for ten minutes. Dough should appear like heavy cake batter.

Place batter in four small loaf pans or one large loaf pan. 

Place in a warm area and allow to rise for approximately one hour.

Place bread pans in a 325 degree oven. Cook one loaf for approximately 50-60 minutes or until thumping the top of the loaf sounds hollow. If cooking four small loaves, only cook for 25-27 minutes.

Gluten Free Soft Sandwich Bread

I've posted before how many times I've made a loaf of gluten free bread only to have it fall in the last part of baking; the once glorious risen loaf, now a deflated counterpart to it's distant cousin "Mr. Gluten" who remains puffed up in all his glory. Well, now there is a recipe to rival it. I've never been a wild fan of bean flours, but if just the right blend of flours are used, the taste of the bean flour can be masked and a beautiful loaf of bread will arise!

My husband tasted this bread and remarked, "Now there's a loaf of bread to get fat on!"

This recipe is so easy to follow, there are no pictures, but the gluten free delicious end result. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Soft Sandwich Bread

1 cup water

1 tsp. white sugar

1 Tbsp. quick rise yeast

1 Tbsp. cider vinegar

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 cup milk (or 1 cup rice milk)

1 egg (or 3 Tbsp + 2 tsp. egg replacer)

1/4 tsp. maple extract

(dry ingredients)

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup garbanzo bean flour

1 cup tapioca starch

1/2 cup arrowroot (cornstarch)

1/2 cup gluten free oat flour

1 Tbsp. xanthan gum

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

Take one cup water and heat to 110 degrees. Add 1 tsp. sugar and 1 Tbsp. quick rise yeast to the warm water and set aside to proof yeast.

In separate small bowl combine vinegar, olive oil, milk, egg, and maple extract. 

In large bowl add all dry ingredients. Place wet ingredients and proofed yeast into flour mixture. Mix with a blender on high for 10 minutes.

Place dough (looks like very thick cake batter) into one large loaf pan or 4 mini loaf pans (I prefer the mini loaves). Place in a warm area and let rise until doubled. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour (large loaf) or 25 minutes for mini loafs. Thump top of loaves and listen for a hollow sound to test doneness.