French Spice Bread

This past week, I was in the mood for a gluten free quick bread.  I wanted to try something new, but I didn't exactly know what I was looking for.  I searched around on Pinterest for awhile, and then this recipe jumped out at me.  French Spice Bread from Gourmande in the Kitchen.

It looked quick and easy to make, except for one thing.  I didn't have cashew butter.  I almost decided not to make it, and then it dawned on me that I had peanut butter.  Peanut butter is a nut butter, right?  So I decided to substitute the peanut butter for the cashew butter and see what happened.

I totally do not understand how nut butters can replace flour in a recipe, and I truly do not understand how you can make a loaf of bread with no flour.  But this recipe works!  The outcome is a dark, spicy, aromatic loaf of bread that reminds me of fall.  I will most definitely make this bread in the fall.  It slices beautifully, and has a glossy sheen that makes it a so pretty.  Now the spicy flavors are not hot spicy, they are cinnamon-clove spicy.  It is a very flavorful loaf, and spread with cinnamon cream cheese it is just wonderful with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Here it is right out of the oven:

It couldn't be easier to make.  You just whisk everything together in a bowl, pour it into a loaf pan, and bake.  I used one regular size loaf pan, but Gourmande in the Kitchen suggested two mini loaves.  Here is the recipe I used, adapted from Gourmande in the Kitchen.

French Spice Bread - For a printable recipe, click HERE.

4 large eggs

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup honey

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon pepper

The zest of 1 medium orange

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  In a medium bowl. whisk together the eggs, peanut butter, and almond butter until combined.  Stir in the honey, spices, orange zest, and baking soda.

3.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until loaf is lightly browned and puffed.  A toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. 

4.  Remove the loaf from the baking pan, and place on a wire rack to cool.  Store the bread wrapped in an airtight container.

Here is a link to the original recipe:  French Spice Bread  

As you can see, I left out a couple of spices used in the original recipe because I didn't have them on hand.  The loaf still turned out beautifully.

If you enjoy dark, spicy bread I think you will like this one!

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Last week, I had a ton of over-ripe bananas.  I mean a TON!  I don't know where they came from!  It was like they appeared overnight!

I knew I had to bake some banana bread.  But if I make normal banana bread (with gluten), I don't get any.  And for some reason I was craving banana bread.

So I had an idea.  I wanted to try making banana bread using Aldi's Gluten Free Yellow Baking Mix, which is really (I think) their gluten free yellow cake mix.  I wasn't sure how it would turn out, and I figured it would probably flop.

But I was wrong!  It turned out BEAUTIFULLY!  Everyone liked it, including all family members who eat gluten by the truckload!  The recipe is super easy, and such a nice treat!

It came out moist, flavorful, and quite yummy for breakfast or snacking!  

Give this recipe a try, especially if you eat gluten free like I do!

Here is the recipe:

For a printable recipe, please click HERE.  

Hope you like it!

This recipe is linked up to Meal Plan Monday at Southern Bite and Weekend Potluck at South Your Mouth. 

Gluten Free Carrot Pineapple Bread

I love breakfast.  It's my favorite meal of the day.  And the older I get, the more I like to linger over breakfast and just savor it.  Even if it's just a bowl of cereal, I still enjoy it!  And a cup or two of hot coffee.....life is good!

Every now and then, mostly every now, I love to start the day with something sweet to go with my coffee.  I don't know why, it's just me.  I love coffee cakes, and doughnuts, and muffins, and pastries, and sweet breads.  Of course, being gluten free makes that a little more difficult.  I go without it mostly.  But, I try to bake myself some treats for when I really get a craving.  And this past week I was craving carbs big time.  I know, I know, the whole low carb thing.  But sometimes I just want to eat what I want to eat.  Like today.

Yesterday I decided to make a quick bread so I could have a leisurely Sunday breakfast, sipping coffee and munching on some cake-like bread.  The recipe I was looking at was for regular old glutened up zucchini bread, and I didn't have any zucchini, but the rest of the recipe sounded good as long as I used gluten free flour.  So, I decided to use up a bag of baby carrots in place of the zucchini.  And since I didn't make myself a gluten free carrot cake at Easter, I decided to add a small can of pineapple with the carrots to see what happened.

And guess what?  It worked like a charm!  It smelled so good as it was baking, rose beautifully, and was soft and moist with a really nice crumb.  It tastes like Carrot Cake's little cousin.  Delicious!

 Now, a couple notes.  I used a 1 pound bag of baby carrots, and grated them in my food processor.  I used half of the bag in the recipe (2 cups), and there was about 2 cups left over.  So I threw the rest of the grated carrots in a bowl, added another small can of crushed pineapple (drained), a couple hands full of raisins, and enough mayonnaise to moisten it.  Voila!  Easy peasy carrot raisin salad!

Also, I used Bob's Red Mill Cup for Cup Gluten Free Flour.  It already has xantham gum in the flour mix.  But, if you use a different flour that does not have xantham gum in it, you need to add 1 teaspoon of xantham gum to the recipe.

Another note, be sure to USE THE JUICE from the can of pineapple.  Gluten free flours tend to need more moisture than regular all-purpose flour, and the juice from the pineapple really works in this recipe to keep the bread deliciously moist.

I find that most gluten free baked goods begin to dry out after a day or two.  So, since this recipe makes 2 loaves, here is what I do.  I thickly slice one loaf, and wrap each slice individually in foil.  I buy a box of individual foil wrappers at Sam's Club for this.  Then I put the wrapped slices in a gallon Ziploc freezer bag, and freeze it.  I just pull out a piece at a time when I want one, let it thaw, and it's just like fresh!  For the second loaf, I slice whatever we haven't eaten by the end of the day, wrap it and refrigerate it.  It stays good in the fridge for 2-3 days.  If there's more than we will eat in a couple days, I freeze it.

If you want to make the glutened version of this, just use 3 cups regular all-purpose flour, and DRAIN THE PINEAPPLE.   I think the batter will be too runny with the juice and regular flour.

Here is the recipe:

For a printable version of this recipe, click HERE. 

If you try it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

This recipe post is linked to Meal Plan Monday #109 at Southern Bite.