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I adore the fall, it is my favorite season.
In my garden every year, I have a plethora of winter squash and pumpkins coming to maturation…a huge highlight in this household! In my very limited garden space, I always choose to devote a lot of square footage for them, and they DO take up a lot of room!
I love the colors, I love the flavors, and they are so good for you!
For this recipe, I baked my very first Cinderella pumpkin. I have read many posts where people say cooking your own pumpkin is not worth the hassle…but I disagree! There is a flavor and texture that come from fresh pumpkin that can not be beat. It is like saying that fresh tomatoes and canned tomatoes are the same thing; they are not. There is nothing wrong with using canned, but if you have the choice…give it a whirl (literally!). There are many varieties that cook up wonderfully. My favorites are Sugar Pie, Cinderella, and Fairytale pumpkins. Butternut and Buttercup squash are also outstanding. Pick up something that catches your eye at the farmer’s market: there are so many pretty ones! Just know that your average jack-o-lanterns are not intended for consumption..unless we’re talking about your worms in a worm bin! I devoted a whole post on how to cook winter squash and pumpkins.
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| L to R, Buttercup, Cinderella, Butternut, and Sugar Pie |
COOKING TIP: To make your own squash/pumpkin puree see this post!
LUNCHBOX TIP: Freeze individually sliced pieces of bread for your lunchboxes!
Makes 4 mini loaves or 1 1/2 regular loaves
Wet:
2 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, canned or fresh (Please refer to this post for how to bake your own squash or pumpkin)
1/2 cup palm sugar (it is ok to add more if you like things sweeter)
1/2 cup organic cane sugar (or more palm sugar)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil, canola, or other light flavored oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon preferred vinegar (this helps with rising
Dry:
2 1/4 cup brown rice flour (or any mix of brown rice, millet, teff, or oat)
1/2 cup tapioca flour (or other starch)
2 teaspoons baking powder (corn-free!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon guar gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (or more) dried cranberries (if yours are overly dry, it is yummy to soak them in orange juice to plump them)
Optional: dark chocolate chips, nuts, orange zest
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, oil, vanilla, and sugar together until well mixed (if using coconut oil. use room temp ingredients or the oil will harden).
- Sprinkle in the flours, baking powder, guar gum, salt, and cinnamon and whisk in briskly to the wet pumpkin mixture.
- Pour into greased pans of your choice. Mini loaves take about 30 minutes, large loaves take about an hour. I sometimes make muffins if there is any extra batter remaining in the bowl, and those take about 20 minutes. All of them are done when a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- As with all gluten free breads, remove from the pan after about 5-10 minutes so the bottoms do not get soggy!!
This recipe was shared on Fight Back Friday, Fill Those Jars Friday, Wellness Weekend, GF Fridays, Five Flu Fighting Foods, Whole Foods Friday, Simple Meals Friday, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Seasonal Sunday, Monday Mania, Natural Living Monday, Make Your Own Monday, Better Mom’s Linky, GF Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, GF Wednesday, Kids in the Kitchen, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Wheat Free Wednesday, Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, Whole Foods Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Keep It Real Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Pennywise Platter
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When her third child was born with severe food allergies, Tessa took to the kitchen to figure out how to feed her family well. Always up for a culinary challenge, their journey has taken many twists and turns! Lots of Paleo, and lots of top 8 free. Good food for families, that's what she's about!
Hi Tessa! Your pumpkin bread looks so yummy! And I totally agree with you – cooking your own pumpkin is definitely worth it! It's so easy and the taste is definitely superior to canned!
I would love for you to link this recipe up to a “PUMPKIN” link up that we are hosting! It fits in perfectly!
http://thepurposedheart.com/creamy-pumpkin-soup/
I love that this is allergen-free, and looks so delicious. Thanks for linking up to our flu-fighting foods blog hop; come back next week with a breakfast recipe!
Thanks so much for linking up your pumpkin recipe to 5 Flu-Fighting Foods! I hope you'll come back today to link up your breakfast recipes–and visit all the co-hosts to see their top 3 picks for their fav pumpkin dishes! http://www.thehumbledhomemaker.com/2011/11/gallo-pinto-traditional-costa-rican.html
Be sure to check out who I picked! (Hint Hint!!)
Thanks again ladies….
Please email me! I have a question about your blog!
HeatherVonsj@gmail.com
I just made the pumpkin bread last night. I used canned pumpkin. It was very dense and sort of uncooked in the middle. It was very very thick batter- I had to put it in the pans not pour in the pans. Does real pumpkin have more moisture in it? Could I make it with canned pumpkin but add more liquid to get the right consistency?
If I used real pumpkin will it work as pictured? Don’t want to try again and have another failure.
Thank you!
Hi Kim! It is so annoying to waste ngredeints, I get so frustrated when that happens! It sounds like there was leavening issue with yours. I noticed I did not include baking soda, I will fix that. I added 1 teaspoon of soda and 1 teaspoon vinegar for added lift. I just made another batch too, turned out perfect. Pumpkin’s water content greatly varies. Canned is unusually more consistent, but I recently opened a can that was stiff, stiff, stiff! If your batter seems overly stiff, add some water to achieve a typical muffin batter consistency. The will help compensate for the variance in pumpkin purée. if I am unsure, I make a half batch to be sure. Also be sure your soda and baking soda are fresh and active….add a splash of vinegar to soda and it should fizz…..add HOT water to powder, and it should do the same! Let me know if that help Kim, I am sorry it did not turn out!
oh yummy! thank you for linking with Kids in the Kitchen – pinning!
Yum, pumpkin bread! Thanks for sharing! I hope you come again this week.
http://mexicanwildflower.blogspot.mx/2012/11/simple-meals-friday-6.html?showComment=1351862000706
This sounds like a wonderful treat whether breakfast or dessert. Thanks for sharing on Wellness Weekend.
Your Pumpkin Cranberry Bread sounds delicious. I like the tip about freezing individual slices for lunchboxes too.
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back tomorrow when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts!
Hi Tessa! Thanks for sharing at {Wheat-Free Wednesday} last week. Your posts have been pinned to my Pinterest board and shared on my FB page. AND you’re featured on this week’s blog hop!
I hope you’ll share again this week. The list goes live tonight: http://www.annemariecain.com/wheat-free-wednesday-11-07-12/
Fall is my favorite season too! I just love it and all it brings! This pumpkin cranberry bread sounds so yummy! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest!
We had 101 awesome recipes! What a great resource we are creating!! Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
The winner of the Domata prize pack will be announced Thursday at the party!