Pumpkin Bread

When I think of fall, I think of quick breads.  Pumpkin bread is one of my favorites!  This recipe turned out incredibly good, so I thought I'd share-

This was my first try at a yeast free/gluten free, but not sugar free quick bread.  For those of us who have allergy/asthma triggers due to yeast, this is something that you will definitely want to eat in moderation, as it has a fairly high sugar content. 
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1 15 or 16 oz. Can of Pumpkin
2 1/2 cups of Organic Sugar
***1 Cup of Coconut Oil
1/3 Cup Water
4 Eggs
3 1/2 Cups of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking Mix
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Ginger
1/4 teaspoon of Cloves
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Oil two 8x4 bread loaf pans.  Blend first 5 ingredients with mixer on low until well mixed.  Keep mixer running and add the remaining ingredients.  Continue blending on low until well mixed then beat on a medium speed for a couple of minutes.  Pour batter into pans.  Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes - 50 minutes. 

** If you are one to make recipe's "your own," please know that I really believe that the coconut oil is an important ingredient to remain in this recipe.  When I first took the bread out of the oven I was a little concerned with it's moisture content.  Quick breads are supposed to be moist, and the tops of my breads looked like a regular loaves of bread.  Thankfully, looks can be deceiving - and in this case they were.  The Pumpkin Bread  turned out super moist, and super sweet, and I truly believe the credit for this goes to the coconut oil.

The photo came out a little too dark.  Can you tell it's moist?

By the time I thought about taking a picture, it was almost too late!  I hope this pic shows the top of the bread well enough to be able to tell that it does not have a "normal" quick bread look.  You would never know when eating it though!  :-D

Delicious Surprise

Eating yeast free - and as gluten free as possible can be challenging to say the least.  However, thanks to some friends, I discovered a fabulous way to bake Bob's Red Mill (gluten free) cornbread.  Using a secret ingredient, the recipe on the back of the package - and without adding even 1 speck of sugar, I made moist and amazingly sweet tasting cornbread!

If you've ever tried making this cornbread, you may wonder how mine turned out moist and sweet tasting...  So here's a hint!

The key to this delicious surprise appears to be directly related to:

Being the wife of a southern man, I always made cornbread with butter - and added a tablespoon or two of sugar to the recipe.  When I found Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix, I naturally did the same - but really, it just came out way too dry.  Switching to coconut oil and omitting the sugar almost felt unnatural to me, but a few of my friends have been raving about how it makes food moist and sweet, so I thought I'd give it a try.  Not only did I love the results, but my husband did too!  We have a new winner!  

Cornbread with a pot of chili was a great way to kick off the "cool" season of the year!  (Which comes late and sporadic for us.)