Pumpkin Break

Healthy gluten-free pumpkin bread recipe made with almond flour, dried fruit, and honey.

I’ve been somewhat intrigued with the buzz around almond flour lately. Lots of bakers are attempting to find ways to make their favorite recipes gluten-free, so they are utilizing flours made from almonds and buckwheat for example, rather than wheat flour.

So, although I have no issue with wheat, I wanted to see what the hype was about. I also wanted to try out a few different pumpkin bread recipes that I’ve been saving, so I thought, why not get creative and combine them to make my own recipe.

The Results

Using almond flour was interesting. It’s a heavier, grainier flour than wheat flour. It’s also richer, in my opinion, probably due to the higher fat content. This bread turned out really yummy, but it was a very cake-like, which is why I called it a “break,” it’s a bread-cake. 😉

Notice also that I used banana, dried-fruit, and honey as the only sweeteners. I think this added the perfect amount of sweetness.

The next time I make this bread, I think I will try a mix of almond flour, buckwheat or whole wheat (since I am okay with wheat) so that it has a less crumbly consistency and holds together better. (See more about this at the bottom of this post.)

We’ve been enjoying this bread on its own, warmed and topped with peanut butter, and also as a topping, crumbled over yogurt, oatmeal, and even frozen yogurt.

Ingredients

• 2 heaping tbsp raisins (25 g)
• 3 prunes, chopped (25 g)
• 2 dates, pitted and chopped (25 g)
• 4 Cal figs, chopped (65 g)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 medium banana
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 egg
• 2-1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat the inside of your bread pan with cooking spray.
2. Add the raisins, and the chopped prunes, dates, and figs, to your food processor, along with the pumpkin, banana, vanilla extract, honey, and egg and blend until smooth. Pour into a medium size bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the almond flour, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and baking powder.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, and fold together. Mix only until it is incorporated, you don’t want to over mix.
5. Transfer the mixture to your bread pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the loaf.
6. Cool on a baking rack and store covered (I put mine in the frig).

Update

Since I had a half a can of pumpkin sitting in my frig, I decided to make version #2… This time, instead of using almond flour, I used 1-1/4 cup of wheat flour and 1-1/4 cup of buckwheat flour.

I also decided to omit the baking powder and double the baking soda to 1 teaspoon. The wheat and buckwheat flour really absorb a lot more moisture than the almond flour, so I also added a 1/2 cup of water.

I followed all other directions above, baking for 50 minutes at 325 degrees F. The resulting bread was much more bread-like.

The top of the bread also has more of a crust on it, which I happen to like.

This bread is still very dense, but doesn’t crumble like the almond flour version.

Want more? Check out our Pumpkin Bran Muffinsrecipe!

Are you as inspired by Fall flavors as we are? Let us know if you try these recipes or if you have any ideas on how to make them even more delish!