Gluten-Free Glory

One of my favorite people to feed, my chiropractor, recently was put on a gluten-free diet by his doctor. He enjoyed how he felt, but he missed the baked goods. And because I missed how happy he got when I brought him treats, I began dabbling in gluten-free baking.

One of the premier gluten-free bakeries in the country, The Flying Apron, happens to be in my neck of the woods and they also happen to have just released a cookbook. Of course, when I saw it at Costco I snagged a copy. It features a cornucopia of beautiful baked goods, all of them vegan as well as gluten-free.



My first trial bake from the book hit a home run. The Pumpkin Glory Loaf is a cross between a sweet quick bread and a cake. Dense, moist, very crumbly, and utterly delicious. The grateful recipient of this loaf bit into it and moaned. Ah, sweet success!

Pumpkin Glory Loaf
- adapted from Flying Apron's Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book

makes two 8-1/2 by 4-1/2-inch loaves

1 cup buckwheat flour
2 cups brown rice flour
1-3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 cup safflower oil
1 cup molasses
1 cup maple syrup
15 oz can pumpkin puree (about 1-3/4 cups cooked squash, sweet potato, or pumpkin)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

1- Heat oven to 350 deg. F. Line the bottom of two 8-1/2 by 4-1/2-inch loaf pans with parchment paper. Lightly spray the pan with baking oil and dust with brown rice flour.

2- If your raisins are not fresh, plump, and moist, put them in a bowl, cover them with hot water, and soak them till you are ready to use them.

3- Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet. Toast them for 10 minutes, until they they smell toasted and are lightly browned. Remove the nuts and set aside to cool. Turn the oven temp to 375 deg. F.

4- While the nuts are toasting, combine the dry ingredients (buckwheat flour through cloves) in a large bowl.

5- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the oil, molasses, maple syrup, pumpkin, and vanilla until well mixed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredient mixture until well mixed, about 3 minutes.

6- If you soaked your raisins, drain them well and pat them dry with a paper towel. Fold the raisins and walnuts into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

7- Bake until the loaf springs back when you press the center with your finger, about 50 minutes. Cool for about an hour before slicing.