I’m a daily peruser of recipe blogs and sites. It’s fun to see what fellow foodies are cooking, baking, freezing, canning, and eating.
Always, always, always the photos attract me—just like a kid in a candy shop. I’ll take one of these, two of those…oh, oh, yes, and a big helping of that! Doesn’t matter that I can’t eat most of what I see. Probably wouldn’t have the time to make most of it anyway. I just love to browse.
Yesterday, when my whole schedule got turned upside down leaving a window of opportunity and a growling stomach, this recipe jumped off the page and begged me to make a gluten-free, vegan version right then and there. No “favoriting” for another time. Nope. It yelled, “Now. Right now!”
My spontaneous “what-the-hell” baking adventures don’t always turn out well. Not so this brown bread. It’s simple and quick and performed perfectly even though I added a little bit of this, a little bit of that…just to give it my own touch.
So, thanks to Georgia Pellegrini—and her great great grandma—who’s recipe jumped off the page and inspired me while I was window shopping on FoodGawker. And, thanks to the women who dreamed up brown bread and who baked when things like cream and butter and eggs were scarce. They created wonderful foods in their kitchens despite their ingredient challenges—not all that dissimilar to those of us who create wonderful foods despite our food challenges.
This recipe is linked to The W.H.O.L.E. Gang Friday Foodie Fix. Check out the other great recipes posted there.
Not Your Grandmother’s Brown Bread
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and flour a standard loaf pan and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl sift together:
2 1/4 cups GF flour blend*
¾ cups GF oat flour*
½ cup almond flour
¼ cup potato starch
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom (optional)
Add and whisk into the bowl with the dry ingredients:
¾ cups chopped walnuts
½ cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries or chopped dates – optional)
In a separate bowl mix together (stirring after each addition) in this order:
2 cups hemp milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup molasses + ¼ cup golden syrup**
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir with a spoon or silicone spatula until just blended. Transfer to the loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes. At 45 minutes check the loaf and if it’s getting too brown tent it with foil for the remaining baking time. Cool in the pan, slice, and enjoy with or without a large dollop of your favorite jam.
*I used Authentic Foods Gluten-Free Multi Blend Flour for the gluten-free flour blend and Laras Whole Grain Oat Flour.
**Most brown bread recipes call for molasses or maple syrup as the sweetener. I didn’t think I’d like the taste of just molasses alone so combined molasses and golden syrup. You might also try molasses and agave or any combination of liquid sweeteners to make up 1/2 cup total. I would personally steer clear of a mix of molasses and maple syrup because the two flavors would probably not complement each other.