Today, I tried two gluten-free recipes for pumpkin bread.

The first one was from Dr. Axe. The only thing I changed in this recipe was I substituted safflower oil for the melted coconut oil.  I didn’t want my pumpkin bread to have a coconut taste.  Since it already had a bit of coconut flour, I opted to use something else for coconut oil.  I didn’t substitute another kind of flour for the coconut flour because the reading I have done suggests you need at least some of that for texture. I used 3 eggs, and I omitted the pumpkin spice.

When you mix this together, it is a very heavy/dense liquid, not like my typical recipe.

The good:

• It doesn’t taste “gluten-free”
• The loaf is solid and baked evenly
• It was easy to make
• It came out of the pan easily after about 10 minutes. (I sprayed with PAM.)

The less than good:

• It was slightly overdone. I baked it at 350 for 45 minutes. (I used Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pans.) I think I could have baked it less than the 45 minutes at a lower temperature (325,) but that could just be my oven.  Every oven is different.  I will try 50 minutes at 325 next time I make it.
• With only ¼ cup of maple syrup for flavoring, this bread is less sweet than I am used to. While that might be good for my diet, I think I would prefer it a little sweeter.  I’m not sure how that would affect the consistency.  It requires experimentation. I might try ½ cup of brown sugar or ¼ maple syrup with ¼ brown sugar.  I like mixing sugars.

The second recipe is from Sweet Phi.

The good:

• It tastes good. It is just sweet enough.  Having said that, my own original, flour recipe called for a mix of white and brown sugar, and I think I’ll do that with this recipe next time.
• The loaf is baked evenly and rose higher.
• It came out of the pan easily.
• It was easy to make.

The less than good:

• This loaf tastes undercooked even though the sweetness and pumpkin taste are good. It is much too soft and mushy. I don’t know if this is because it needs to cook more slowly, like I suggested for the above recipe, or because it needs more flour.  Based on my previous experience in using Einkorn Flour to bake, I will add an extra ¼ cup of almond flour the next time I make this. I will also reduce the temperature to 325 when baking.

Both of these are edible and so, overall, my experiment was a success.  I will probably try both recipes again the next time, making the adjustments I mentioned.

Now, here’s hoping the gluten-free sugar cookies I am baking tomorrow turn out as well.