I discovered several years ago via finger prick food allergy test that I have an egg and dairy allergy (and Sunday brunch, my favorite meal, came to a grinding halt. Of course nowadays, I am expert at putting together eggless brunch dishes!). I love to bake, and aside from the brunch saga, baking was the next tragedy. I like to use coconut flour or almond meal for making grain free/gluten free breads or treats, but they always require like 6 eggs (because the coconut flour is so drying).
Here’s what I’ve learned about vegan baking.
-baking powder & soda are necessary (I would often leave out one or the other)
-apple cider vinegar, which reacts with the baking powder (and soda too, I guess) does something to make the bread turn out magically.
-Don’t use liquid sweeteners in vegan breads (honey, maple syrup, etc) because they make it too moist and cake batter-like. I like coconut palm sugar or xylitol.
–you can swap out eggs in recipes using “chia egg” or “gelatin egg.” (google it)
For this recipe, I made a pumpkin bread and used Pamela’s gluten free baking mix, which I love, but it’s not grain free. I added pumpkin pie spice (and would have added dark chocolate or carob chips if I’d had them). I may play with using almond meal/coconut flour combo, but as I mentioned, in my experience coconut flour needs eggs because it’s very dry. For a sweetener, I used coconut palm sugar which is low on the glycemic index. I would also encourage the use of xylitol which doesn’t jack blood sugar levels or feed intestinal yeast.
The recipe here is just a base, but the possibilities of what to add are endless. I added pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices here, but I love the idea of doing a banana-chai with black pepper or the banana with almond butter. Delicious and so easy.
Here’s the link to the recipe. I make a batch several times a year but most often in the fall. I am a big fan of a pumpkin spice version.
Mary Vance is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and author specializing in digestive health. She combines a science-based approach with natural therapies to rebalance the body. In addition to her 1:1 coaching, she offers courses to help you heal your gut and improve your health. Mary lives in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Read more about her coaching practice here and her background here.
Hello Mary, The link to the vegan, gluten free bread isn’t working for me. Can you help me please?
Thank you. Alex (San Diego)
Alex, the recipe has been removed and I don’t have an updated link. It’s Brittany Angell’s recipe, so you could try searching her name and “gluten free bread” or “gluten free quick bread.”