Honey Pumpkin Bread (Gluten Free)

Bake up a loaf of lightly sweet honey pumpkin bread, made gluten free, paleo, and dairy free thanks to almond flour and arrowroot flour.

I don't know about you, but I think one of the simple pleasures of life is a good quick bread recipe paired with a fresh cup of strong black coffee. This gluten free honey pumpkin bread makes a perfect accompaniament to that first morning cup.

How to make gluten free pumpkin bread from scratch

Gluten free baking can be a challenge, but it seems that quick bread recipes are one of the easiest categories to tackle. A blend of almond flour and arrowroot flour create the perfect texture for moist, dense quick breads — no need for wheat flour here!

Along with ingredients like:

Pumpkin puree
Raw honey
Eggs
Pumpkin pie spice
Coconut oil

Making a delicious gluten free quick bread turns out to be quite easy!

If you're truly working from scratch — meaning, starting with a pumpkin and hoping to make your own pumpkin puree, I have a couple tips:

• Use a pie pumpkin. Carving pumpkins are for carving, and their flesh is stringy and not as flavorful.
• Homemade puree can get pretty watery depending on the method you use. You're going for canned consistency here - or the quick bread could be too wet to stay together.

My favorite method for making pumpkin puree is to cut the pumpkin into quarters, scoop out the seeds, and roast at 425 degrees F until soft. Cool slightly, peel off the skin, add the flesh to a blender, and puree until smooth.

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Why is my pumpkin bread gummy?

Gumminess is a comming problem with quick breads! A couple factors could be the culprit.

The recipe itself — A recipe that has too many wet ingredients, creating a really wet batter, could be a problem. If the batter's too wet, it'll pool at the bottom of the bread, with not enough flour or baking soda/powder to give it lift.

Old baking soda/baking powder — What makes quick breads possible without any yeast is the "lift" the baking bread gets from baking soda and baking powder. But too many of us (me included!) let containers of these crucial ingredients sit on the shelf FOREVER. If your baking soda or baking powder is old, it may no longer be active.

Over-stirring — There's a reason most recipes specify to stir "just until incorporated" or "just until mixed" in many quick bread recipes! Stirring the batter too much could be the cause of your gummy quick bread problems.

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Can you freeze gluten free pumpkin bread?

Yes! Almond flour, arrowroot flour, honey, and pumpkin all freeze well.

My suggestion for storage is to wrap a completely cooled loaf tightly in plastic wrap, then put the whole thing in a large freezer-safe storage bag, squeeze the air out, and seal.

It should keep for 2-3 months in the freezer this way. To thaw, just remove it from the bag, but not the plastic wrap, and thaw on the counter.

There you go - a touch of summer even in the dead of winter. Hooray for freezer technology!

Optional mix-ins and toppings

The ability to add to and customize the recipe makes quick breads so much more fun!

If you're looking for a bit of a flair to this already-amazing honey pumpkin bread, here's a few ideas.

Mix-ins

• Chocolate chips
• Chopped pecans or walnuts
• Dried cranberries

Toppings

• Cream cheese frosting — use dairy free cream cheese to keep it paleo
• Honey pumpkin drizzle — as shown in the photos for this recipe (I combined 1 teaspoon honey with 1 tablespoon pumpkin, then added 1 teaspoon at a time of almond milk until I reached a "drizzle" consistency!)

Craving more gluten free quick breads? Try these favorites!

• Paleo Pumpkin Banana Bread
• Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread
• Lemon Poppyseed Zucchini Bread (Gluten Free)
• Banana Bread
• Paleo Zucchini Banana Bread

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