Pumpkin Bread– Grain Free Version

This gluten free pumpkin bread is a delicious fall treat! Grain free, made with almond flour, and honey sweetened, you can enjoy a pumpkin treat even when it isn’t fall. Have some with your breakfast, or serve as a fall dessert or snack.

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Pumpkin bread is a favorite fall treat for many people! In fact, there is no need to wait for fall to bake a loaf. I have even made it in a slow cooker at the height of summer when I didn’t want to run the oven!

However, fall is the natural habitat of pumpkin bread.

But what if you can’t eat gluten, or avoid eating grains in general? Or you are watching your sugar intake?

There are still ways… One of my favorite gluten free AND grain free pumpkin bread recipes is made with coconut flour. (That recipe is here.) Today’s recipe is nearly the same as that one, but made with fermented almond flour.

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You do not HAVE to ferment the almond flour. If pumpkin bread is a spontaneous decision, you should either do the coconut flour one, or make this one and skip fermenting the almond flour. The fermentation isn’t essential; the recipe works without fermenting.

Why ferment almond flour?!

It sounds weird, I know. There are a few reasons. Fermenting almond flour can:

• reduce phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, which are naturally present to protect the nuts but also are damaging to our guts
• make it easier to digest
• make the nutrients more available to our bodies
• give the baked good made from it a bit lighter texture– almond flour can lead to somewhat dense treats, but fermented almond flour makes slightly fluffier ones
• read more about almond flour fermenting here!

Consume almonds with awareness!

Some people don’t tolerate almonds well even if fermented, soaked, sprouted, etc. In that case you may just need to skip this recipe and try other solutions for making baked goods, like other nut flours, coconut, etc. Pay attention to how you feel after eating almonds, as symptoms appear for a reason.

For those who are sensitive to oxalates, almonds may not be a good choice. Fermenting improves some downsides to almonds, but not oxalates. This is one reason I don’t bake with almond flour very often. Once in awhile seems to be OK; I just try not to overdo the almonds, though we don’t seem to be particularly sensitive to oxalates.

However, if you only have a slight intolerance to baked goods with almond flour, you may find that fermenting first helps you consume them comfortably. On occasion. And in moderation.

This is the case for my son who was allergic to almond until he was six months into the GAPS diet. He no longer has an allergic reaction to almond, but he feels better if the almonds have been soaked and dried, the almond flour is fermented, and he doesn’t consume large quantities. No almond butter!

How to Ferment Almond Flour

1. Measure out your flour into a bowl. This recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups.
2. Stir in kefir, whey, or yogurt so that the flour is coated and slightly moist. I used 1/2 cup of whey left from straining homemade yogurt. Other times I have used kefir. It won’t be very wet, but will look sort of crumbly.
3. Cover and let it sit at room temperature for a day or two. I prefer just one day. After two days, there is a stronger, yeastier flavor. At times, I have done half a day.
4. If you don’t use your fermented flour right away, you can refrigerate it for up to a week, tightly covered, before you use it. I always use it much sooner that that! It will ferment a bit more in the refrigerator, but not nearly as much as at room temperature.

While there is some planning involved in baking with fermented flour, it takes only a few minutes of hands-on time.

How to Make Pumpkin Bread

A day or two before baking, mix your almond flour and fermenting liquid. This time, I used whey. (You can skip this step– if you don’t ferment, leave out the whey/kefir/yogurt.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375° F. Cut a piece of baking parchment to line your loaf pan. I line it only the long way; the short ends aren’t covered with paper. You can cover the short ends with paper if you want. Melt the butter and brush a bit of it over the paper and the ends of the pan.

To your bowl of almond flour, add all ingredients except for nuts or chocolate. Beat until smooth. Stir in any nuts or chocolate chips you want to include. Bake about 45 minutes or until the loaf is browned, pulls from the sides of the pan a bit, and a toothpick comes out without many crumbs on it.

Soon after you take your pumpkin bread out of the oven, use the parchment to gently lift it from the pan and set it on a rack to cool. We don’t want the bottom to get soggy sitting in the pan too long. Soggy pumpkin bread is not nearly as good!

You don’t strictly have to wait for your pumpkin bread to cool fully before you slice it, but it will look a little prettier if you do. Some days, we dive right in…

Is this pumpkin bread GAPS compliant?

It can be suitable for GAPSters, depending on how you make it. If you want it to be GAPS friendly, do this:

• definitely ferment the almond flour. In fact, the best GAPS way would be to grind the almonds into flour yourself just before fermenting.
• skip the chocolate chips. Chocolate isn’t really GAPS friendly, and I have yet to find chocolate chips sweetened with honey. If you decide to have the chocolate anyway, my best suggestion is to use chocolate that isn’t sweetened at all and either grate it or chop it finely. I have done this in ice cream and baked goods. It is still chocolate (not so gut friendly), but it doesn’t have the sugars or sugar substitutes we avoid on the GAPS diet.
• if you use nuts, be sure you have prepared them properly for good digestion first
• technically, we aren’t supposed to use canned pumpkin on GAPS. (I cheated in this regard!) You could either cook down a pumpkin or use an equivalent amount of butternut squash.

Make Grain Free Pumpkin Bread Your Way!

While I wouldn’t recommend changing the proportions too much, there are some ways to tweak this recipe:

• fermenting the almond flour is recommended but not essential. If you don’t ferment, leave out the whey or kefir.
• you could probably use another nut flour– I haven’t tried it, though.
• avoiding dairy? Use coconut oil or another fat instead of butter.
• I usually use 12 egg whites, because I go through so many yolks making frozen custards! It works fine with 6 eggs if you aren’t using up egg whites. The pumpkin bread is a bit lighter with egg whites and a bit richer with whole eggs. I don’t know which way I like better!
• no pumpkin pie spice? No problem– use about 3/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp each ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. You can use a little more that 2 tsp if you like a stronger flavor, too.
• I used walnuts in the pictured loaf, but the pumpkin bread is wonderful with pecans as well.
• chocolate chips are just wonderful in pumpkin bread! You can use regular ones, or the kind sweetened with coconut sugar, or even ones with a sugar substitute. Whichever suits you best!
• another way to keep the sugar down is to use unsweetened or 90% chocolate and chop it into bits. The pieces lack the cuteness factor of chocolate chips, but they will have very low– or no– sugar.
• I haven’t tried this, but I think you could use butternut squash in place of pumpkin. Most of the flavor comes from the honey and spices, anyway! If you don’t tell, they probably won’t figure it out…
• you could use sugar, maple syrup, or even a sugar substitute that you like in baked goods. You may need a little more, as honey is sweeter than other sugars. You can also increase the honey a little if you want it sweeter.

There you have your fall treat without the gluten, grains, or refined sugar! If you are feeling indulgent, brew up a batch of pumpkin spice lattes to have with your pumpkin bread!