Nourish the Budding Lotus

Gluten Free Gingerbread Loaf

We have had some magical snowy weather lately here in Santa Fe.  Last night when I was returning from work late at night, the snow was just starting to stick to the ground, there were very few people out on the roads and the streetlights were illuminating the flurries of white.  It was so sweet.  And there is nothing like waking up to fresh, untouched snow on the ground.  Santa Fe definitely looks pretty in a fresh coat of snow.

Santa Fe is in the thick of holiday festivities and gearing up for the big event.  On Christmas Eve after sunset, locals and tourists will fill Canyon Road to wander amongst the farolitos and luminarias that line the glowing galleries and restaurants.  There are bonfires in the streets where people gather to sing carols, and the light shows and shop windows are classy and artistic.

With all of this winter weather and holiday buzz I have been in a gingerbread phase.  I have not baked anything “gingerbread” before this year, and have decided that I wanted to really understand what makes the flavor combination magical.  I started by trying to bake some gluten-free gingerbread cookies and lets just say they were definitely an experiment.  The texture and flavor was pretty good, but they most resembled a “breakfast cookie” since they were definitely lacking in the category of sweetness.

Since then I have been playing with a recipe from Super Natural Cooking: Five Delicious Ways to Incorporate Whole and Natural Foods into Your Cooking by Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks.  She has a recipe for Sticky Teff-Kissed Spice Loaves which I edited into my own gluten-free version with a few additional edits to incorporate the fats and sweeteners that I prefer.  This recipe is delicious!  I first tried it out as a Pear Upside-Down Cake which was a huge hit on Winter Solstice, and now today I have finalized my recipe edits with these Gingerbread Loaves.  Eventually I will try it out with teff flour too, but I didn’t have any on hand this week.

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Gluten Free Gingerbread Loaves

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup amaranth flour
1 cup oat flour, gluten free
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
1/2 cup agave
3 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease 2  8×4 loaf pans with coconut oil.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together.

Combine coconut oil, water, molasses and agave in a small saucepan over med-low heat.  Heat just until coconut oil is melted and stir to incorporate ingredients.  Move the liquids to a medium bowl to cool.

Once the warm mixture is easy to the touch whisk in the eggs and then the almond milk.

Add all of the liquids to the dry mixture and whisk until just incorporated.  Fold in the grated ginger.

Pour the batter into the oiled loaf pans and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.  Test with a knife.  It should come out mostly clean when it is ready.

Cool in the pan and eat at any time during the day!

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