Pumpkin Bread Part 1: Vegan & Gluten Free Millet Pumpkin Loaf

I know, you’ve been seeing a lot of pumpkin around here lately.  It’s no secret that I love these orange orbs of squashy goodness.  I’ve already baked them into scones, made them into butter, and roasted up their seeds in the oven.  Since it’s autumn and therefore officially pumpkin season, this won’t be the last post you see involving them. 

This post will be the first of two involving pumpkin bread (which, by the way, is my favorite type of quick bread).  In this version, I made it gluten free, vegan, and refined sugar free.  This bread is dense and moist with a cake-like quality.  It is sweet, but not overly so with a good bit of spice.  It also has a slightly smokey flavor due to the addition of molasses.  To add some texture, I folded raw millet into the batter and sprinkled raw pepitas on top.  Overall it’s a treat you can feel good about eating for dessert or for breakfast.

Before you bake this bread, you should know that it will not rise much at all.  I baked it in a regular sized loaf pan, and it came out a bit squat (but delicious nonetheless).  If you would prefer, you can bake it in two or three small loaf pans, making sure to fill them up about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way.  If you go this route, make sure to decrease your baking time to around 30 minutes.  If you don’t have millet or don’t want to use it, just omit it altogether, or, add pepitas into the batter instead. 

Gluten Free & Vegan Millet Pumpkin Loaf
makes 1 large loaf  

1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp fine grain sea salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of ground ginger
1/2 cup oil (I used safflower, but grapeseed would be another good option)
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 can or a scant cup of pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup raw millet, rinsed (opt.)
2 tbsp raw pepitas, coarsely chopped (opt.)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Grease and dust your loaf pan(s) or line with parchment paper.

Combine the flours, spices, salt, and baking soda in a bowl with a whisk, then set aside.  In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or by hand with a hand mixer), combine the oil, molasses, syrup, pumpkin, and vanilla until well mixed.  With the mixer on low, add in the dry ingredients and millet if using and mix for about 3 minutes until everything is incorporated.  Pour the batter into your loaf pan(s) and then sprinkle the top with the chopped pepitas.  Bake for 45-50 minutes (or 25-30 for a small loaf) until the center springs back when touched.  Enjoy!