Mini Banana Mango Bread Loaves

We love baking goodies and giving them out for the holidays. Our loved ones and neighbors are usually the ones on the receiving end of my baking addiction but give baked goods to anyone! These cute little mini loaves make perfect homemade gifts and are freezer friendly! Make a few batches now and thaw just before Christmas so they are ready to give! If you are stingy (which I can’t blame you after tasting these), enjoy them with a cup of coffee or tea. It is has just the right amount of sweetness and a nice, soft, texture. Makes 4 mini loaves or 1 regular sized loaf.

1 ½ cups GF all purpose flour

¼ cup arrowroot starch
¼ cup sweet sorghum flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 cup coconut sugar, stevia or regular sugar
2 eggs
3 medium bananas, mashed
½ cup mango puree (Puree a small mango, adding a little water as necessary)
1 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
½ cup almond milk
¼ cup chopped walnuts

• In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Blend until well combined and form a small well in the middle.
• In a small bowl, combine eggs, bananas, mango, oil and milk until well blended. Pour banana mixture into well in flour.
• Gently mix on low speed until just combined, batter will be lumpy. Fold in walnuts.
• Spoon batter into greased loaf pans. Bake at 350°F for about 30-35 minutes for mini pans or 45-50 minutes for regular pans. Let cool about 15 minutes.
• To freeze: bake according to instructions and let bread loaves cool for an hour. Wrap loaves in plastic wrap and then in foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Remove from freezer and allow to thaw for a few hours.

Lemon Thyme Bread Braid

I’ve said this before, but I love bread. I love everything about eating it and baking it. I love the kneading, the rolling, the rising, the smell – I love it all. This gluten free bread tastes and smells amazing. It would be perfect with a bowl of warm soup in the fall/winter or alongside a quick salad in the spring/summer. My one note (as you will see in the picture) is to make sure you don’t forget about your rising bread braid or it could turn into a bread turkey. Yes – my boys said this tasted great but it did resemble a turkey – not so much a braid. Don’t worry – I’ll bake again and post a better (more braid-like) photo!

1 pkg of Bob’s Red Mill Homemade Wonderful Bread mix

2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1 ½ cup warm almond milk
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp tarragon vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon thyme
Potato starch for kneading bread

• In a small bowl, mix the contents of the yeast package (from the bread mix) with the warm milk and let set for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, blend bread mix, eggs, vinegar, oil and yeast mixture with a mixer for about 2-3 minutes.
• Pour dough mixture on to a clean surface dusted with potato starch. Sprinkle the top of the dough ball with a little starch to keep your hands from sticking. Knead dough a few times and separate into three equal pieces. Form each piece into long skinny strips. Mine ended up being about 2 inches thick and 10 inches long. Braid the strips of dough together. Place on a greased baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 minutes.
• Note: Don’t let the dough rise too long (I forgot about mine for about an hour).
• Bake the braid for about 40-50 minutes at 350 °F or until cooked through and slightly brown.
• If your bread starts browning too quickly, cover bread with foil and continue cooking. Remove from oven and let cool for about an hour.

Pumpkin Bread with Oatmeal Topping

I’m pretty sure you can’t have a food blog in the fall without a pumpkin bread recipe. I wanted to try something a little different. I try to cut out butter/or fat in my recipes to keep them light. Some just need it, others not as much. This didn’t need any. I usually substitute butter with applesauce but I decided to try an overripe banana instead. It worked perfectly! It gave the pumpkin a little extra flavor and helped keep the bread moist. The real treat is the oatmeal topping though. If you are eating gluten-free, watch your oats. Oats in general are gluten free but most are manufactured in wheat processing facilities. I learned the hard way that cross-contamination can be a BIG problem! I use oats that are processed in a dedicated gluten free facility. I used a GF all purpose flour blend that substitutes 1:1 for regular all purpose flour – so don’t think you can’t enjoy this just because you don’t want a recipe using gluten free flour! Makes 1 loaf.

2 cups GF all purpose flour

½ cup stevia or sugar
2 tsp xanthan gum (omit if using regular flour)
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
½ cup banana, mashed (about 1 large)
1 can pure pumpkin (or 1.5 cups)
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup molasses
2 eggs
¼ cup almond milk
½ cup chopped pecans
Topping
1/3 cup GF oats
2 Tbsp butter (I used dairy free or substitute coconut oil), melted
¼ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
½ tsp cinnamon

• In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
• Add in banana, pumpkin, syrup, molasses, eggs and almond milk. Mix on medium speed until just blended.
• Fold in pecans and pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan.
• In a small bowl, combine butter, oats, sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle topping over bread batter.
• Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes or until bread is cooked through.
• Cover with foil half way through baking to prevent overbrowning.

Apple Cider Bread

I think I’ve said it before but I LOVE fall. It might be because during the summer it is simply too hot to bake every day. Not in the fall though – I can bake all day long! So one morning after breakfast, I needed to bake something. I started rummaging through my pantry and saw some apple cider. So I thought why not?! This is a slightly sweet yet savory bread recipe. I prefer eating it with a little butter for breakfast with my eggs but it also makes a wonderful PB&J!

1 package of GF bread mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill – yeast packet included)

2/3 cup apple cider (homemade – here's my recipe!)
1 ¼ cup warm almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla)
2 eggs
¼ cup apple sauce
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp brown coconut sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp apple pie spice (or a mix of cloves, nutmeg and allspice)

• In a small mixing bowl, combine milk and yeast from packet and let sit for about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile in a large bowl, combine eggs, apple sauce, cider, vinegar and oil. Add in bread mix and yeast mixture.
• Mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine coconut sugar, cinnamon and apple pie spice.
•  Over the top of the batter, sprinkle spice mixture. Carefully using a spoon, swirl in spice mixture into dough.
• Pour dough mixture into a greased 9x5 bread pan. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for about 35 minutes.
• Bake at 350°F for 60 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Cover bread with foil after 30 minutes of baking to prevent burning. If desired, sprinkle with additional sugar and spice mixture.