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Pumpkin and Chocolate Bread

A dense and chocolatey gluten free pumpkin and chocolate bread that’s packed with spices. Add chocolate chips for even more sweetness!

Sierra and I had a lovely quiet day today doing the little things we like to do: we read, we listened to music, we explored the yard, we played hide and seek, we walked in the neighborhood and chased cats, we read some more, and she took two naps that allowed me to cook two pots of soup (chicken and rice and vegetables, my new staple, and a quinoa-vegetable with green beans), pear sauce, and a pumpkin-chocolate bread.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in Alice Medrich’s ‘Flavor Flours’ and while I am not so keen on the use of white rice flour as an exclusive substitute for all-purpose – I usually prefer to do a combination of gluten-free whole grain flours with a smaller addition of white rice flour to help it the batter hold together – I can’t deny it acts as a wonderful binder. It’s slightly sweet and starchy and when whisked with a little buckwheat flour in this loaf produces a tender, dense crumb. And let’s face it: buckwheat is very in-your-face assertive so if you want a milder taste, erring on less is more is the way to go.

For my version of gluten free pumpkin and chocolate bread, I kept pretty close to the original recipe but added roughly chopped bittersweet chocolate. It’s velvety and deep and shot through with dark chocolate; complex, you might call it, but in a mellow way. More cheerful than moody.

If you want, you can swap out the white rice flour for all-purpose flour or, even better, whole wheat pastry flour. I’d like to try a version with bananas instead of pumpkin and with a combo of millet, white rice, brown rice, and buckwheat flour, too.

I shared my slice, smeared with butter, with little S. I have had a lot of thoughts lately about food and kids, and kids and food, and food and how to feed kids but jetlag is still hanging on and I think I shall marinate on those for the time being and explore those when my brain is a bit more coherent. But suffice to say she loved it as well as I did. We had a nice few moments in the warm kitchen as the skies opened up while nibbling on our pumpkin bread (plus a few bites of banana for her), and I am anticipating a shared morning snack tomorrow before we go about the rest of our day.

Pumpkin and Chocolate Bread

Nicole Spiridakis
A dense and chocolatey gluten free pumpkin and chocolate bread that's packed with spices. Add chocolate chips for even more sweetness!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 10 servings
Calories 240 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and slightly cooled
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup white rice flour , 120 grams
  • cup buckwheat flour , 40 grams
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¾ cup 170g pure pumpkin puree
  • ½ cup roughly chopped bittersweet chocolate , or chocolate chips

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oven to 350℉. Line a 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and butter it well.
  • Combine the butter, sugar, and eggs in the bowl of the stand mixer and beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until lighter in color, about 2 minutes. Alternatively, use a handheld mixer and beat for 3-4 minutes.
  • Add the rice and buckwheat flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin puree and beat on low speed until smooth. Fold in the chocolate
  • Spread the batter in the prepared pan, place in the oven, and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the loaf in the pan for 30 minutes before using the parchment as a sling to unmold the bread and let cool completely on a rack.
  • The bread keeps for several days on the counter, wrapped loosely in parchment or plastic wrap.

Nutrition

Calories: 240kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 175mgPotassium: 79mgFiber: 2gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 328IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Let me know in the comments how it went!

3 Comments

  1. Thank you for a lovely recipe! I used millet flour instead of rice only because it’s what I had in the cupboard and threw in a handful of frozen berries instead of chocolate. It came out perfectly, just the thing for lunch boxes this week. I can’t wait to try it with chocolate next time.

  2. I made this last night, swapping some of the flours for almond meal, and it was lovely! Not too sweet and just the thing for a chilly, damp Tuesday.

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