As I type this, it is early May of Covid-19. My husband has been home since stay-at-home orders went out since we both have at least one medical condition that makes us “high risk.” So we have been using that time to get a lot of 2-person projects done- so much so that I lost 6 pounds in 4 weeks! I have also been baking throughout this time, when I can get the ingredients, but it’s one thing to bake and another thing to spend a day typing and posting. Hopefully I will get caught up over the next couple weeks.
Speaking of getting caught up, time to present my new and drastically improved gluten free apple pecan bread. I needed to improve my wheat and dairy apple bread recipe – I had been using a recipe that I found in a newspaper 20+ years ago and was presented as “being the best.” Unfortunately, the best response I ever got for it was, “yea, it’s apple bread.” So it was time to get to work and kick it up! And yes, it is now awesome! Of course, once I improved the original version, I needed to improve the gluten-free version. When you try this, I hope you will agree that this is one of the greatest apple breads, gluten free or not, that you have ever had.
Oh, and don’t be surprised when this recipe shows up again, and is completely “over the top”. (“Over the top” seems to be the most common comment people say to me about my baked goods as they happily gobble them down.) Yup, now that I have an awesome basic gluten free apple bread, I’m already thinking about what I want to do with it next. Happy baking!
The Inside Scoop
When both volumetric and weight measures are provided, the volumetric measures should be considered approximations. The standard measure for a cup of sugar is 192 grams. By volume, this measure will be less than 1 cup.
This recipe was made using My Gluten Free Flour Mix. Due to the varying characteristics of gluten free flours, other gluten free flour mixes are not guaranteed to work.
After the apples have been peeled, cored and grated or chopped, weigh out 162 grams of the chopped apples, place in a small bowl, and toss with 4 T. of gluten free flour. This will keep the apples from sinking to the bottom of the batter as the bread bakes.
When adding chopped nuts to bread, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes until aroma rises and nuts are lightly browned. Let nuts cool before adding to the batter. Pre-baking nuts helps to keep the nuts crisp and enhances their flavor.
Since gluten free flours do not contain gluten, refrigeration time is essential to allow flours to absorb moisture and eliminate the gritty “gluten free” texture and taste. Although 30 minutes of refrigeration time will typically eliminate most of the gritty “gluten free” taste, I find longer refrigeration periods of 2 hours or more result in a better texture, taste and rise.
Spray the loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Then line the bottom and ends of the baking pan with parchment paper. Let the parchment paper extend over the short ends of the pan to create “handles.” This makes it easier to remove the bread from the pan. This bread can also be baked in smaller loaf pans or made as muffins; simply adjust the baking time.
When making large loaves (rather than mini loaves or muffins); double the pans; this reduces the likelihood of the edges or bottom of the loaves becoming too dark.
Be sure eggs are at room temperature. Warm eggs hold more air than cold eggs, which means a lighter bread. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature before cracking, place eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 10 minutes.
Crack eggs into a small bowl before adding to the batter. That way, it is easy to remove any bits of eggshell or bloody eggs.
Combine the gluten free flour, gluten free rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt in a separate bowl; mix until all dry ingredients are evenly distributed. This helps to ensure an even rise.
This is a high-rising bread. Be sure your loaf pan or pans (if you choose to make smaller loaves) are filled no more than two-thirds. The bread needs room to rise without spilling over the pan.
To test for doneness, use a metal tester. (I use a metal kabob skewer.) The bread is done when the metal cake tester is inserted into the highest part of the bread and comes out clean. A metal cake tester is more accurate than a toothpick, because a toothpick will not be able to reach the center of this loaf.
After cooling for 10-15 minutes it is important to remove your baked bread from the pan so that the bread does not “stick” to the pan and the bottom of the bread does not become wet from condensation as the bread cools.
By the way, if you would like to top this with streusel, please see Gluten Free Pumpkin Pear Bread with an Almond Streusel Topping for ingredients and instructions. Simply substitute pecans for the almonds.
Enjoy!
An incredibly moist, fruity apple pecan bread, and Surprise! It's gluten free! Day 1: Measure My Gluten Free into a large bowl. Remove approximately 4 tablespoons of the flour and put into a small bowl. Set the large bowl aside. Peel, core and grate or chop the tart apple. Place in the small bowl and toss with the 4 tablespoons of gluten free flour. Set aside. To the gluten free flour in the large bowl, add the gluten free rolled oats, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Whisk together; set aside. Crack the eggs into a medium bowl; whisk. Add the oil; whisk to emulsify. Add the sugar, buttermilk, molasses, and applesauce; whisk to combine. Make a well in the flour mix. Pour the liquid mix into the well. By hand or with an electric mixer, combine thoroughly. Add the apples and any flour left in the small bowl; by hand, stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Day 2: When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Chop the nuts, if necessary and place on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes until they begin to brown slightly and an aroma rises. Cool. Spray a 9”x5” loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Line the bottom and 2 sides of the pan with parchment paper to create “handles”. To prevent excessive browning, nest the loaf pan in another loaf pan. You can also bake the bread in several smaller loaf pans for a quicker bake and less chance of excessive browning. Once the nuts have cooled, stir the nuts into the batter. Pour the batter into the pan and place the pan in the middle of the oven rack. Bake for 85 minutes until an instant read thermometer, when inserted into the highest part of the bread, reads 215 degrees. If you do not have an instant read thermometer, insert a metal cake tester. The bread is done when the metal cake tester comes out clean. If the top of the bread begins to brown excessively before it is completely baked, cover the top of the bread with a piece of aluminum foil. Reduce the baking time for smaller loaves. Once the bread is baked, remove the loaf pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, use the handles to lift the bread from the pan and place the bread on the cooling rack. Cool completely. Enjoy!Gluten Free Apple Pecan Bread
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Loading...Ingredients
Instructions
70 g./ 7 T. White Rice Flour
35 g./ 3 1/2 T. Brown Rice Flour
24 g./ 2 T. Potato Starch
15 g./ 2 T. Millet
11 g./ 1 1/2 T. Tapioca Flour
This equals 155 g. per 1 cup.
To make a large batch at once, I multiplied the above amounts by 8:
560 g./ 56 T. White Rice Flour
280 g./ 28 T. Brown Rice Flour
192 g./ 16 T. Potato Starch
120 g./ 16 T. Millet Flour
88 g./ 12 T. Tapioca
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