Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Coconut Flour Cranberry Walnut Bread

Coconut flour is pretty cool; I've posted about it before, but I am really impressed with how much it expands when you bake it. I made an entire loaf of bread with just 2/3 of a cup of sifted coconut flour. Mind you, I had to use eight eggs, but still -- that defies physics (er, well -- I think).

This bread is perfect for breakfast, or as a snack. It doesn't really hold up well enough to make a sandwich from, but do you really expect that from a cranberry walnut bread? I adapted (omitted the sugar and added agave/use lemon zest instead of lemon extract) the recipe from one I found here and I'm hoping to experiment more with the flour (just check out the chocolate cake in that link -- yum).

Cranberry Walnut Bread (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian)

8 eggs
½ cup coconut oil, melted
½ cup coconut milk
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon zest
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup sifted coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup dried cranberries
½ cup walnuts, chopped

Blend together eggs, oil, coconut milk, agave, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk thoroughly into batter until there are no lumps. Fold in dried cranberries and nuts. Pour into greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 C) for 60 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Please note that the crust of the bread may turn out quite dark due to the agave, but it still tastes quite nice; even *Henry thinks so.

*Henry has this new thing where he will wait underneath the kitchen table just in case I happen to drop a crumb that he can conveniently catch in his mouth. It's quite the sight when you're trying to enjoy your meal and look down and see that face just staring at you betwixt your legs.

11 comments:

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Awww, my dog is a Henry too :O). Your Henry is super-cute.

Liz said...

Thanks CCV! I had his name picked out before I even adopted him because I love that name so much.

Anonymous said...

Aaah, I love Henry! He is sooo cute! My dog does that under-the-table-begging thing as well, but he's SO big, he practically lifts the table up when he's under it.

Your coconut cranberry bread definitely looks good! Yes, coconut flour sucks the moisture out of your baked goods -- hence your 8 eggs. I always add a touch more liquid when I bake with coconut flour. Some juice or even coconut milk.

And your photo of your TBKRT (was that right?) was absolutely beautiful! Nice job Lizzie!

In good health,
Melissa

Anonymous said...

This recipe sounds great, I love baking with coconut products, but haven't tried the flour yet. I may have to dive in!

Melanie said...

Ha! I eat with 4 dog's staring at me when I eat!

Anonymous said...

You're right, don't be dismayed by the dark crust. This bread is dense, almost like a pound cake. It is moist, flavorful and definitely the type of dessert that can fool the non-gluten intolerant into saying , "This is too good. You can't really eat this, can you?". Four stars to you on this recipe!
I'm glad that you put a picture of Henry here, too.

Liz said...

Thanks Melissa! Your pup sounds (and from the picture I've seen) looks so cute! I'd love to see more photos of the fella :)

Alisa, thanks for the comment. I totally recommend it, but make sure you have plenty of eggs on hand.

GG -- Haha! They are SO adorable it must be hard not to give in to their stares :)

Janet, as an official taste-tester I appreciate the comment. It keeps well in the fridge and gives it an even more pound-cake-like texture. Yum.

Simply...Gluten-free said...

Yum, I've been playing around with grain free gluten free breads and muffins my self! Love this flavor combo. One note I turn the oven temp down 25 degrees when usuing agava because it browns faster than sugar. So if you try this at 325 it probably won't get "too" brown. Also, I have never cooked with coconut flour because I don't like the taste of coconut - is it prodominate?

Henry is SO cute!

Liz said...

SGF - Great tip! I will definately do that next time I bake with agave. The coconut is a bit prevalent in this bread, but if you add even more lemon zest, or even some lemon extract I bet it would mask it a bit.

Naomi Devlin said...

Yay! I'm onthe specific carbohydrate diet at the moment so it's all grain free for me. This is just perfect - although I can't have the cranberries or walnuts just yet. Might try it with fresh raspberries when they come into season here.

I always bake anything with a fruit sugar or honey 20C below what you would use for sugar. With coconut flour it really seems to benefit from a long slow bake too.

Just one more thing - does your dog have a marabou tail and some sort of front paw fluffy accessory? My parents in law have a dog who does the same thing. I'm always treading on him by accident, or getting up from the table with drool marks on my leg. Ick!

x x x

Liz said...

Hey Naomi! Raspberries sound like a great idea; in fact, I may try taht soon! That's a great tip about the temperature -- thanks!

Henry has a stub tail, I'm not sure if that's marabou? It's only about five inches long, though since he's a rescue I'm not sure if he was born like that, or if mean people but if off :( I'm guessing the latter.