Pumpkin bread

Tis the season to bully your American boyfriend into bringing tinned pumpkin to Ireland. - Now I don't like to give the Americans credit for much.. But one thing they do really damn well. Is Tinned pumpkin and pumpkin pie and well... All the pumpkin thangs.

Why its not a thing in Ireland? I just don't know - if you're in Ireland you have 3 main options for pumpkins - wait until Halloween and buy overpriced pumpkins, wait until November 1st and buy all the leftover pumpkins, pureee and freeze them, or hit up amazon and have it delivered using a forwarding service like address pal. Or if you're fortunate like me you have have the option of bullying your American relatives, friends etc to bring you tinned pumpkin. The current rule is neither me nor my boyfriend are allowed cross the Atlantic without it.

ANYWAY.

Moral of the story if you're in Ireland I highly recommend getting your hands on some pumpkin and trying out what the Americans do best.

This mix is gluten free, dairy free, paleo and keto friendly! It's pretty great for everybody who's not vegan.. And well. Vegans... #macronutritionalnightmares

So let's get on with it

Equipment needed

• Loaf Tin

• Mixer

• Oven

• Baking parchment

Ingredients:

• 130g ground almonds

• 30g coconut flour

• 28 g flaxseed finely ground*

• 20 g psyllium husks finely ground*

• 1.5tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 + 1/8tsp cloves

• 1/4 + 1/8tsp nutmeg

• 3/4tsp ginger

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 5 tbsp coconut oil

• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

• 4 eggs

• 230g pumpkin puree

• 3/4 cup xylitol ***

• 1 Cup chopped walnuts

Method

1. **If your flaxseed and psyllium husks are not finely ground it's time to chuck them in a food processor or blender and grind them down

2. Preheat oven to 180c /350f

3. Whisk your ground almonds, coconut flour, spices, baking powder, psyllium husks and flax seed and set aside

4. Mix your coconut oil and xylitol until it turns to an oily type of paste

5. Mix the vinegar and eggs into your wet mix.

6. Start adding the dry mix and pumpkin puree to the wet mix alternating between both until it's all in the one bowl. The batter thickens as you mix and should have some elasticity.

7. Stir in your walnuts

8. Line your loaf tin with baking parchment

9. Pour your mix into the tin and smooth out the top

10. Bake in a pre heated oven at 180c / 350f for about 50 mins to an hour.

11. To avoid a burnt top on the bread check on it in the oven and once it turns a golden type of brown on top cover in tinfoil.

12. Use a toothpick to test if cooked fully - stick it in the bread and remove it. If it comes out clean your bread is done

13. Lift out of the tin by grabbing the baking parchment and gently lift.

14. Allow to cool before removing the paper and cutting.

Macros per slice - assuming you get 12 slices

Calories: 192

Net carbs: 2.2g

Fat: 14.5g

Protein 5.4g

Word of warning xylitol Is really dangerous for dogs ( I'm not sure about other animals) when I'm cooking with it my puppers get banished to the sitting room / outside when weather permits

The Macros work out really nice on this one because of the psyllium husk, it's a fantastic way to add fibre to a recipe and bring down net carbs!

You don't have to use paper to line the tin but I find in keto bread recipes the using grease to line the tin isn't as effective - the ingredients can be quite absorbant! Do it that way if you want but you might find your bread difficult to remove.

I love the texture of this bread it's actually got quite a likeness to real bread.

But

If you like a sweeter bread you may want to increase the xylitol a bit to make it just a hair sweeter. I dont make things overly sweet but you'll find the recipe has a growing sweetness that for me is perfect but may not satisfy a sweet tooth.

Walnuts.

- I love adding nuts to my breads. Walnuts are my go to, but they're completely optional and leaving them out of the mixture will not ruin your mix