Let me start off by saying that I am not gluten-free. My boyfriend's daughter is (dairy-free, as well), and I don't find a lot of her food to look, smell or even taste that great. I wanted to make her some zucchini bread, because her diet is so limited and that's something they serve at daycare, so I could send a bunch there so she could eat what the other kids are eating.
So I don't usually eat this stuff, but I tried these and they were so good! My brother even loved them and kept bugging me to let him eat more. They're really sweet, so since they're for a young child I'll probably put less sugar the next time around.
So I don't usually eat this stuff, but I tried these and they were so good! My brother even loved them and kept bugging me to let him eat more. They're really sweet, so since they're for a young child I'll probably put less sugar the next time around.
I was really impressed with the ingredients. It didn't call for anything too crazy - I already had rice flour on hand so I just needed a little more cornstarch and tapioca flour. I got those at the bulk food store. I don't remember the cost since I bought a few treats for myself, but it was definitely under $6. Then I bought one big zucchini, and the rest of the ingredients I had on hand.
* Note: The recipe calls for "1 tablespoon xanthan gum", which I knew nothing about so I googled it to find out that not only was it really expensive, a lot of people preferred the taste when they left it out. That's all I needed to hear, so I left it out.
I used this recipe: Gluten-free Zucchini bread. The recipe is for 24 servings, and it does not lie. It made a lot. I made 18 muffins and 3 small loaves of bread out of it.
INGREDIENTS:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
3/4 cup rice flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups fresh zucchini, grated
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
2. Beat the eggs until foamy then add sugar, oil, and applesauce.
* I used the regular attachments for my electric mixer for the entire recipe, like these ones *
3. In a separate bowl, mix the dry in ingredients and then add them to the egg mixture and beat in electric mixer for about 3 minutes or until batter is mixed well and becomes very thick. Add vanilla then nuts and zucchini.
If baking as a loaf, grease two large loaf pans and fill each 1/2 full. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, testing to be sure the middle is cooked through. If your oven cooks the tops of these loaves too quickly, cover with aluminum foil to prevent burning (after about 25-35 minutes). If you want to use this as a breakfast bread, you can sprinkle the tops with Confectioner's sugar.
* I used really small loaf pans so mine cooked somewhere around 30-45 minutes. When greased with canola oil, the loaf just popped right out when turned over *
If baking as muffins, grease and 1/2 fill 24 muffin tins. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, testing to be sure the middle is cooked through.
And enjoy!
