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You know what I miss having at Thanksgiving? Buttered bread. Sure, all these years I could have just brought some gluten free bread and dairy free butter with me but since I have to pack my entire dinner, I never bothered adding in bread on top of everything else. That might have to change this year because I'm really considering making this sweet potato bread for Thanksgiving.
This sweet potato bread is actually the result of an oddly specific craving. I wanted something with fall flavors but not sweet because I wanted to load up on the butter! I also wanted something moist and dense like banana bread but without the soggy wetness. Granted, it's a good soggy wetness but it's not what I wanted. What I definitely did not want was a cake baked in a loaf pan being passed off as bread. We've all had that "bread" before and although I clearly have no issues with cake, I do have an issue with frostingless cake. Let's not even go there.
Somehow, I was able to bake just what I had in mind. Maybe not on the first try but I managed eventually! The pumpkin pie spice and sweet potato give the bread a fall flavor but the sugar content is low enough that it doesn't taste like a sweet dessert. I'd definitely serve this as an appetizer or side with butter.
That being said, if you wanted to have this as a dessert, it would also be great topped with whipped cream, dusted with powdered sugar, or drizzled with a basic powdered sugar glaze. You could even fold some raisins or chocolate chips into the batter.
However, if you really want this as a dessert, I'd recommend making it as-is and holding off until my next recipe. It's going to be a Thanksgiving leftovers recipe using this bread to make a quick and easy dessert. I'm sure you can probably guess what is is but I'll keep it a secret for now.
Recipe
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This gluten free, dairy free sweet potato bread is just a little sweet and packed with fall flavors. Serve with butter for a Thanksgiving side or appetizer.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ C cooked, skinless sweet potato
- ¼ C dairy free butter, softened
- ½ C sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 C gluten free flour ("cup for cup"/1:1 type and containing xanthan gum)
- 1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a loaf pan and set aside. (Dust it with gluten free flour if desired.)
- Use a food processor to puree the sweet potato until smooth.
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the dairy free butter and sugar.
- Once the butter and sugar are creamed together, add the eggs, vanilla extract, and sweet potato puree.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the gluten free flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt. Gently stir then add this to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- After mixing, the batter should be pretty thick. Pour this into the prepared loaf pan and use a rubber spatula to evenly spread the batter and smooth out the top. Tap the pan on the counter a few times before putting it in the oven.
- Bake for 40-55 minutes. The toothpick test may not accurately check for doneness on a moist bread like this. The toothpick may not come out completely clean but it should not have wet batter stuck to it, just bread crumbs. The outside of the bread will be lightly browned.
- Allow the bread to cool in the loaf pan until it is no longer hot to the touch, then remove it from the pan and allow it to continue cooling on a cooling rack. Cut into thick slices. I recommend serving it while it's still warm with plenty of dairy free butter.
Notes
- Potential allergens in this recipe may vary due to brands of ingredients used, product reformulations, etc. Please verify that all your ingredients are safe for you to consume and always be mindful of allergen cross contamination while cooking.
- For dairy free butter, I usually recommend Earth Balance soy free baking sticks. Note that they also carry a similar product containing soy. You can also use coconut oil as a substitute.
- For gluten free flour, I always use and recommend Bob’s Red Mill. Regardless of what gluten free flour you use, be sure it contains xanthan gum and that the package indicated it's "cup for cup" or 1:1. Note that the Bob's Red Mill brand is made in a facility with tree nuts and soy according to the package I had.
- This bread will rise while baking but expect it to deflate some as it cools since it is a higher moisture bread.
This is delicious, I’m looking forward to having it again for Thanksgiving.
★★★★★
I want to try this recipe for my two year old! Is there a healthier substitute that could be used in place of the sugar?
Hi Emily. I haven't tried that yet. I think if you stick with a granulated sugar, it should turn out right. So maybe one with the mineral content still intact like maple sugar or even coconut sugar would be healthier than the refined sugar the recipe calls for. It won't be as sweet if you use coconut sugar but it's not a very sweet bread to begin with - I definitely wouldn't compare it to sweet cake-like breads like pumpkin or lemon poppyseed so I don't think the less sweet coconut sugar will make a huge difference in taste.
By the way, my son was about two when I first made this and he loved it gently warmed with some butter. Now he's three and doesn't eat anything lol