Few things are more comforting than a boiled egg with toast soldiers, a sandwich on crusty bread or a cake with afternoon tea. But for the millions of people who suffer from gluten intolerance, these pleasures are denied.
At the Yinova Center, we’re familiar with the territory. Quite a number of our patients are allergic to gluten and suffer from inflammation when they eat wheat. Some of these people have full-blown Celiac Disease, which is a common autoimmune disorder that affects the small intestine, and some are just mildly gluten intolerant. These patients feel better if they avoid wheat, barley, and rye which used to mean missing out on some favorite foods. These days, however, there are such great gluten-free alternatives that no one need feel deprived.
I made this gluten-free summer squash bread to use up an over-abundance of pattypan squash from our garden and make a tasty treat for a friend with a wheat allergy. Using Pamela’s Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix
I was able to accommodate my friend’s allergy without sacrificing taste and by using agave nectar I managed to avoid processed sugar too. The result was a moist loaf that wasn’t too sweet.
A word of warning about baking with agave nectar: When I first made this loaf I used 1 cup of sugar instead of 1/4 cup of agave nectar. This gave a sweet loaf with a cake-like texture. For health reasons I wanted to make the cake less sweet and without processed sugar so chose I chose to substitute a small amount of agave nectar for the cup of sugar. This created a loaf that was moister and less sweet: more like a tea bread. We loved it but if you like a sweeter cake and don’t mind using sugar, feel free to use it instead. One more word of warning: a loaf baked with agave nectar will seem rather too moist when it first comes out of the oven but does dry out as it cools.
Ingredients
2 cups Pamela’s Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamon
3/4 tsp salt
pinch of ground nutmeg
2 cups grated summer squash
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup slivered almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Grease a loaf pan
- Grate the summer squash and put it in a colander over the sink to drain off some of it’s moisture.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together the baking mix, ground flax seed, ground cardamon, ground nutmeg, lemon zest and salt
- In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, agave nectar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir together until combined
- Fold in the grated summer squash and almonds
- Bake for 50 – 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean
Enjoy!
