Healthy, Savory, Vegan and Gluten Free Sweet Potato Bread

Every now and then I come up with a recipe that turns out amazing. More than amazing. Freaking addictively delicious. 

This healthy sweet potato sandwich bread is one of those times. 

This sweet potato bread is one of those rare things in vegan, gluten free baking - delicious, perfect texture, sturdy yet soft, not chewy or gummy or dry, great for sandwiches, toast, French toast, and just about anything else you could ask for. 

And did I mention it's actually healthy? 

Unlike a lot of other sweet potato breads that are... well... really sweet, this one can be enjoyed guilt-free. It's low in sugar, uses a small amount of olive oil in place of tons of butter, and the flour combo includes high-protein multi-grains. 

Here's how it goes...

Basically, I took the savory rosemary beer bread recipe from my book Cooking and Baking with Gluten Free Beer and replaced the eggs with sweet potatoes, the beer with a combo of soda water and warm water, and tweaked things a little to get this vegan, gluten free sweet potato bread.

I used soda water because it helps bread rise, the same way that beer does (although, of course, if you want to use beer you can totally do that too!)

 The bread slices well, since it's porous and sturdy. I love it with savory flavours like dried onion, garlic, oregano, and rosemary, but you could also use cinnamon and nutmeg to make this a little more pumpkin-spice-esque.

And as I said, it slices really well, so you can cut it up nice and thin, wrap it in a paper bag, then in an airtight container and freeze it. I like to pull out a couple of slices for toast in the morning. 

Or a late night snack ; )

Ingredients for Vegan, Gluten Free Sweet Potato Bread (makes 1 9" loaf)

1 packet active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm soda water / club soda (about 115F)
3/4 cup warm water (about 115F)
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil + more for brushing and greasing loaf pan

1/2 cup mashed sweet potato (about 1 medium sized sweet potato, steamed or baked, cooled and mashed) 

1 cup sorghum flour OR brown rice flour
1/2 cup pea flour OR chickpea flour OR more brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp table salt
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried onion powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup brown sugar


 Directions

Preheat oven to 375F and grease a 9" loaf pan.

1. In a small bowl, mix yeast together with soda water, warm water, sugar, and olive oil. Let rest 7 minutes for yeast to proof.

2. In the meantime, mix dry ingredients in a large bowl until combined. Beat yeast mixture into flour mix, along with mashed sweet potato.

3. Scoop  bread mix into loaf pan and spread evenly, smoothing the top with a spatula. Brush with a little bit of olive oil. Bake 40-45 minutes, until bread is risen, top is golden, and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool.

As I said, once cool, this bread can be sliced and frozen in an airtight container. Of course, I gobble this up pretty quick, so I can't say how long it will last in the freezer, but I'd say at least 2 weeks.

How do you like your sweet potato bread? 

Sweet or Savory?

 

 

Have you seen the latest novel in my romance series, Lady of the Caravan? Get it now, and follow the queen's cousin as she braves the dangers of Egypt's great desert to marry a nomadic chieftain. 

 

 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * iTunes * Indigo / Kobo * Inktera * Scribd