It’s fall.
Its scent is in the air, the rustling leaves sound like it, and the chilly outdoor temperature confirms it.
This means one thing in our home: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread baking time. Since we have a bon-fire to go to this weekend, and we committed to bringing this bread, our home is about to smell like the glorious scent of chocolate harmonizing with pumpkin. Our taste buds are preparing to dance!
Life is hard.
Chocolate is good.
But chocolate mixed into pumpkin in next to heavenly! Literally. I believe God made the cocoa bean specifically for women as a little gift to compensate us for the once a month hormonal upheaval we endure. And when we discovered the scrumptiousness of mixing chocolate into pumpkin, God may have smiled, leaned over to Jesus and said, “Do you see that? She discovered another little treasure we left for her.”
Make yourself a batch of this bread, which makes three loaves, and see for yourself that Gluten Free does not have to mean flavorless, fall-a-part dry bread. This bread is fit for breakfast, lunch, dinner, midnight snack or anytime in between.
Eating Gluten Free means putting extra time and thought into almost every meal or snack we eat. I am thankful to have the resources to eat what we need and want but the planning is time-consuming. Plus, eating gluten free can make my boys’ taste buds whiny. They’re not whiny—but their taste buds are. The best way to hush them is with this dense, moist, bursting with flavor treat. If you have never tried chocolate and pumpkin together you are missing out on one of the finer things in life. Chocolate and pumpkin are perhaps the most perfect union since the pairing of chocolate and peanut butter. Don’t doubt it ’til you’ve tried it!
This is my own personal recipe I am sharing with you. My kids and friends can NOT keep their hands off it. Prepare to gain a pound—or two.
Our dog became a thieving table jumper the first time she smelled it. She is willing to suffer consequences to wrap her mouth around this delicious concoction of chocolate and pumpkin. To manipulate us in to giving her more she has, without being prompted, been known to perform every trick we have ever taught her; one after the other, until we almost die laughing and cave to her cuteness. When we have a say in the matter we remove the chocolate chips from the dog’s bread. Sometimes we don’t have a say in the matter. Like when she runs by, jumps and grabs a mouthful from our hands. She’s fast like that—for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread.
With no further ado I present to you:
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
This is a very forgiving recipe. Combine the ingredients in the same mixing bowl in the order listed.
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs at room temperature
1 – 29 oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
Mix
Add 1 teaspoon each: Cloves, Cinnamon, Nutmeg & All spice
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum (located in the baking aisle near the yeast or GF items)
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Mix
Add 3 1/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill, gluten free 1 to 1 Baking Flour (I purchase this at Sam’s Club but you can also find it at a grocery store).
¼ cup ground Flax seed (Flax seed helps hold the bread together)
*If you love Flax seed you can adjust the recipe to ½ cup pot. starch & ½ cup Flax seed; this slightly changes the texture.
Mix
Mix in 2 cups chocolate chips.
Pour into 3 ungreased 4 inch X 8 inch pans. I use the disposable pans from the store because they bake the most uniform nicest looking loaves of bread and for some reason they bake more evenly than any of my other pans. This makes a nice size loaf of bread for 
gift giving. Sprinkle 1/4 cup chocolate chips down the center of each loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes. Insert a toothpick. When it come out dry, except for chocolate smudges, it is finished. Test each loaf. Cool about 20 minutes then use a metal spatula to loosen the bread from the sides of the pans. With one had on the top of the bread and one hand on the bottom of the pan; turn the pan upside down to remove the bread. Completely cool before placing in a bag or container.
This bread freezes beautifully in a freezer bag.
Optional: You can use a combination of your favorite grains and starches. For this option use 2 cups of grains, 1/2 cup gluten free ground oats, and 3/4 cup potato starch. I buy most of my grains from Whole Foods and mill them at home with my electric mill but many grains can be purchased already ground/milled. I am listing my favorite combination of flours for this post but I have used many combinations and never disliked any of them. I have used Millet, Buckwheat, Sorghum, Brown Rice, Sweet Rice, cooked Quinoa, and Almond Four. I do not care for Garbanzo and Fava Flour in any baking product.
Gluten Free baking needs to be done with room temperature ingredients.
~Enjoy!