Oat, Barley, Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

This recipe was presented to the group who participated in Jude Blereau’s Whole and Natural Foods Chef Training Course ( see here ) in 2013.  The loaf really imbedded itself into my memory banks because I loved it on first “bite”!  If you enjoy rich, dark, dense, gingery loaves, then you are going to love this one.

The oats are left mostly whole so you will get flecks of it throughout. And you can choose to use fresh ginger (if you like a “hotter” finish and don’t mind the little “hairy bits” you get from fresh ginger), or you can use glace ginger which featured in the original recipe. I have used both and love both for the slightly individual differences you get in the finished loaf.

Whilst plain molasses is available, try to use blackstrap molasses … it is a byproduct of sugar cane’s refining process, but unlike sugar cane it has the lowest sugar content of any sugar cane product, and is rich in vital vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and selenium.  I don’t want to call it a “superfood” as I feel that tag gets overused, but others will say it is.  Either way, please know that it is good for you.

You can steam the pumpkin but there is more flavour if you bake it … bake more than you need and use the leftovers in a salad. To bake the pumpkin chop into chunks, place in a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and bake at 180 degrees (fan forced) for 30 minutes. You want the pumpkin to be firm but not mushy. Allow the pumpkin to cool before using it.  If you steam the pumpkin you will need to drain it well of any liquid. The pumpkin can be prepared a day ahead, or you can use leftovers from a previous meal (which is what I did).

I found it is important to not overmix the final batter, so after some attempts in the Thermomix I decided to combine the wet and dry mixes in a separate bowl where I could simply stir the ingredients together. This did make a difference to the baked appearance of the loaf.

Delicious plain or toasted … served on its own or with a big dollop of labne, thick yoghurt or quark and you are set.  In addition to this you can serve it as a dessert with poached pears and a little drizzle of maple syrup over the lot.

I used a small bread loaf tin with a base measurement of 22cm x 8.5cm as this is not a large loaf, and keeps well at room temperature for a few days.

Gina @ The Passionate Pantry

Oat, Barley, Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 10 slices

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

DRY MIX

• 80 g pearl barley
  
  
• 120 g glace ginger or 80 g fresh ginger (peeled weight)
  
  
• 100 g rolled oats
• 80 g white spelt flour
• 1 tsp bi-carb soda
• 80 g rapadura sugar or coconut palm sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  
  

WET MIX

• 2 x 59g large eggs room temperature
• 80 g light olive oil
• 120 g blackstrap molasses
• 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
• 250 g cooked pumpkin preferably roasted
• 50 g yoghurt ) or 100g buttermilk
• 50 g milk )

Method

 

1. Grease and line loaf tin (22cm x 8.5cm)
2. Preheat oven to 170 degrees fan forced
3. Place pearl barley into TM bowl and mill 1 minute / speed 9 … put aside … do not clean bowl
4. Add ginger and chop 3 seconds / speed 6, scrape down sides
5. Return barley flour to bowl with the rest of dry ingredients and mix 5 seconds / speed 5, scrape around sides and repeat for 2 seconds / speed 5
6. Set aside dry ingredients into a bowl where you will do your final mixing
7. Place all the wet ingredients into TM bowl and mix 5 seconds / speed 5
8. Add to dry ingredients in separate bowl and lightly mix together with a flexible spatula
9. Pour batter into loaf tin and bake for 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean (it took 60 minutes in my oven)
10. Rest for 15 minutes before removing to a cake rack to cool completely before cutting
11. Will keep for a few days at room temperature in an airtight container … do not refrigerate

Notes

You can steam the pumpkin but there is more flavour if you bake it … bake more than you need and use the leftovers in a salad. To bake the pumpkin chop into chunks, place in a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and bake at 180 degrees (fan forced) for 30 minutes. You want the pumpkin to be firm but not mushy. Allow the pumpkin to cool before using it. If you steam the pumpkin you will need to drain it well of any liquid. The pumpkin can be prepared a day ahead, or you can use leftovers from a meal (which is what I did).

I found it was important to not overmix the final batter, so after some attempts in the Thermomix I decided to combine the wet and dry mixes in a separate bowl where I could simply stir the ingredients together. This did make a difference to the baked appearance of the loaf.

Delicious plain or toasted … served on its own or with a big dollop of labne, thick yoghurt or quark and you are set. In addition to this you can serve it as a dessert with poached pears and a little drizzle of maple syrup over the lot.

I used a small bread loaf tin with a base measurement of 22cm x 8.5cm which is perfect as this is not a large loaf, and keeps well at room temperature for a few days.