Persimmon Bread with Amaranth - Gluten Free Recipe

This persimmon quickbread recipe is fruity, moist, and lightly (but not obnoxiously) sweet.

I’m not a strictly gluten free person, but for those of you who are, you’ll be happy to know that this recipe is gluten free.

Whether you are using wild or cultivated persimmons, for this recipe it is essential that they are very ripe.

Persimmon-amaranth bread, here served with quince preserves (quince is in season at the same time as persimmons)

Persimmon Bread with Amaranth Flour

Preheat the oven to 350ºF/177C. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

In a blender combine:

1 ½ cups ripe persimmon pulp (okay to leave the skins on, but remove the stem ends and any seeds)

¼ cup coconut oil or other fairly neutrally flavored vegetable oil

1 small ripe banana, peeled and cut into chunks

1 egg

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together:

1 cup amaranth flour (you can make your own by processing foraged or store-bought amaranth seeds in an electric coffee grinder)

1/3 cup potato starch (you could also use acorn starch or arrowroot)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground spicebush (if you don’t have spice bush, use 1/8 tsp. each black pepper and allspice)

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

a few scrapes on a grater of nutmeg

In a large bowl, stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to just barely combine. Fold in:

1/3 cup of raisins or other small pieces of dried fruit (optional)

Pour the batter into the lined loaf pan. Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the persimmon bread comes out clean. Let cool before removing from the pan.

Optional but yummy: spread a thin glaze of cream cheese or Greek yogurt over the top of the bread while it is still hot from the oven.

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