Vegan Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Bread
Moist, rich, and not-too-sweet, this satisfying quick bread is a perfect addition to a special brunch or makes a nourishing snack or dessert.
Ingredients
4 oz cacao
1 ½ cup rolled oats
½ whole wheat or gluten-free flour variety*
3/4 cup packed brown sugar OR 1 cup raw turbinado sugar
2 very ripe bananas mashed OR ½ cup applesauce
1 Tbsp coconut oil, softened
¾ cup water
1 Tbsp orange juice, apple cider vinegar, or kombucha
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
Generous dash of spices--ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or cardamom
Coconut oil or non-hydrogenated palm oil or ghee (just enough to grease the pan)
*If you opt for a nut-based flour like almond or coconut, decrease the amount to ½ cup. Your bread will have a higher protein content but come out more dense. For a lighter texture, try spelt or quinoa flour (available from Bob's Red Mill. At Sueño de Vida in Ecuador, we use plantain flour, which is wonderfully light and versatile. Look for it online or at Latino markets or in the "Hispanic Foods" aisle of your grocery store.
Utensils
Mortar and pestle OR coffee grinder OR food processor
1 large mixing bowl
Large spoon
Fork
8×8 baking pan
Cooling rack
Directions
Grind the cacao beans in a coffee grinder, food processor, or by hand with a mortar & pestle until pasty. Put the cacao paste in a large bowl.
Add the sugar and spices and stir lightly to mix.
Add 1 ½ cups quick rolled oats and stir to mix. Heat up ¾ cup of water until very hot but not boiling and add to the bowl. Stir with a spoon until you have smooth dark chocolatey oatmeal
Allow the mixture to cool down to just warm. In the meantime, get your other ingredients organized and turn on the oven to 350° F.
Incorporate two very ripe mashed bananas OR ½ cup applesauce and 1 Tbsp softened coconut oil into the cooled cacao oatmeal mixture. Mix all ingredients with a few decisive strokes of the spoon (over-mixing makes less tender bread).
Toss the flour, salt, and baking powder lightly on top of the batter and stir the dry ingredients lightly with a fork. You CAN mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl like most baking recipes dictate, but why get more things dirty?
Grease your baking pan and get it ready to go in the oven.
Ok, now the secret touch. Pour 2 tbsp orange juice OR apple cider vinegar OR kombucha on top of the dry ingredients and immediately incorporate ALL of the ingredients with as few strokes of your big mixing spoon as possible. The batter will foam and "poof up" as the acid from the OJ, vinegar, or kombucha mixes with the alkaline of the baking powder.
Quickly, while the batter is still poofing up, pour it into your greased pan and put it on the middle rack of the pre-heated oven.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a fork inserted in the top comes out clean.
Kristen Krash is the co-founder and director of Sueño de Vida, a regenerative cacao farm and reforestation mission in Ecuador. Sueño de Vida works to educate and inspire everyday people about permaculture, sustainable living, environmental activism and healthy living all in the name of living more in harmony with nature to create a better world for us all.
You can support the Sueño de Vida mission today by purchasing our cacao or contributing to direct reforestation.
Thank you.
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