Vegan Butternut Bread

This vegan butternut bread makes the perfect fall treat. It requires just 15 minutes of active kitchen preparation + a handful of simple ingredients, and it’s a total crowd-pleaser. Sweet enough to entice yet not so sweet that it can’t be served up with a slather of vegan butter and jam for breakfast!

One of my friends recommended that I start watching the Great British Baking Show (GBBS), and I’m totally hooked. I like to think that I’m doing (highly enjoyable) research on baking techniques as I watch. I mean, that’s exactly what I’m doing, right?

Right.

But really, truly it gets the wheels turning. I think about all the totally un-vegan goodies that deserve the chance to be veganized.

Oh yes, and I’m also learning new British English adjectives and terminology. Words like stodgy, sharp (to describe something tart), and brill (short for brilliant).

And also, it just really makes me crave sweets. Breads, puddings, cakes, cookies, meringues, pastries, pies, etc.

So it should come as no surprise to you or me that much of my recipe brainstorming as of late has centered totally around baked goods. Love it or hate it, you have GBBS to thank.

To make this simple one-bowl vegan butternut bread, you’ll start with a flax egg.

Whisk together a bit of ground flaxseed and some filtered water. Let the mixture rest for about five minutes, or until it thickens into a goopy, egg-like consistency.

Then, whisk in the remaining wet ingredients, including butternut squash purée (you can find canned butternut purée at Trader Joe’s), finely grated butternut squash, coconut sugar, grapeseed oil, maple syrup, and vanilla.

Once the wet mixture is ready to go, get to work on the dry ingredients.

Stir the dry ingredients, one by one, into the wet mixture.

The batter (see above) will be thick and fluffy with a deep bronzy orange hue.

Once the batter is ready, scoop it into a parchment-lined (or greased) loaf pan. If desired, sprinkle the surface with pepitas and hemp hearts for a bit of eye appeal.

Bake for 50+ minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the butternut bread cool in the pan for about 15 minutes and then transfer it to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Then, slice and enjoy all on its own or with a slather of vegan butter and jam.

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Vegan Butternut Bread

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine plant-based, Vegan

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 14 slices

Author Ashley

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 3 tablespoons filtered water
• 1 1/2 cups canned butternut squash purée (nearly an entire 15-ounce can)
• 3/4 cup peeled and finely grated butternut squash, gently packed into the cups while measuring
• 1/2 cup expeller-pressed grapeseed oil (or melted virgin coconut oil if you don't mind a coconutty taste)
• 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients

• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 1/4 cups whole spelt flour

Optional Toppings

• Pepitas, shelled hemp seeds, and/or chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 5" x 10" loaf pan with parchment paper or lightly grease it with oil.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseed and water. Let stand for 5 minutes to thicken. Then, whisk in the remaining wet ingredients (i.e., butternut squash purée, carrot, grapeseed oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla).

3. Stir in the sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and spelt flour into the wet mixture, one by one, in the order listed. Stop stirring when there are no flour patches at the bottom of the bowl. Be careful not to overmix—spelt has a delicate gluten structure, so overmixing will result in dry, crumbly bread. The batter should be quite thick and fluffy.

4. Spoon the batter into the lined loaf pan and use a spatula to gently smooth the surface.

5. If desired, garnish the top with a light sprinkling of pepitas, hemp seeds, and/or walnuts. Press down lightly to ensure they stick to the batter.

6. Bake for 50 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

7. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan, and then very carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.