Foodie Fridays: Spiced Pumpkin Chickpea Flour Bread

I have been looking for recipes that will help me lower carbohydrates in my diet, and recently baked a quick bread with chickpea flour instead of wheat flour.  I found a recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Bread by Camilla Saulsbury, author of The Chickpea Flour Cookbook (2015), and had to give it a try, as I had just made my first ever batch of homemade pumpkin purée from two small pumpkins I bought for the fall holidays.  The only change I made to the recipe was to reduce the amount of sugar, as I am attempting to keep sugar consumption to a bare minimum (it was not easy giving up the honey in my morning tea, let me tell you, but I've finally succeeded, and only miss it occasionally).

While my husband did not especially care for it, I actually enjoyed this bread, and it was perfect for breakfast.  Next time I will not put so many pumpkin seeds on the top, as they made it harder to slice the bread.  I also learned the hard way that it is best to refrigerate this bread first before slicing to keep it from crumbling (the texture is similar to that of cornbread).  I am ready to make more foods with chickpea flour now, and I purchased Saulsbury's book to try more of her recipes (Chickpea Beer Bread is next!).

Spiced Pumpkin Chickpea Flour Bread

1 1/2 C. chickpea flour
2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 C. pumpkin purée
2 T. sugar
1 T. molasses
1/2 C. coconut oil, melted and cooled
1/3 C. raw pumpkin seeds

In a large bowl, stir together the first five ingredients.  In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except for the pumpkin seeds.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just blended.

Line a 5x9-inch loaf pan with two pieces of foil, leaving a two-inch overhang on all four sides.  Spray the foil with cooking spray and spread the batter evenly in the pan. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds evenly over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.  Holding the foil overhang, remove the bread from the pan and place on the wire rack to cool completely.  Cover and refrigerate until firm before slicing.  Makes one loaf.

Notes: I put too many pumpkin seeds on the top of the bread, which interfered with slicing, and  found that it sliced better if I turned the loaf upside down!  I also added some pumpkin seeds to the batter before baking, but you can leave them out.  The original recipe calls for 3/4 C. sugar and no molasses, so use the amount and type of sweetener you prefer.  Also, vegetable oil or butter (melted and cooled) can be used instead of coconut oil.