Healthy Cinnamon Raisin Bread - Gluten Free
One day I will learn moderation.
One day.
But not any day soon…
I am running a half marathon in a few weeks, which means I had to fit a few weekends of 10 milers in, like pronto.
A runner is definitely part of who I am, but I am not the person who trains diligently, rests, and does all that I read in Runner’s World Magazine that you are supposed to do. Like may of my fellow runners out there, I run because I love it to death…but then I go about my day as if I didn’t just run 10 miles. It allows me to continue with my craziness without the normal people around me batting an eye.
With my long run down, the weekend was not over. I then went about making not one, but FOUR batches of this bread over two days. Then, I tweaked it a little more and made another loaf the following week for the win. Moderation? hah.
Yeah, you could say that I am really into this Cinnamon Raisin Bread.
You gotta try it!
This bread calls for brown rice flour which gives the bread a really neat texture and it is gluten free. It is hearty, a little crumbly, and is great toasted or at room temperature.
Plus it has greek yogurt, cinnamon, applesauce, and flaxseed… just some hidden health perks in this moist and sweet bread.
MY SECRET: Soaking the raisins in the hot water before you put them in the batter is key! The raisins will plump up. It really makes a difference.
Also, I like to throw in more raisins than my recipe calls for. I always seem to go overboard. But it is always totally worth it.
Especially here.
TIP: If you don’t want to use brown-rice flour, you can use whole-wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread - Gluten Free
- 1/3 cup nonfat greek yogurt (or ¼ cup vegetable oil)
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¼ cups brown rice flour
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed (optional, it still works without it)
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- dash of salt
- 3/4 cup all-natural raisins, rehydrated (soak raisins in a bowl of very hot/boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes)
- ½ cup skim milk
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- Topping: 1-2 tablespoons butter, 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1-2 tablespoons white sugar, sprinkle of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon brown rice flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. coat a 9x5 bread loaf pan, or 2 smaller pans with non-stick spray.
For the bread: In a medium bowl, stir in the yogurt and sugar with a wooden spoon until combined. Stir in the egg. The mixture will be thick. Add in the flour and baking soda, powder, cinnamon, and dash of salt. Again, it will be very thick, do not worry.
Stir in the milk and applesaucse until combined. Fold in the raisins.
Pour the batter into a bread pan.
Topping: Combine the topping ingredients in a small bowl and with a fork, mash it all together (or use your clean hands), until the butter is incorporated . Add more or less sugars and flours as you desired. Sprinkle on top of the batter in the bread pan. Use as much as you would like.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes. Take out and let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Use a knife to go around the edges of the pan and remove. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.
I wrap this bread in plastic wrap or put it in a container and store it in the fridge.
My favorite way to eat this bread = I slice it, toast it, spritz it with “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” spray butter, and then sprinkle with lots and lots of cinnamon and sugar.
Yes. I must put even more cinnamon sugar on top of the cinnamon bread.
Duh.