Gluten Free Date Bread With Coffee And Ginger
I have been thinking about date bread (and specifically gluten free date bread with coffee and ginger in it) for a few weeks. And now I have an awesome Gluten-Free Date Bread to share with you!
Table of contents
Why We Love This Gluten Free Date Bread
Once I realized that I didn’t have my own healthy date bread recipe I started thinking about how I could make it super special. Oh, I know! I could make it with coffee to soften the dates and give it rich flavor without extra calories.
Next came some candied ginger, because did you know that candied ginger and dates are like totally BFFs? Then I decided I should definitely make it friendly to all of my peeps out there who are gluten-free.
And after a few tests I have a delicious and extra special date bread of my own to share with you. Gobble it up my friends!
Key Ingredients For This Recipe
Medjool Dates
Medjool dates are a fresh fruit that can be found in the produce section of the grocery store. They have a caramel flavor and a soft chewy texture unlike dried dates, which are smaller and much firmer and sweeter. They are a little higher in calories, but are packed with antioxidants, nutrients and fiber
Coffee
Coffee is used to soften the dates. The bitterness of the coffee complements the sweetness of the dates and adds a balanced richness to the bread.
Brown Rice Flour and Almond Flour
Brown rice flour and almond flour are great for gluten free baking. Brown rice flour is stone ground from high quality whole grain brown rice and has a nutty flavor. Almond flour is made from ground almonds, is low in carbs and has a slightly sweet flavor.
Candied Ginger
Candied ginger is made from gingerroot that has been cooked until soft and then lightly coated in sugar. It has a chewy texture and a spicy sweet flavor.
Additional Ingredients
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted if necessary
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger, sifted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chopped toasted pecans
Step By Step Instructions For This Gluten Free Date Bread
Step 1: Combine the dates and coffee.
Place halved dates in blender pitcher. Pour coffee over the dates and let sit until 70 to 90 degrees, about 30 minutes.
Step 2: Preheat oven and prepare the pan.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.
Step 3: Puree the dates and coffee and add remaining wet ingredients.
Puree dates and coffee until smooth. Add egg, coconut oil, honey and vanilla and puree until smooth.
Step 4: Combine dry ingredients, add date mixture, fold in remaining ingredients and transfer to pan.
Whisk rice flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger and salt in a large bowl. Break up any clumps. Pour in date mixture. Stir until completely smooth and moist. Fold in pecans, chopped dates and candied ginger. Transfer to the prepared loaf pan.
Step 5: Bake, cool and serve.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only moist crumbs attached, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool on rack in pan about an hour. Turn out and let cool completely before slicing.
FAQs and Expert Tips
This date bread can be kept well wrapped at room temperature for 2-3 days. It can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Yes, with their subtly sweet caramel flavor they are one of the best substitutes for highly processed sugar.
Gluten free baked goods can often be dry, so adding adding additional butter, oil and/or fruit purees can help add moisture to the final product.
Serving Suggestions For Gluten-free Date Bread
- For breakfast serve this Gluten-free date bread with Veggie Scrambled Eggs
- Pair with a cup of tea or coffee for an afternoon snack
- Enjoy the date bread with a little protein in the form of Greek Yogurt
Additional Gluten Free Baking Recipes To Try
- “Brownies masquerading as cookies” is the description for these gluten free buckwheat chocolate cookies.
- This gluten-free applesauce bundt snack cake is one of those recipes I have made over and over again.
- This gluten-free Peach Blueberry Crisp is high in Omega-3 fatty acids and sweetened with maple sugar!
- Get ready to try this gluten-free breakfast bread perfect for toasting, to have with preserves or an egg. Yum!!
- Don’t miss this Maple syrup sweetened gluten-gree clafoutis with Italian Prune Plums baked in a cast iron skillet.
- Try healthy Carrot Banana Bread next time you are in a baking mood.
- You may forget who you are and where you are, and all your worries for a moment when these Gluten-free Maple White Chocolate Blondies come out of your oven.
- I love this recipe for gluten-free sweet potato praline mini bundt cakes and I am so happy you’ll get to try them too!
- This skinny flourless chocolate cake will satisfy your deep dark chocolate cravings with only 217 calories per serving.
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintGluten Free Date Bread with Coffee and Ginger
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Description
Gluten-free date bread with brown rice flour and almond meal. Sweetened and studded with soft Medjool dates and flavored with coffee and ginger.
Ingredients
- 1 cup halved/pitted soft Medjool Dates (about 5 1/4 ounces, pitted)
- 1 cup hot coffee, can be decaf
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted if necessary
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1 cup almond flour, any clumps broken up
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
- 1/2 cup pitted chopped soft Medjool dates
- 1/4 cup chopped soft candied ginger
Instructions
- Place halved dates in blender pitcher. Pour coffee over the dates and let sit until 70 to 90 degrees, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Puree dates and coffee until smooth. Add egg, coconut oil, honey and vanilla and puree until smooth.
- Whisk rice flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger and salt in a large bowl. Break up any clumps. Pour in date mixture. Stir until completely smooth and moist. Fold in pecans, chopped dates and candied ginger. Transfer to the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only moist crumbs attached, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool on rack in pan about an hour. Turn out and let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
How to store bread:
This date bread can be kept well wrapped at room temperature for 2-3 days. It can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Snack
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 241
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
Hi, I called for the rice and almond flour to improve the texture. The rice flour is more stable less crumbly than the almond flour since it has starch in it, so if you had to choose one over the other, I would choose rice. Because it is more starchy you would need less of it than the almond flour. Having not tested it before, this is a guess, but I would start off by increasing the rice flour to 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon and drop the almond flour off completely.
Hi,
Recipe looks good. You listed 2 types of flour. Is it necessary to have them both? What will happen if I only use 1 type of flour? Thanks.
Gluten Free Date Bread Please tell me where I can find mejool dates or can I use another kind? Can you tell me another kind I can get. I want to serve this bread at my next get-together with the girls. “Awesome”
Medjool dates are really lovely and soft, unlike the type that comes in a box pre-chopped and coated with sugar. Most often they are in the produce department at good supermarkets or at a health food store. Sometimes you can find them in the bulk section of a health food store, or with the natural dried fruits.
So you would not recommend substituting deglet noor dates?
I prefer the thinner skin and creamy interior of the Medjool dates for baking recipes, though if you have deglet noor that is fine. Let me know how you like it.
This looks wonderful. I can’t wait to try it.
Do you have any suggestions as to what I could use instead of coconut oil? Thanks.
Valerie, So sorry it has taken me so long to reply. Coconut is solid at room temperature, so you’ll want to substitute another saturated fat for it. I would recommend using half melted unsalted butter and half organic canola oil.
Always looking for recipes that I think will work salt free. This one was great!!! Thanks
I am so so happy to hear you liked it Phyll! Thank you so much for reporting back, and great tip about omitting the salt!
I made this yesterday. Its DELICIOUS !!!
thank you so much for sharing. I think I will make it for gifts for xmas 🙂
I am going to make it for Christmas too Bree. I am so so so glad to hear back from you. I really appreciate it, and I am so glad you liked it!
Hi Katie,
I want to try to make this tomorrow, but don’t have any brown rice flour and my son’s teacher is deathly allergic to nuts. I do have some coconut flour (but have found it more confusing to bake with) and oat flour. Do you think the oat flour will do?
That’s a tough one Jamie, but I think you happen to have everything you need. Oat flour tends to really soak up a lot of liquid, and can come out gummy if it is too wet. Coconut flour on the other hand can be brittle at times, so I think a 50/50 ratio of both will be a great combo. Plus the flavor of the coconut flour will be even better. I would use 2 1/3 cups total, because both of these flours are more absorbent than the above combo. Having not tested it myself, it is hard to say for sure, so please let me know how it comes out. PS. Make sure you let it cool completely before slicing.
Hi Katie! What a yummy recipe and blog 🙂 Made this with boiling water instead of coffee (I was feeling lazy) and it was delicious! But I’m sure coffee would have enhanced the color as well as the flavor. I have a Helsinki, Finland based food blog (in Finnish) where I emphasize gluten free baking whenever possible – would you mind me posting the translated recipe there with links to your original of course? Thanks for inspiration!
Thank you so much Heini. I really appreciate you kind words and I am so glad you liked the recipe. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your asking permission about this recipe. I am not sure how the whole translation thing works, but my policy is that I ask that the recipe not be republished. Because I make my living by selling my recipes, I cannot allow unpaid licensing. If you would like further clarification please feel free to email me at katie AT healthyseasonalrecipes DOT com.
Yum! Looks great. I’m going to make this for my mom. Thanks for sharing!:)
I hope she likes it Puja.
Katie,
I really want to try this but the kids REALLY don’t like coffee. Any substitute suggestions?
Dom
I would try eiher hot apple cider or boiling water.
Wow, it looks great for a gluten-free bread!
Thanks so much Mireya! And thanks for stopping by.
This sounds SO GOOD. I feel like I can almost smell it wafting through the screen! I am in love with dates, and have never thought of putting them in bread before. Such a wonderful idea, Katie!
Thanks Eva. It does smell great in person for sure. I love dates too:)
First of all, I love that your daughter wants a tea party! Second of all, this bread looks 100% perfect! Love, love, love!!
I have to admit I was pretty excited my daughter wanted a tea party too. Thanks so much Ari.
Oh, how I wish I had a slice of this to eat right now as I sip my coffee. Anything with candied ginger and I’m totally in. 🙂
Ha! I am thinking the exact same thing. I am saving it for the party though.
This looks delicious! I love using candied ginger, but I’ve never tried a gluten-free bread like this. And great pictures, too!
GF baking is not as scary as it seems. Because there is no gluten, the batter doesn’t get overworked easily like some quick bread can. Thanks so much David!!!