oh, as usual dear. We have a fairly new receptionist (although she prefers to be called "Customer Experience Specialist") who's set up the phone system so that unless she or someone picks up an incoming call, if you don't know the extension of the person you're calling, you can't leave a message. There's no way to leave a voicemail on the main number; we supposedly have a directory, but I found out that it doesn't work.

We're moving soon and in a meeting to discuss the kinds of things people would like to have, she suggested having music piped through the office. Everyone else thought it was a horrible idea - possibly the worst - so it looks like that's not going to happen.

Seriously - what goes on in some people's minds?

Paging Teppy! I think I've seen you rave about a pumpkin bread that you make. I'm pretty sure it's gluten free, and as such I'm hoping you've either shared the recipe here before and could point me to the post or would be willing to share it again. We've got a potluck at work next Monday and I'd like to bring a gluten free bakery product. We've got a significant number of folks with gluten problems at work and I never see any gluten free offerings when there are cakes/cookies/pies/etc.

I may have posted it in Natter. Let me look. It requires that you buy gluten-free flour or baking mix or something; it's not just magically free of grains.

Pumpkin Bread

1 1/2 c. flour -- you need a gluten-free all-purpose flour here
1 c. pumpkin (if you use fresh pumpkin, omit the 1/4 cup of water listed below, because fresh has a higher water content)
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
(for the last 4 ingredients, you could just swap in 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice mix if you have it)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the ingredients together. Grease a loaf pan, pour batter in. Sprinkle with cinnamon on top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

You can add in chopped nuts, dried cranberries, or chocolate chips as your heart desires.

Alternatively, if your heart is not set on pumpkin bread, the easiest gluten-free route, especially for someone who hasn't baked anything GF before, is to just get one of the gluten-free Betty Crocker mixes. (There is a brownie mix -- which is excellent -- as well as yellow cake and chocolate cake mixes, which are also very good. There's also a mix for chocolate chip cookies, but I haven't tried it, so I don't know how they turn out.)

Thanks, Tep! I thought I'd buy gluten-free flour for this, do you have one you'd recommend? Or are they all pretty similar when it comes down to it?

I thought I'd buy gluten-free flour for this, do you have one you'd recommend? Or are they all pretty similar when it comes down to it?

They are definitely NOT all similar -- different AP GF flours are going to be made of different flour blends (beans, sorgum, rice, potato, tapioca, etc.), in different proportions, and they don't all taste the same or bake up the same.

The one you're most likely to find is Bob's Red Mill. I'm not crazy about it because it's a bean flour blend and can impart a funky taste to some things (but for a pumpkin bread, probably the flavor of pumpkin will overpower the funky taste). In my experience, Bob's Red Mill doesn't quite work as a 1:1 swap with wheat flour, despite the fact that it claims to.

Better Batter GF flour is excellent, but not always easy to find, and kind of expensive.

Gluten-Free Pantry all-purpose flour is...disappointing. I've made stuff with it the last couple of weeks and it just doesn't do what I need it to do.

I'd say go with the Bob's Red Mill, because the pumpkin flavor and spices should be what stands out, over the taste of the flour.

Actually, now that I think about it, Bob's Red Mill AP GF flour might not have xanthan or guar gum in it, and if it doesn't, you're going to need to add one of those to the bread recipe, and xanthan gum is *really* expensive (seriously -- like $10), which doesn't seem worth it if you're not going to be baking GF on a regular basis.

Maybe look for Better Batter GF flour. It has xanthan gum in it. I know Whole Foods carries it.

Or Betty Crocker GF brownies.

Poopy on them, Ginger.

Totally marking that recipe, Steph.

Totally marking that recipe, Steph.

It's originally a gluten-ful recipe, so if you make it as is with regular wheat flour, it turns out beautifully.

God DAMN, now I am hungry!

Oh, right, I nabbed that recipe after Steph posted it in Natter and it turned out beautifully! I threw in some nuts and raisins.