Gluten-Free Corn Breads – 1 Quick, 1 Yeasted

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease an 8-inch by 4-inch by 4-inch Pyrex glassware loaf pan. If not allergic to dairy, use organic butter from pastured cows. If you prefer to avoid dairy, use coconut oil.

Roast pumpkin seeds for Topping

• Toss ½ cup of organic pumpkin seeds with 1 tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil and ½ teaspoon of each of the following spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne pepper plus ¼ teaspoon sea salt.
• Spread evenly over a cookie sheet and roast at 225 degrees F for 5-10 minutes, until toasted. Keep an eye on them while roasting as seeds can quickly burn.

While your pumpkin seeds are roasting

• Add the 3 tablespoons of chia seeds to ½ cup of water, so they will be soaking while you get the rest of your ingredients ready.
• In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir to mix well.
• In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Add the chia seeds last, so they have around 10 minutes soaking to become fully glutinous. Stir to mix well. Then one cup at a time, mix in the dry ingredients.
• Pour the batter into your greased bread pan, top with a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds, lightly pressing them into the dough with a spoon. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease an 8-inch by 4-inch by 4-inch Pyrex glassware loaf pan.

Roast pumpkin seeds for Topping

• Toss ½ cup of organic pumpkin seeds with 1 tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil and ½ teaspoon of each of the following spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne pepper plus ¼ teaspoon sea salt.
• Spread evenly over a cookie sheet and roast at 225 degrees F for 5-10 minutes, until toasted. Keep an eye on them while roasting as seeds can quickly burn.

While your pumpkin seeds are roasting

• Soak 3 tablespoons of chia seeds in ½ cup of water for 10 minutes.
• While the chia seeds soak, lightly grease an 8-inch by 4-inch by 4-inch Pyrex glassware loaf pan. If not allergic to dairy, use organic butter from pastured cows. If you prefer to avoid dairy, use coconut oil.
• Next, in a large bowl, combine your yeast mixture (the wet ingredients).
• In 3-5 minutes, the yeast will begin to feed on the maple syrup and foam will appear.
• While you’re waiting for this magic to happen, combine your dry ingredients.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the following dry ingredients and gently whisk together to combine evenly.
• Now add the chia seeds with their soaking liquid to the yeast mixture. Then mix in your combined dry ingredients, a cup at a time, into the yeast mixture, mixing after each addition. Mix all ingredients together until you have a soft dough; this will happen within just a couple of minutes.
• Once your soft dough has formed, use a spatula to guide and pour the batter-like bread dough into your prepared loaf pan. Smooth the surface, so the dough is evenly spread, and no open air pockets remain along the bottom sides of the loaf pan. Top the dough with a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds, lightly pressing them in with a spoon.
• Cover the loaf pan with a damp dishtowel and place it somewhere warm until the dough rises to the top of the pan—this takes 45 minutes to 1 hour. I use my toaster oven to let the dough rise, and set it on Warm, which is 120 degrees.
• Once the dough has risen, use a knife to lightly slash the loaf along the side. Scoring the loaf along the length of the pan will allow air to escape as the bread is baking. I often forget to do this, and have had no problems, but it’s a good idea to err on the side of safety here.
• Put the loaf back into your toaster oven and set it to BAKE at 350 degrees for 1 hour. The first time you bake this bread, check the loaf after 45-50 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a knife or long wooden skewer into your bread. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, you need to bake for an additional 10 – 15 minutes.
• Or place the loaf in your oven and bake at 350 degrees, testing after 1 hour. My toaster oven runs hotter than my large oven, and typically takes 1 hour to completely bake this cornbread, while my oven takes 10-15 minutes longer. Every oven is slightly different, so yours may bake more slowly or more quickly at this temperature. (You can check your oven’s actual temperature by using an inexpensive oven thermometer.)
• If the top looks browned, cover with oiled parchment paper for the remaining baking time. Once you know how quickly your oven is baking, you can make a note and bake all future Corn Bread loaves for this amount of time.
• Remove your bread from the oven and place the loaf, still in the pan, on a rack to cool. Once your cornbread has cooled, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, take a knife and go around the edges of the pan to ensure the loaf is free, turn the pan over, and your bread should easily drop out. Place the loaf back on the rack and let it finish cooling completely (about another 15 minutes).  Slice and ENJOY!