This delectable holiday bread is gluten-free, dairy-free, and packed with protein, iron and vitamins. But don’t tell you family and friends and they will never know this dessert is good for them!
Baking with lentils is one of my favorite things! I discovered this baking secret when I was trying to develop recipes for my family while working around a long list of food restrictions. That list is much shorter now, but I still bake with lentils because they are packed with nutrition and give an awesome texture to gluten-free foods. A serving of lentils contains 330% of your daily molybdenum, 90% of your folate, plus lots of protein, fiber, copper, phosphorus, manganese, iron, potassium, zinc and B vitamins. Blackstrap molasses are a nutrition-packed sweetener, full of iron, calcium, copper, manganese, magnesium, selenium and B6. The color of the bread will vary based on the brand of molasses. Many come out deep chocolate brown. This batch is a lighter golden color.
Soaking lentils (overnight or up to 3 days) in water makes it much easier for your body to digest them and absorb their vital nutrients. This is how lentils have been prepared for thousands of years in cultures across the globe. Soaking also makes them soft and easy to blend into a batter. After soaking, rinse them well, drain, and then use immediately or store in the refrigerator for later use.
Recipe:
1 cup soaked lentils (measured after soaking, rinsing, and draining)
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled or unpeeled
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup water
½ cup unsulfured blackstrap molasses (this is the kind packed with nutrition)
1/3 cup raw honey
1 t cinnamon or 2 drops cinnamon essential oil
½ t Real Utah Salt or pink Himalayan salt
2 t baking powder (recipe here)
2 eggs (or substitute 1 T ground flax and 3 T water-learn more here)
1 cup whole grain flour (rice, wheat, etc)
Instructions:
In a blender combine the lentils, ginger, olive oil, water, molasses, and honey. Blend on high for 30 seconds or until liquefied. Add the cinnamon, salt, baking powder, eggs, and flour. Blend briefly, just until combined. Pour into 12 muffin cups or mini loaf molds. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees, until the centers are firm to the touch. Enjoy!
I can’t figure out what degrees to bake these on, can you please help me with these. Thanks
Can powdered ginger be used in place of fresh…and if so, how much?
Yes, but I haven’t tried it. I would estimate using about 1/3 the amount of fresh ginger.
Looks amazing! I’m excited to try this. You don’t list a temperature…should I just assume 350 degrees?
Just finished making these. I doubled the recipe because I had extra lentils and knew I would want lots 🙂 Baked for 32 minutes at 350 and they are amazing. They were really easy to make thanks to the blender doing all the work. They taste great, are nice and moist and I love that they are packed full of nutrition too! We’ll be enjoying this for breakfasts and snacks if we manage to not eat all of them tonight. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
What temperature are these baked at?
350 degrees. Thanks!
Does it matter what type of lentils you use? Red, green, white?
Not in the gingerbread. With lighter colored baked goods the red lentils work better, but in this the color of the green ones wouldn’t be a problem!