Ginger-Molasses Bread with Blueberries

Recipes for baked goods, even vegan baked goods, typically include oil of some kind: canola oil, coconut oil, even margarines or shortenings. For those of us attempting to avoid all added oil in our diets, the dessert and bread categories can be quite challenging. This cookbook contains 12 recipes for quick beads, and all but one, "Ginger-Molasses Bread with Blueberries" (page 404) contain oil. I wondered briefly if this was an inadvertent omission, but soon enough I just celebrated the fact that the recipe as written was oil free! The unique combination of ingredients does result in an extra moist bread, and is likely the reason no oil was included. Flour, sugar and cornmeal are mixed with a blend of molasses and soured soymilk (to produce a buttermilk effect), ginger provides a mellow zing, and blueberries (fresh, frozen, or dried) add flavor and another level of complexity. This bread was delightful, and quite reminiscent of old-fashioned ginger bread. I was thinking next time I might make a lemon sauce to drizzle on top.

 

"Keeping it McDougall Friendly" checklist:

ü Instead of all-purpose (white) flour, use either whole wheat pastry flour, another whole grain flour, or a blend of whole wheat and white flour.