Gingerbread Fig Loaf

 this month i’ve joined a “rally.” that word makes me think of monster trucks, motorcycles and old cars. (can you tell i’m from the south?) but this particular rally is stocked instead with baked goods and was the brilliant idea of shauna, the gluten free girl. you see, baking is all about science. and art. and flavors. and all of these come together by using basic ratios.

let me explain… michael ruhlman determined appropriate ratios to use when creating different recipes and shared them in this book. every baked good, gluten-free or not, has a ratio of flours to liquids to eggs to fat. these ratios are the secret keys to the recipes and give us gluten-free folks (and anyone, really) the freedom to make them ours. not only can we then know the basic backbone for the product but, as long as the ratio stays the same, the yield can be either small enough for a pair or big enough for a crowd. and the flavor profile can change as you like it.

so each month, each of us gluten-free rally-ers are working on a baked product. this month we’re taking on quick breads. the ideal ratio is 2:2:1:1. that means 2 parts flour, 2 parts liquid, 1 part egg and 1 part fat. so fill in the blanks, add some sugar, some baking powder and some other goodies like fruit, nuts and spices and you’ve got your own quick bread. obviously, it’s ever so important to work by weight when using ratios. but we started that last week, right?! (in case you missed it, check out this post about scales, weighing and flours.)

this gingerbread fig loaf is one i developed years ago before wheat flour and i broke up. it was one of my favorites and sticks out in my memory as a recipe success. plus i’m always happy to have fresh gingerbread in the house, and believe it shouldn’t be appreciated only at christmas. so i pulled it out, plugged the ingredients into the ratio, tweaked things a tiny bit, and voila… just as good as i remembered… and this time gluten free!!

just in case this ratio thing is still confusing you, i’ll explain how my gingerbread fig loaf fits into it. once again, the ratio is 2 parts flour, 2 parts liquid, 1 part egg and 1 part fat, right? therefore, my flour is 8 ounces, my liquids (applesauce & molasses) equal 8 ounces, my eggs equal 4 ounces (a large egg is 2 ounces), and my fat (the butter, of course) is 4 ounces. make sense?! this filled my 8-inch loaf pan well. if i had a larger pan or wanted to make two loaves, i could just increase the ingredients accordingly, keeping the same ratio, and it’d be golden.

i’ll admit, i’m one of those dorky people who likes things like science and chemistry and stoichiometry (plus that last one just sounds cool). but this stuff really doesn’t require advanced placement classes… just get in the kitchen and play.

silvana at silvana’s kitchen is our gracious host this month. and the super creative anile prakash designed the cool logo.

here is a list of my fellow gluten-free rally-ers and their creations:
alisha at gf mostly vegetarian made sweet potato breakfast loaf 
amie at the healthy apple made agave apricot quick bread 
britt at gluten free in the city made date & walnut bread
brooke at bell wookie made double chocolate cherry muffins
caleigh at gluten free[k] made cardamom banana bread
caroline at the g spot revolution made orange spice bread with vanilla glaze
claire at gluten freedom made piña colada muffins
danna at sweet dees gluten free made blood orange cardamom muffins 
erin at mysteries internal made strawberry yogurt muffins  
erin at the sensitive epicure made chocolate chip muffins with streusel topping 
flo at makanai made fruit puree muffins
irvin at eat the love made glazed meyer lemon muffins filled with slow roasted balsamic red wine strawberry jam 
jenn at jenn cuisine made chocolate & chesnut quickbread 
karen at cooking gluten-free made muffins
kate at gluten free gobsmacked made mocha & chocolate chip muffins 
kate at kate alice cookbook made raspberry banana crumble top muffins
lauren at celiac teen made cocoa quickbread
lisa at gluten free canteen made almond cherry berry banana muffins 
lisa at with style and grace made rosemary lemon quick bread
marla at family fresh cooking made strawberry snack cakes
mary frances at gf cooking school made cranberry orange quickbread with cream cheese icing 
meaghan at the wicked good vegan made apricot orange bread
melanie at mindful food made almond joy muffins
mrs. r at honey from flinty rocks made lemon lavender muffins with lavender sugar 
nannette at nannette raw made chai muffins 
robyn at chocswirl made brown butter apple spice muffins with pecan nut streusel
shauna at gluten free girl & the chef made lemon poppyseed bread with ginger glaze 
silvana at silvana’s kitchen made chocolate-covered marshmallow-topped vanilla
tara at a baking life made caramelized banana bread with pecan streusel
wendy at la phemme phoodie made cheesy apple butter bread 
winnie at healthy green kitchen made brown butter banana bread