This lemon poppy seed loaf is not only vegan and sugar-free but it’s also gluten-free! I usually don’t do gluten free baking, in fact I tend to stay clear of it. It’s so different from normal baking and even more difficult when I’m trying to also make something vegan and sugar free. I always just thought it was too hard so I never really bothered. But I actually managed to pull it off and made a vegan, sugar free, gluten free lemon and poppy seed loaf which actually tastes good and still has a nice springy and moist (yes I said it, let’s move on) texture. 

My motivation? No wheat flour. It’s been so difficult to find lately and I know a lot of other people are having the same problem so I thought now might be the time to try my hand at gluten free baking.

I didn’t have gluten free flour in the house (well actually that’s a lie, I did but I didn’t remember until after I’d made this) so I made my own flour from rice and oats. If you’ve never done it before it’s super easy, just put some raw rice into a blender or food processor and blend until it turns into a fine flour. Same with oats. Xanthan gum is a vital ingredient in gluten free baking, or so that’s what google told me, and it seems to be correct. Around 1tsp per cup of flour helps bind everything together and gives it some elasticity which is missing without gluten. I also found that adding a bit more liquid helps, again for binding, hence the large number of eggs (vegan replacement) and the tablespoon extra of margarine. 

For this recipe I used Natvia sweetener which I’ve discovered is a lot sweeter than some other brands. So 1/2c was good for Natvia, but if you’re using another brand you may need to add more or less. My suggestion would be to taste the batter once it’s all mixed together – totally safe as it’s vegan – and add more if you think it needs it. However in saying that I haven’t tried this recipe with a different brand of sweetener so can’t guarantee it’ll work the same. But please let me know if you do try a different brand and how it turned out in the comments!

For the egg replacer have a go at using my Flaxseed vegan egg replacer

You’ll find this doesn’t have a huge rise, it’s a lot shorter than most loaves but it’s not dense and is still nice and light and airy.