Gluten Free Banana Bread

Banana Bread. I love banana bread when it is really moist and you can taste the bananas! If a banana bread is really good...you don't need to dress it up with butter, cream cheese or frosting. It is perfect all by itself! I have always loved my mom's recipe for banana bread. It is simple, delicious and very moist! I like it with or without nuts. You can also add extra items like coconut, chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries, etc. I usually just keep it basic. Most people prefer it simple. I like simple & casual.You can also dress up banana bread and use it with fresh strawberries in place of shortcake. Yeah, the combination is absolutely delicious! :)

It was a difficult recipe for me to convert to gluten free. I just couldn't get the texture right. It was either too moist (almost mushy) or too dry and crumbly. I am the type of person that if it doesn't taste like the original recipe when I convert it to gluten free...it isn't right. I will keep experimenting until I get it right...which sometimes takes a lot of experimenting in the kitchen! Sometimes I have to think "outside the box" to get the correct texture and deviate slightly from the original recipe so that it looks, tastes and the texture is like the original recipe.

We recently went to Maui for my brother's wedding. During the "road trip to Hana", we saw a lot of advertisements for the BEST BANANA BREAD EVER. Of course we stopped and my brothers paid $7 each for small loaves of banana bread just so they could try it. Everyone in the group tried the bread (except me because it wasn't gluten free) and they decided that although it was quite tasty...it didn't compare to my mom's recipe. They suggested that my mom move to Maui and open her own banana bread shop!

I will also mention that this banana bread also makes delicious French Toast and bread pudding. (If you have any leftovers! The only time I ever have enough leftovers to make these... is if I have a huge case of very ripe bananas that I picked up on sale and made a bunch of banana bread!) My co-workers love it when I make banana bread and bring it into the office. Nothing tastes better with a good cup of coffee than a slice of moist banana bread!

First, I will give you my mom's original recipe for the banana bread and then I will give you my gluten free version which I had to change some of the ingredients to give it the texture and flavor of the original recipe. I tried just substituting the gluten free flour for the regular flour but it didn't rise quite the same and tended to be either slightly dry (and sometimes crumbly) or a little too moist and sticky. Don't get me wrong...it was still decent but it wasn't PERFECT. I wanted my gluten free recipe to taste as close to the original as possible! Of course if you don't have a gluten allergy, you can make my mom's original recipe (or my gf version) using regular flour!

Mom's Original Banana Bread Recipe: (Not gluten free. My gluten free recipe is below)

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3-4 ripe bananas (bananas should have black spots on the peels but shouldn't be completely black and overly mushy)
•  1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup butter, soft but not melted (or substitute 70% fat margarine or Crisco)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Mash the bananas until fairly smooth. Beat in the soft butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. Gradually add in the baking soda, salt and flour. Don't over-mix or your bread can turn out tough. Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan or a small bundt pan. (I like to use the small bundt pan or you can double the recipe and use a regular sized bundt pan). Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven (Yes, only 325...NOT 350 degrees!) for 55-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Baking times will vary depending on your oven and altitude. Check it at 55 minutes and keep adding 5 minutes until done.


My Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe:

• 1 1/4 cup gluten free flour blend (I don't use the ones that contain sorghum because I think it makes my baked sweets taste funky).
• 1/4 tsp. xanthum gum or guar gum (do not add if your gluten free flour already contains it!)
• 1 cup sugar (I use raw GMO free sugar)
• 2 eggs (I had to add an additional egg to give it the volume it needed. The original recipe only calls for 1 egg)
• 3-4 ripe bananas (bananas should have black spots on the peels)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda (I increased the baking soda by 1/2 tsp.)
• 2 tbs. soft butter or 70% fat margarine (soft but not melted)
• 1/4 cup of cream cheese (believe it or not, this gave it the texture and volume I needed and it didn't alter the flavor. It actually enhanced the banana flavor! I actually used the reduced fat cream cheese).
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Mash the bananas until fairly smooth. Beat in the soft butter, cream cheese, sugar and eggs. Add the vanilla. Gradually add the salt, baking soda and flour. (Add the xanthum gum if your gluten free flour mix doesn't contain it). Don't over-mix, stir until just combined. Stir in nuts if you are adding them. Spread into a greased 9x5 loaf pan or a small bundt pan (double the recipe for a regular sized bundt pan). Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven (Yes, it is NOT 350 degrees like most recipes!) for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Baking times will vary depending on your oven and altitude. Check at the 55 minutes and keep adding 5 minutes until done.

Sorry my pictures didn't turn out great. I will try to get some better pictures of the banana bread. Seems like everyone wants to munch on it as soon as it cools slightly so I didn't get the camera fast enough!

Enjoy!
Tanja
Gluten Free Casually