the gluten-free banana bread: brown rice flour

Prep time: 15 minutes

Bake time: 45-55 minutes

Serves: 10-14

Banana bread is a classic.

It's a timeless treat that probably has a 'new' rendition created every day - enter the recipe below. But what bothers me about banana bread is that people make it look ridiculously easy to make. I'll read a recipe that sounds something like "Just throw in a little flour, a touch of sugar, fat, add some baking powder, & if you'd like, maybe a few walnuts; pop it in the oven & call it a day." Hah.

Gluten-free, dairy-free banana bread

Let's be real.

Have you ever made a loaf of banana bread that came out of the oven as flat as it was when you put it in? Yep. A flat, sad, soggy loaf of banana bread. Nearly every recipe I tried to create would turn out this way. It'd be overly gooey so I'd compensate by adding more flour... a bad idea.

Instead, it just took on the flavor of the flour. So really, I ended up with almond bread. Or oat bread. Or in this case, brown rice bread - tasty.

This was about the time I realized that baking is truly a science. The ratio of dry ingredients to wet ingredients must be complementary. And as for how much baking powder to add? Another mystery.

So this recipe is the result of trial & error. Many, many months of it. And to be honest, I'll probably come back & make some edits. But for now, I'm happy. It's the best gluten-free banana bread recipe I've come up with thus far. One that rose effortlessly & tasted delicious, I hope you think so too.

considerations

To make vegan: Replace the eggs with 3 large flax eggs (1 egg = 3 heaping Tbsp's flax mixed with 2 Tbsps water)

Oil: Could substitute the olive oil with coconut oil or a 50/50 combo of coconut oil & butter - I haven't personally tried these but find the combination of coconut oil & ghee to create a pretty phenomenal texture.

Baking: It's a long bake, I recommend 45-55 minutes but it will likely take longer. Use the ol' knife test & see if it comes out clean. If not, continue baking in 3-5 minute intervals, depending on how goey it is. I've had to bake this for an hour before, every oven is different. That said, no one likes overbaked banana bread. If it comes out just shy of clean, take it out of the oven & let it cool completely in the pan.

ingredients

Dry:

3/4 c walnuts, chopped

1 1/2 c brown rice flour

3/4 c tapioca flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3/4 tsp sea salt

Wet:

3 ripe bananas

1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

1/2 c coconut sugar (I typically add this with the wet ingredients but it doesn't matter too much)

1/3 c maple syrup

3 eggs

1/2 Tbsp vanilla

steps

Preheat oven to 350F

Chop the walnuts & set aside.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients together in a separate, medium-sized bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture & stir together until there are no dry pieces remaining.

Line a loaf tin with parchment paper, or grease with coconut oil / ghee / olive oil then pour the batter into the pan & top with flaky sea salt.

Bake for about 45-55min *SEE CONSIDERATIONS

Let it cool completely.

Highly recommend serving with ghee / butter, a drizzle of honey, & a sprinkle of flaky salt

enjoy,

kenn