Bananas for this Bread

Bananas have been on sale at the grocery store these past couple of weeks, so of course I’ve picked them up every visit. Needless to say, we have enough bananas to last us a month! When we have a bunch of bananas, too many to eat before they go bad, I make a quick bread.  By the time I get around to making bread the bananas are more brown than yellow, but very ripe bananas are the best for these types of breads so it always works out well! Plus, banana bread is a great addition to the athlete’s diet.  It provides carbohydrates and lots of potassium from the bananas for post-workout recovery.

This is a follow-up post to the sandwich bread recipe I shared the other day.  This is a gluten-free banana quick bread recipe, and it comes from the same baking book - Easy Gluten-Free Baking by Elizabeth Barbone.   This banana bread is so good it seems more like dessert than a simple bread. To be honest I really do not love the taste of bananas and have never been a fan of banana bread, but this recipe has changed my mind. 

Equipment

Loaf pan or muffin pan and muffin liners

 

Wet Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/3 cups very ripe mashed bananas (this works out to be about 2 peeled medium bananas)

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened but not melted

2 large eggs

Dry Ingredients

1 2/3 cups white rice flour (I get my white rice flour at our local Asian market)

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder (I use Calumet brand)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon xanthan gum (I use Bobs Red Mill brand)

1.       Preheat oven to 350 F. If using a loaf pan, spray it with gluten-free nonstick cooking spray or if making muffins, line the muffin pan with liners.

2.       In a small bowl, mix sugar and mashed bananas, allow to sit for 15 minutes

3.       In a separate small bowl, whisk dry ingredients together.

4.       In a large bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy (Use high speed on a handheld mixer or medium-high speed on a stand mixer). Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well between each addition.  Add half of the dry ingredients.  Blend until smooth (se medium speed on a handheld mixer or medium-low on a stand mixer). Add banana-sugar mixture and stir until well incorporated.  Add remaining dry ingredients. Blend batter until smooth.

5.       Pour batter into prepared loaf pan or into individual muffin portions. If making a loaf back for 50-60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. If making muffins use a tester to check doneness at 30 minutes.

6.       Place pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and let stand to cool. 

If you make this bread promise me you’ll slice a piece for yourself just after its set but is still warm, spread some butter on that slice and enjoy before anyone else gets their hands on it…because it will be gone soon after! This bread holds up well to freezing.  If I do freeze the bread I take advantage of the stage in which it almost thawed and I cut it in to thin pieces for peanut butter sandwiches.  Once the bread begins to stale, I use it to make French toast.

Most recently I made banana bread muffins and topped them with cream cheese frosting.  I passed them off as cupcakes to my nephews and niece; they gobbled them up and were none the wiser to the added nutrition J Enjoy!

 

Be well,

Lacey