Gluten-Free Banana Bread

I have been gluten-free since about age 9, not having bread is nothing new to me. And honestly, most times I don’t miss it.  Truth be told, I really only “crave” bread when I make a grilled cheese for the hubs. Some one needs to invent a gluten-free, dairy-free version of that sammy 😉 Not that it would taste remotely like the real thing…. but I’m here to tell you about banana bread.

I guess I lied earlier, banana bread is one thing I tend to miss too. There is an easy fix for that – the recipe below.  There are always ‘nanners in my house but they rarely go unused long enough to make good banana bread. So when I had a bunch ripen much faster than I expected, it was the first sign that I should treat myself to making a loaf. The second sign came a few days later when I found out a friend’s mom just eliminated gluten from her diet. For those who have gone gluten-free later in life, you know how challenging the transition is. Old habits die hard, carb habits die much harder. Since I almost never finish a loaf by myself and sharing gluten-free banana bread with those who can have the real things is sac-religious, I knew my friend’s mom needed this little glimmer of hope in her new gluten-free life.

New recipes always bear fun little surprises. Either I read the original recipe incorrectly or my tweaking to it created more batter. In any case, coming back into the kitchen from folding laundry to find my banana bread was overflowing from the loaf pan was not a fun surprise. With some quick maneuvering, I was able to save my oven from being a mess and get a bonus  mini loaf of ‘nanner bread.

The texture and flavor is awesome, life is good, and it’s Friday.

The original recipe is at this link: http://tiaskitchen.com/gluten-free-banana-bread-dairy-free-and-vegan/

{Gluten-free Banana Bread}

[Ingredients]

• 2 cups Gluten-free Flour blend (I used Kinnikinnick’s Bread flour)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 TBSP cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 medium, very ripe, bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil

[Directions]

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mash bananas. I used my KitchenAid mixer with the whisk attachment on low.
3. Add brown sugar and mix until just combined being careful not to overmix.
4. Add egg, oil, and vanilla. Mix until just combined, again being cautious not to overmix.
5. In a separate bowl, combine GF flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
6. Add dry ingredients to wet in increments of about 1 cup at a time. Mix in dry to wet until moistened then add next cup of dry mixture. Repeat until all of the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the wet.
7. Pour 3/4 of batter into a greased loaf pan. Pour remainder into a greased smaller loaf pan or any other oven safe receptacle.
8. Bake for 45-50 minutes. I covered mine just over halfway through with foil to prevent the top from being too dark.
9. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

Cheers,

Danielle

Plantain Tortillas & Crepes

The past few weeks have been astoundingly busy!

I’m happy to announce that I received the internship I applied for and will begin orientation in August! I am thrilled to start another adventure and get one step closer to getting an RD behind my name.

I’m back to working full time until my internship starts and just went to a big conference for work. It is nice to be busy but has left me with less time for posting.

I’m excited to share this recipe with everyone! I made these tortillas and crepes a while back and was waiting to post for various reasons. But sharing is caring 🙂

Shout out to all my fellow Gluten-free friends – this one is for you! Gone are the days of eating icky corn tortillas and jealously looking on as your friends enjoy crepes.  Welcome the power of the plantain to your life!

The darker the plantain, the sweeter it will be.  I recommended using brown plantains for crepes and more yellow plantains for tortillas.

{Plantain Tortillas}

[Ingredients]

• 1 pound green to light yellow plantains(between 2 to 3 large plantains) peeled & cubed
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup water
• You may also need 1-2 TBSP corn starch*

[Directions]

1. Using a paring knife, remove the peel from the plantain then cube plantain.
2. Preheat oven to 400F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. To a blender add all ingredients. Blend on a lower setting until ingredients are combined then increase speed to create a very smooth puree.
4. Spoon “batter” onto baking sheet to create about 12 tortillas. Bake for 10 minutes then flip and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the tortillas start to brown.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes, fill then serve.

*If you feel that your batter is very runny, slowly add 1-2 TBSP of corn starch to the batter. Pulse in the blender to combine and allow a few minutes between additions for the batter to thicken.

{Plantain Crepes}

[Ingredients]

• 1 pound dark yellow to brown plantains
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1-2 TBSP corn starch
• 1 tsp cinnamon

[Directions]

1. Remove peel then cube plantains.
2. Preheat oven to 400F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Add all ingredients, except corn starch, to blender. Pulse until ingredients are combined then blend at a high speed until batter is very smooth.
4. Add about 1/2 TBSP of corn starch to batter at a time until it has thickened to the consistency of pancake batter.
5. Spoon onto cookie sheets then bake for 10 minutes, flip crepes then bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
6. Top with fresh fruit, nutella, maple syrup, etc. and enjoy!