Gone Bananas

One of my favorite treats that my mom made me when I was growing up was Banana Bread. It was always worth staying up late to wait for it to come out of the oven. All warm, moist and delicious with some butter spread over to melt into all the little pockets making it even more moist and delicious. I'm drooling just thinking about it!

Once going gluten free, that banana bread was one of the things I missed the most. So I got the recipe from my mom and started experimenting with making it gluten free. And now, I've mastered it! It comes out super moist and fluffy every time!

It's because of this bread that you will always find bananas in my freezer! I buy extra with my groceries and let them get all spotted, then pop them in the freezer. When it's time to make some banana bread, I put the bananas in a bowl to thaw. Usually over night is perfect, since I've found that having the bananas room temperature makes for better bread! Freezing the bananas, then thawing them also gives this recipe more liquid, so I'm not sure how the bread would turn out if fresh bananas were used. If you try, let me know how it works!

 Without further ado...

Banana Bread

5 very ripe bananas, frozen then thawed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup softened coconut oil
2 cups Gluten Free All purpose flour*
1/2 cup Muscavado sugar (coconut sugar works nicely as well)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Xanthan gum

Optional add ins:
1/2 cup Chocolate chips, walnuts, dried fruit, etc.

*Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 4 x 6.5 bread pan (or line it with parchment paper...that's what I do)
*Mix the bananas, eggs and coconut oil on medium speed in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 1 or 2 minutes. This will help make the bread rise nice and high. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can try using a hand mixer!
*Add in the flour, sugar, baking soda & xanthan gum. Mix on low until all ingredients are combined. Scrape down sides if needed. Add any additional ingredients (like chocolate chips or walnuts, yum!) now.
*Pour batter into bread pan and 'slice' down the middle with a knife. This will make the bread rise evenly, though it doesn't look like it does much when its still just batter.
*Bake for about an hour on the middle rack. Use a toothpick to test the center at the end of that hour. If some batter comes up with the toothpick, bake for another 5 -15 minutes.
*Transfer to a wire rack to let cool. Slice and serve once loaf has mostly cooled (it may break apart easier when slicing if its too hot).

Enjoy!

Eryn