Gluten Free Banana Bread

Okay, I don't take any sort of credit for this recipe at all. This was my very first attempt at a gluten free recipe, and I was amazed at how moist it turned out. Everything I'd heard about gluten free bread was negative - too dry, crumbles too easily, too many weird ingredients, etc. But that is so not the case here. Honestly, I can't even tell a difference between this and the "real thing." Side note, why do we call it "the real thing?" Just because it's made with wheat? Makes no sense to me.This is banana bread, end of story.

The only adjustment I made was reducing the amount of coconut oil from 1/3 cup to 1/4 cup. But seriously, it's just so good, so I had to share it with you, even though it isn't something I tweaked or came up with. And I figure since it's made from brown rice, it's got to be healthy, right? Sometimes I'll make banana bread loaves and other times I'll do muffins. The muffins tend to disappear so much faster, but I think that's because it requires far too much energy for a teenager to unwrap the bread, cut off a slice, and re-wrap it. Did I just say that out loud?

I tend to prefer baking with oat flour over rice flour simply because I think it has a better texture. Someday I might try replacing the rice flour with oat flour. On the other hand, though, if it ain't broke...

This recipe really doesn't take too much time at all. It feels like it, which is why I don't make it all that often, but it really isn't too bad. I think the reason it feels this way is because you end up with quite a few mixing bowls for various purposes. The biggest reason I don't make it all that often is because my guys gobble up the bananas before they're ripe enough to use for banana bread. Sigh.

I'll admit, sorghum flour sounds like a weird ingredient. I guess it is. I don't really know exactly what sorghum flour is, but it's critical for the recipe. Don't try to use all brown rice flour because it won't work. I have not been able to find sorghum flour in bulk. The only place I can find it is from Bob's Red Mill. I think some grocery stores have it on the baking aisle, but if you can't find it there, you can definitely find it at health food stores like Whole Paycheck. 

Ingredients:
4 eggs
4-5 ripe bananas (4 large or 5 medium)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup coconut oil or butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crack eggs into a small mixing bowl. Whisk lightly. Don't over-beat. You know when you bake something and end up with those giant peaks in the middle? That comes from over-beating your eggs. Don't do it.

Peel bananas and break into chunks in a medium mixing bowl. Use a potato masher to smoosh them. My son tells me it looks like banana soup when I'm done. So seriously, smoosh to your little heart's desire. Add applesauce and vanilla extract, then mix well. Add eggs and stir just enough to combine.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, rice flour, sorghum flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk well. Pour in wet ingredients and whisk just until combined, but make sure all the lumps get whisked out.

Melt coconut oil (or butter) in a small saucepan over low heat. Once melted, fold gently into the batter, just until combined. Side note, I don't know why it's necessary to fold in the coconut oil, but that's what the recipe said, so that's what I did.

Grease two loaf pans with cooking spray. Pour the batter evenly between the two. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. You do NOT want to over bake these, or you'll end up with the aforementioned complaints about gluten free baking. Remove from oven and place pans directly on to a cooling rack. Let cool for 10 minutes. Use a butter knife to loosen the sides and remove the bread from the pans. Return to cooling racks and let cool completely. You can eat it at this point (some recipes say wrap it and let stand overnight, but that's just silly). Wrap any leftovers in plastic wrap.

If you're making muffins, I highly recommend using paper liners greased with cooking spray. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the muffins right away and let cool on a wire rack. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.