Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Gluten Free

flickr photo credit, rennes.i

We love bananas around here. Even Little Guy is eating them up like crazy. One of the best things about bananas is that they never go bad. When they turn brown we just peel, seal (in plastic wrap), and pop them into the freezer to use for baking.

Banana bread is one of the first treats we baked after Bunky’s celiac diagnosis. I will always be grateful to Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose GF flour for providing the recipe. Some people may balk at the bean-iness of Bob’s, but my family didn’t notice it in the banana bread. I’ve since switched to Better Batter and my own blend, inspired by Gluten Free Girl’s 40/60 ratio, but I am no snob to Bob. (Stay tuned for Part 2 of my flour series for even more flour info!)

Bunky’s favorite part – mashing the bananas!

I originally posted this recipe last year, Banana Bread 3 Ways, but I’ve updated it with both cup and weight measurements. Ever since I bought my beloved kitchen scale I’ve become rather obsessed with measuring by weight. Something I NEVER thought I’d do. Well, never say never. Especially in baking and parenting. You should have heard some of the things I said I’d never do as a mom, ha!

Enough babbling, here’s the recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Gluten Free (adapted from Bob’s Red Mill)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup (66 grams) canola oil
2/3 cup (146 grams) brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups (255 grams) all purpose GF flour*
2 tsp baking powder
1 ¼ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your blend has it)
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups (200 grams) mashed ripe bananas, about 2-3 bananas
3/4 cup (140 grams) chocolate chips – or if you prefer, raisins, chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter or spray a 9 x 5 inch non-stick loaf pan.

2. Cream together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer (if you have one around, otherwise mix vigorously). Alternating with mashed bananas, add flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder and cinnamon to egg mixture. Beat with mixer or by hand until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips (or nuts or raisins if you prefer). Batter will be somewhat soft.

Our chocolate chip collection

3. Transfer to the pan. Bake for 1 hour (check at 45 minutes). It should be a light golden brown on top and along edges. Bread will be done when a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. [The exception to “clean” is if you use chocolate chips and they get in the way since the chips will of course be melty.]

Sidebar: Way back when, my first loaf (baked the recommended 1 hour) burned to a black crisp on the bottom. I originally thought this was because my oven runs hot, but I now use an oven thermometer and it still tends to get rather brown on the bottom. The trick is to slide a baking sheet under the loaf pan for the last 10-15 minutes of baking. Try it to avoid possible burn-age.

Do you remember your first GF baking success story? If so, tell me about it!

Thank you to VegetarianMamma.com for inviting me to the wonderful Gluten Free Fridays Recipe link up! Check out the other great recipes by clicking the button below.