Friday, January 24, 2014

Gluten Free Banana Bread

During these cold winter days I have been trying to find a way to occupy the time spent in the house with my two preschool girls. This morning one of the girls, Olivia spotted some very ripe bananas. She wanted to throw them away but I stopped her and explained that those are super yummy and sweet and we put the in banana bread. Olivia's response was that of a kid, "We'll mama, why don't we make some now?" I agreed with her and they climbed up on the stools and we got to baking. 

The recipe that I used was my mom's. I was a little afraid to take a recipe that I so loved and turn it gluten free afraid that it would taste terrible, but I was bound to adventure out of my comfort zone. I am so glad I did. The banana bread turned out so well. It did have slightly different taste than the wheat version, but it still passed the kid test. In fact, the girls had three pieces each! (Not all at once...lol) I felt that this would be a great one to share, especially for those who are gluten free. Please enjoy.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1/2 c. Crisco shortening
3 mashed ripe bananas
3 c. Sifted GF All-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. Xanthan 
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. Sugar
*1/2 c. Sour milk (1TBS vinegar to 1/2 c. Milk) 
1 tsp. baking soda (put in milk)
3/4 c. Walnuts (optional) - my girls would not let me put them in.

Method:
1) Cream shortening, sugar, salt.

2) Add eggs, bananas, milk, and baking soda. Mix until well combined. 

3) Slowly add flour and nuts. Spray two bread pans.

4) Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until firm to touch. 
- I baked mine for 1 hour and it was perfect. Soft and moist on the inside.

Notes:
* I used rice milk