Gluten Free Dairy Free Banana Nut Bread

OK – so who doesn’t like gluten free nut banana bread? Fruity, sweet “healthy bread”! Well, at least that is what we tell ourselves when after two slices and a cup of tea, we are still reaching for another slice of piggy heaven. As we all know, too much of any gluten free bread (stuffed with fruit or not) is going to make you a bit hippy; and unfortunately, the same is true for this gluten free dairy free banana bread.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of fantastic gluten free banana nut bread recipes, and everyone has their favourite recipe they got from their grandmother, mother, aunt or friend. But as we self respecting banana bread connoisseurs know all too well, not all banana breads were created equal. That said, I have rarely tasted banana bread that I couldn’t happily scoff with delight.

In my opinion, gluten free banana nut bread is one of those fail-safe recipes where you follow the directions and it will lead to delight. It is just at what level? Do you add nuts, chocolate, cinnamon? What natural sweetener do you use? I have tasted all kinds of fantastic gluten free banana bread using a variety of interesting ingredients, and the one thing they all have in common that leads to “bananayumma heaven” is really ripe bananas. Yep -- a euphoric banana bread taste bud explosion starts with the sweetest, ripest bananas you can find. Yes, you gluten free bakers out there are chiming in with other considerations such as the consistency of the batter and springiness of the bread. Yes, these things are important.

Not professing to be a gluten free baking professional, I always shoot for taste first. For me, I take the first bite with my eyes, then my nose, then my mouth. If something tastes fantastic, I can forgive some little glitches in other areas. My mum and I have happily grabbed a fork, and chowed down on a “granola-like” substance that was supposed to hold together as a crust, or drank what was supposed to a pie filling. Hey, what can I say? My snout is always the priority.

Luckily we can present this quick, easy, gluten free dairy free banana bread as a winner on all fronts. My sister Kara is new to gluten free living, and her first foray into a gluten free baking effort was a gluten free dairy free banana bread that she made using an Orgran Gluten Free Flour mix, and my mum’s left over stash of pecans. I don’t know about you, but I just have to go nuts about bananas, and whenever I cook with them, I find my snout leading me to the walnuts, pecans, chocolate or coconut. Today it was pecans.

And what is a self-respecting pecan to do when it finds itself in the trough with bananas? Find the maple syrup! So that is what we did. The results were pretty good. But, of course when my mum (a fabulous scratch baker who wouldn’t be caught dead making a cake from a packet mix) came over and tasted it with praise, she then reminded us of how much better it would be if we made it from scratch. We all promptly pulled out the measuring cups and tins, and here it is! Our gluten free dairy free banana bread from scratch. We had one go. It was great. So, as they say, "if it aint broke don’t fix it!" Give this gluten free banana nut bread a go with your family. If you are looking for super easy gluten and dairy free recipes this is a winner.