Gluten Free and Vegan Banana Bread

We love bananas here at Fairfield, but it never fails that there are always one or two extra bananas sitting in the glass bowl at the end of the week staring at me. No matter what I do to alleviate the banana overages, the extra banana is still always there, so I started to peel and freeze that extra banana with the idea that some day I would have a banana emergency.

Well, my friends, that day arrived when Mr. MVP declared he was craving banana bread this past weekend. I turned all those extra bananas into bread and my new banana bread recipe is not only gluten free and vegan, but it was astoundingly simple. Here are the details.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Your ingredients include:

  •  2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup plain applesauce
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
  • 6 tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (gluten free)
  • 5 medium bananas

You will also need two mixing bowls, one large and one medium, a small cup and a spoon.

As this bread is vegan, the flaxseed is going to be our egg replacement. I realize this sounds scary, but trust me, it’s incredibly simple.

Measure out two tablespoons of ground flaxseed into your small cup. This is one tablespoon for each egg.

Now measure six tablespoons of water into the same cup with the flaxseed.

Mix the flaxseed and water thoroughly with a spoon. It will be a cloudy brown mess, but don’t worry.

Set the cup with the flaxseed aside to rest. As tempted as you might be to stir it, just leave it be.

If you are like me then you have a bag with frozen bananas and they look pretty pathetic.

Just put the frozen bananas in a large microwave safe bowl and let them thaw for about one minute and remember, it’s what is on the inside that matters.

While your bananas are thawing you can mix your dry ingredients. I wanted to introduce all of you to buying gluten free all purpose flour in bulk from the local food co-op. Not only is this less expensive, but it is organic.

Simply take your empty container to your local health food store and ask them to weigh it. Then fill the container with the flour of your choice. This organic gluten free all purpose flour which is milled in Michigan is about $3.49 per pound.

In the medium mixing bowl add two cups of the gluten free flour.

One teaspoon of baking soda.

Then add in 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Next is your nutmeg.

Last is 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Set the dry ingredients aside with the flaxseed, but resist the temptation to stir the flaxseed. Leave it alone.

Now take your squishy and extremely unappealing bananas out of the microwave and prepare the wet ingredients.

Measure out 1/2 cup of applesauce on top of the bananas.

Add in 1/2 cup of brown sugar.

Next is one teaspoon of vanilla.

Now, grab the flaxseed and give it a quick stir. Notice that it has formed a slurry on the bottom.

Pour it on top of your banana mixture.

Stir everything up thoroughly. While you are stirring, you can make the decision to either break up the larger chunks of banana or leave them. We like big pieces of banana in our bread, so I leave them.

Now add the dry ingredients to the wet.

Mix just until incorporated.

For the FODMAPers out there prepare your 9×13 bread pan by rubbing it with a good quality extra virgin olive oil.

Don’t forget the corners and the sides.

Pour the batter in and stick the pan in the oven for about 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes our bread was getting brown, but the inside was not cooked.

I covered the bread with foil and continued cooking for another 20 minutes.

Mr. MVP went outside and took 200 photographs of our dogs.

The finished bread is moist and not too sweet. It tastes like banana and cinnamon with a touch of apples. It makes amazing french toast and works great in the toaster. The best part is I now have a place for those weird extra bananas.

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